Galina Balandina, the director of the ministry's department for state regulations of foreign economy and customs, said prices on consumer goods would increase by 30% and higher, particularly on clothes and toys brought to Russia by shuttle-traders - individuals who shuttle across the border, buy goods from cheap sources and return to Russia to sell them for profit.
She said the decree stipulated that shuttle-traders were allowed to import goods tax-free from trips taken once a month instead of once a week, as was the case earlier. The new decree also limited the aggregated tax-free weight of imported goods to 35kg instead of previously 50kg.
Balandina added that the share of goods that shuttle-traders bring in amount to 20-30% of the total import in European Russia and to 60-80% in Russia's Far East.
She said the ministry also prepared amendments to the Russian Tax Code stipulating to lower the predicted cost of goods brought by individuals from the current 65,000 rubles ($2,306) to 15,000 rubles ($530) starting January 1, 2007.
