Starting in 2026, many marketplace sellers will have to pay two taxes, both known as VAT: the standard 22% and the “import” 5% (for starters). In addition to the actual tax deductions, merchants will face significantly increased administrative costs and the risk of violations, which will deprive them of their only competitive advantage—extremely low prices.
The marketplace trading business, which has expanded rapidly over the past five years, employing hundreds of thousands of Russians and involving trillions of rubles, is approaching maturity. New regulations, formulated by both marketplaces and the government, deprive small online merchants of their advantages not only over larger players but also over offline retail.
This will inevitably lead to consolidation and transformation of this market, with relatively large merchants playing the leading role on marketplaces, leaving only small niches for private sellers.
Anton Borisyuk, Counsel and Head of corporate practice at Nordic Star, provides a detailed analysis of the upcoming tax changes for sellers (LLCs and sole proprietors) in a Fontanka.ru article.
For more information, follow the link https://lnkd.in/entrg7qC.