Over the past few years, the online trading trend has noticeably shifted towards marketplaces. More and more people want to make purchases on Wildberries, Ozon, Yandex Market, Lamoda and other sites, and their number is growing all the time. The number of sellers on marketplaces is also growing significantly. The Infotrans.by portal explained what documents are needed when delivering goods from Belarus to marketplace warehouses in Russia.
Thus, the number of sellers on Wildberries and Ozon in December 2023 was almost 550,000, and by the end of 2024 their number is expected to increase one and a half times and reach 700,000. Also in 2021, about 410,000 new merchants connected to Wildberries. Wildberries is estimated to have 294,000 active sellers at the end of 2023.
With the growth of sales volumes, it becomes convenient for sellers to work under the FBO (Fulfillment by Operator) scheme, when the seller places a certain stock of his goods in the marketplace warehouse (monthly, weekly, etc.), and the marketplace, as orders are received, delivers them to the end buyer .
This scheme of work is very convenient, but the seller himself needs to deliver a batch of already assembled, packaged and labeled goods to the marketplace warehouses. However, when delivering and handing over goods, there are many requirements and nuances that need to be known and followed in order to deliver the goods without problems and hand them over to the marketplace warehouse. This includes packaging, palletizing, labeling, paperwork, and so on. If any of the requirements are not met, then the marketplace warehouse may refuse to accept the goods, which will entail additional costs for returning it to the seller’s warehouse, repackaging, and re-delivery.
As you know, WB and Ozon, when accepting goods from sellers in warehouses, scan barcodes previously entered into the product database and, for the most part, do not sign shipping documents.
And if within Russia goods can be shipped using electronic invoices or UTD without issuing a paper version, then in Belarus this causes some difficulties for sellers. Since the cargo is moving across the border and for the correct execution of shipping documents, the originals of the CMR and TN must be signed and stamped by the RECIPIENT of the cargo. And, as we have already said, neither Wildberries nor Ozon sign them in Russia.
What to do?
This is where transport companies come to the rescue, who constantly deliver such goods to marketplaces and already know their requirements and can anticipate the reasons why they may refuse acceptance and eliminate them.
As for documenting cargo transportation from Belarus (from a resident of the Republic of Belarus) to marketplace warehouses in the Russian Federation, there are several options for processing shipping documents:
The recipient of the goods in the shipping documents is directly the marketplace itself (Russian or Belarusian legal entity), the unloading address in CMR is the Russian Federation.
In this case, after unloading the goods, the CMR and TN remain unsigned (not closed by the consignee), copies of the goods acceptance certificates from the seller’s personal account and a screenshot of the personal account are attached to them, with a notification that your goods have been accepted; as a rule, the actual date of unloading is not coincides with the date specified in the goods acceptance certificate.
At the same time, this transportation will be subject to VAT at a rate of 20% and the delivery cost will increase accordingly. Please take this into account when calculating delivery costs and negotiating with transport companies and carriers.
The recipient of the goods in the shipping documents is an “intermediary company” (not a marketplace) a Russian legal entity that receives the goods, pays import VAT in the Russian Federation and then sells this product on the marketplace in the Russian Federation.
The recipient in the CMR indicates the “intermediary company”, and the unloading address is the marketplace warehouse, i.e. actual unloading address.
Many sellers have their legal entities in Russia and use this type of work scheme. This legal entity signs and stamps the shipping documents as it is the recipient of the goods. And then it sells the goods to the marketplace using Russian UPD. Such transportation will be subject to a 0% VAT rate, provided that the shipping documents are correctly completed and all participants in the transportation have the originals.
One more option can be distinguished, when the recipient and sender are a Belarusian legal entity, the unloading address is the Republic of Belarus.
In this case, the seller draws up a Bill of Lading (BW), which is signed by the consignee upon acceptance of the goods at the warehouse.
* The CMR form and instructions for filling it out can be downloaded on our website
Unfortunately, cases have become more frequent when cargo is sent for delivery without any accompanying documents at all, or the accompanying documents are made only for transportation. Or, in general, the seller issues a TTN to the Belarusian legal entity of the marketplace, with the unloading point in Minsk, but in fact the goods are going to Russia. Such shipments are detected by customs and transport inspectors; vehicles are usually turned around for inspection, and if violations are confirmed, the perpetrators are fined and may even confiscate the goods. Whether it's worth it, everyone decides for themselves. Consult with a specialist, if necessary, pay a little extra and sleep peacefully or leave this matter to chance, again it’s up to you.
