The Constitutional Court determined the conditions for duty-free import of cultural property

The Constitutional Court (CC) of Russia has determined the conditions for duty-free import of cultural property into the country for personal use. This was reported by the Russian Agency for Legal and Judicial Information (RAPSI) with reference to the decision in the case of Ivan Leontyev, convicted of smuggling coins and banknotes. It is possible to import cultural property into the territory of the EAEU countries without paying a duty, as explained in the Constitutional Court, provided that these items are included in the list of non-tariff regulated goods. At the same time, according to the EAEU customs code, a declaration is still required for valuable goods.

On October 12, the Constitutional Court rejected Ivan Leontyev’s complaint about a violation of the right to move cultural property across the border. The court, as RAPSI writes, found him guilty of smuggling 203 coins and 82 banknotes, which he bought at an exhibition in the United States. A forensic examination established that five coins are of cultural value, and their value exceeds 670 thousand rubles. As stated in the RAPSI report, Ivan Leontyev did not have a customs declaration and paid duties. For this, he was sentenced to three years in prison for illegal movement of cultural property (Part 1 of Article 226.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).

The Constitutional Court, in determining the rejection of Ivan Leontyev’s complaint, agreed that the law “On the export and import of cultural property” does not provide for the declaration of such things. The Constitutional Court also referred to the EAEU customs code, which obliges the preparation of a declaration for objects of cultural value.