Two contracts, one packing list: how to separate one physical shipment for two goods declarations

Do not start by counting containers, bills of lading or packing lists. First establish the number of consignments for declaration purposes. Then build the documentary record for each, reconcile both records with the physical shipment and enter the corresponding information in the separate DTs.

First establish whether two independent documents actually record two separate transactions. A framework agreement with annexes or specifications is not automatically two contracts. Conversely, two documents with similar terms do not become one transaction merely because the seller, buyer and goods are the same. Examine the parties, subject matter, process for agreeing the product range and price, independence of the obligations and the document under which each part of the goods was purchased.

Paragraph 2 of the DT completion procedure, approved by Customs Union Commission Decision No. 257 of 20 May 2010, defines an import consignment by reference to goods carried from one consignor to one consignee in performance of obligations under one document recording a transaction. The other conditions in that paragraph must also be met. In an ordinary import arrangement, goods under two independent contracts therefore constitute two consignments for DT purposes. A single truck, container, bill of lading or packing list does not remove that distinction.

A declarant may split one consignment across several DTs filed with the same customs authority. An exception applies where, under General Interpretative Rule 2(a), the goods in the consignment are treated as components of a complete or finished article presented unassembled or disassembled and classified under the corresponding EAEU tariff heading. Two independent consignments therefore require separate DTs, and more declarations may be needed if a consignment is further divided, that exception does not apply and no other special declaration rule governs the shipment.

Once the number of consignments is established, the shared packing list's role becomes clear. It may accompany both declarations, but it does not replace the documents establishing the two transactions.

A packing list primarily describes the physical shipment: the number and identification of packages, their contents and quantities, net and gross weights, and the pallets or container carrying the goods. The customs document classification assigns shipping or packing lists their own code, 04131. This reflects their distinct function; it does not make them contracts, invoices or proof of payment.

Each document serves a different purpose:

Check those links through two parallel document trails:

The check must work in both directions. Every packing-list line and package should be traceable to an item in the relevant DT and its transaction document. Then trace each DT item back to its invoice, contract, packing-list entry and physical package in the shipment.

An internal cross-reference table can help:

This table is not a statutory form and does not create new facts. It makes the links between existing records visible, so its evidential value depends on those records. Ideally, the breakdown should be confirmed by whoever prepared the shipment or held the original information: the seller, packer, warehouse or freight forwarder. A later internal register may help the importer reconcile the records, but must not be presented as a supplier's document.

Payment may be outstanding or incomplete when the declaration is filed if the contract allows it. Article 39 of the EAEU Customs Code uses the price actually paid or payable. Completed payment is therefore not an essential link in every document trail, but the records must establish the payment terms and the obligation incurred.

One payment may discharge obligations under two contracts if the payment terms allow it and the allocation can be proved. Start with the payment document and the records used to prepare it. A separate later schedule may be unnecessary if the reference identifies both contracts or invoices and the amount for each, or otherwise permits an unambiguous allocation.

Once each amount has been linked to an obligation, carry the same distinction through to the physical shipment.

Agree a clear package-identification system before packing. For example, boxes A-001–A-060 belong to Contract A and invoice A-17, while boxes B-001–B-040 —to Contract B and invoice B-09. The shared packing list then gives the container total and separate totals for each contract.

Neither the EAEU Customs Code nor the general DT completion procedure requires a contract or invoice number on every package. Product-specific, transport or identification marking requirements need a separate check. Here, contract-based package markings are a convenient way to prove which transaction the goods belong to, not a mandatory formality.

Other original records may establish the link: specifications, dispatch instructions, packing records, warehouse reports, warehouse management data, serial numbers, assembly records, photographs and correspondence about preparing the consignment. The absence of a contract number on a box does not automatically prevent declaration. The problem arises when the allocation is first devised after arrival without support from earlier records.

Keeping goods from the two transactions in separate boxes is preferable, but mixed packing is not prohibited in itself. The rules for Box 31 allow a package, or a container, to be recorded as partly occupied. For mixed packages, identify the contents, allocate quantities and weights, and avoid double counting. Photographs of the packaging and contents can support the link, but do not replace the packing list and other documents.

Once the physical shipment and commercial records reconcile, apply the same allocation in the two DTs.

Check each draft declaration against its own transaction, then reconcile both DTs with the full shipment. Matching the overall weight or value is not enough. The links between goods, packages, prices and documents must remain traceable throughout.

If the two consignments occupy separate packages, Box 6 of each DT records only the packages containing its goods. With a 60/40 split, for example, the first declaration records 60 packages and the second 40. The transport document, packing list or linked attachment must allow that split to be checked.

If both consignments actually share the same 100 boxes, Box 6 may show the same count in both DTs because each consignment partly occupies those packages. This does not mean that 200 boxes were transported. Box 31 of each DT must identify the number of partly occupied packages and use the prescribed entry 'часть места' ('part of a package'). The records must show that these are shared packages, not different boxes counted twice.

The price in each declaration must follow its own transaction. Box 42 records the item's price under the transaction for consideration in the currency coded in Box 22. The total invoice amount in Box 22 covers the goods in that DT. Do not enter the combined total of both invoices in each declaration or use an average container price without documentary support.

Article 39(3) of the EAEU Customs Code does not change this conclusion. Its proportional pricing rule for part of a larger quantity applies to identical goods purchased in a single transaction. It does not permit the prices under two independent contracts to be pooled and then divided using an arbitrary ratio.

A shared packing list covering both consignments may be entered under code 04131 in Box 44 for each item in both DTs that it supports. Each entry must use the original packing list's actual identifying details. An internal draft DT number or a contract-allocation label must not be declared as the packing-list number. Each item must also reference its own transaction document, invoice, specification and other supporting records.

Freight and insurance need a separate calculation. This is where documents that reconcile arithmetically can still produce the wrong customs value.

Article 40 of the EAEU Customs Code includes transport costs to the goods' place of arrival in the Union's customs territory, or another place designated by the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC), among additions to customs value. Subject to the Article's conditions, additions also include loading, unloading, transshipment, other operations connected with that transport and the related insurance.

Before allocating a combined invoice, determine which expenses belong in customs value at all. Where the price actually paid or payable includes transport within the Union after the place of arrival, or another EEC-designated place, those expenses are excluded under Article 40(2)(2). They must be separately identified within the price, declared by the declarant and supported by documents.

The position differs where inland transport is paid separately and is not included in the goods' price. It is not a deduction from the price under Article 40(2). Nor is it added under Article 40(1)(4), because it concerns transport after the place of arrival or other EEC-designated point that limits the relevant addition.

If one carrier or forwarder invoice covers transport both before and after that point, first establish from the documents the amount relating to transport up to the prescribed point that belongs in customs value. Only then allocate that amount among the goods.

Where one undivided amount for transport, loading, unloading, transshipment or related operations covers several goods in both DTs, Decision No. 83 requires allocation in proportion to gross weight:

Cost allocated to an item = total allocable cost × item's gross weight / total gross weight of the goods covered by that cost.

After allocation by item, add the amounts assigned to the goods in each DT. The allocation total must equal the documented amount attributable to the declared goods that belongs in customs value, not necessarily the carrier's or forwarder's full invoice. It equals the invoice total only if the whole invoice covers transport up to the prescribed point and contains no costs outside customs value. Chargeable weight, volume, package count or another carrier pricing basis may explain the service price, but does not replace Decision No. 83's rules for allocating a common amount among goods.

Under the default rule, a common insurance cost is allocated in proportion to the goods' values:

Insurance allocated to an item = total insurance cost × item's value / total value of the insured goods.

Decision No. 83 also allows the declarant to add the entire insurance cost to one of the goods it covers. For ad valorem or combined duty rates, choose the item with the highest ad valorem rate or ad valorem component. If all the relevant goods carry specific rates, the criterion is the highest level of taxation.

Where the insured goods are declared in several consignments, the total is initially included in the value of the eligible item in the first consignment. If a later consignment contains goods covered by the same insurance with a higher applicable ad valorem rate or component, the total insurance cost is added to that item's price. After its release, the corresponding amount is removed from the earlier item's customs value by amending the earlier DT.

The customs value declaration (DTS) must contain the special entries required by Decision No. 160. This option requires subsequent rate checks and may require an amendment, so use it only with a prepared calculation and a clear process for the supporting documents.

Russian Supreme Court Thematic Review No. 9/2026 explains that legislation does not prescribe an exhaustive list of documents for excluding transport within the Union after the place of arrival or another EEC-designated place. The evidence depends on the contracts, logistics arrangements and actual carriage. That does not make every calculated breakdown sufficient. The records must establish the genuine nature and amount of the costs, their link to the particular carriage and actual use of the stated rates, rather than an arbitrary customs value.

A workable approach. A Russian buyer signs two independent contracts with one foreign seller: Contract A for components and Contract B for tools. Both are loaded into one container. The shared packing list references the contracts, invoices and separate package ranges. The forwarder's combined invoice is first reduced to the amount that belongs in customs value. The common part is then allocated among the goods by gross weight under Decision No. 83 and grouped into the two DTs. The packing list maps the shipment without merging the transactions, linking each declaration to its share of the cargo.

A risky approach. Identical, interchangeable goods are purchased under two contracts. The supplier issues two invoices, the buyer makes one unallocated payment, and the packing list shows only 100 shared boxes, a total weight and one product description. Missing contract markings do not in themselves prevent two DTs if specifications, payment instructions, warehouse records, dispatch orders or other original information support the allocation. But an importer-created table first produced after arrival, without that support, does not explain why particular quantities and values belong to each transaction. Arithmetic agreement does not close the evidential gap.

The difference matters particularly after registration of the declaration: a document error can no longer be resolved simply by replacing a file.

Before DT registration, correct a discrepancy in the underlying document set. The proper issuer—the seller, warehouse, packer, forwarder or other responsible party—should issue the corrected document or attachment. Retain the original version, the author and date of the correction, its reason and the affected lines, then check both draft declarations again.

After DT registration, first establish whether the correction affects information already declared: quantity, weight, packaging, price, goods description, document details or other data. If the declaration remains accurate, keep the original and corrected documents together and explain the change. If the DT itself needs amendment, sending a new packing list is not enough.

Before release, amendments are governed by Article 112 of the EAEU Customs Code and EEC Board Decision No. 289. On a reasoned application, the declarant may amend information with customs permission, subject to the prescribed conditions. Once certain control steps have begun, the ordinary voluntary route is restricted, except where the Code expressly allows it. Remediable breaches may also be corrected at customs' request. After release, amendments follow the procedure for changes authorised or required by customs.

A DTS may also be submitted on the declarant's initiative or completed in other cases expressly provided for by Decision No. 160, independently of an amendment to DT information.

EEC Board Decision No. 55 of 19 May 2026 amends Decision No. 289 with effect from 1 January 2027. Those amendments do not apply at this article's revision date. Recheck the section on declaration amendments before using it from that date onward.

This procedure addresses discrepancies discovered by the declarant. If customs finds the contradiction and sends a request, the next step depends on the review stage, the document's legal basis and the response deadline.

Before release, documents and information are checked under Articles 324–325 of the EAEU Customs Code. Customs valuation reviews also engage Article 313 and the regulation approved by EEC Board Decision No. 42. A review begun before release continues and concludes under Article 325(14)–(18) if the goods are released under Article 121. A review first begun after release follows Article 326, with documents and information requested under Article 340.

There is no single deadline for every request. Under Article 325(1), documents referenced in the DT but not submitted with it must be provided at least four hours before the applicable release deadline. For additional documents and explanations requested under Article 325(4), paragraph 7 sets different cut-offs: four hours, two hours or one working day before the relevant deadline, depending on what is being checked and whether it affects payments.

When goods are released under Article 121, the review continues afterward. Documents and information requested under Article 325(4) but not submitted within paragraph 7's deadline may be provided within a period not exceeding 60 calendar days from DT registration. The case covered by Article 314(2) of the EAEU Customs Code is excepted.

Further documents, information and written explanations requested under Article 325(15) must be submitted within ten calendar days of customs registering the request. For an Article 326 review, the document deadline is set under Article 340 and must allow sufficient time. On a reasoned application, it may be extended by no more than two months from the original deadline.

In a customs valuation review, inconsistencies may indicate an unreliable value. Packing lists, payment records and transport documents are among the materials customs may request under Decision No. 42. A discrepancy is not, however, a completed finding that the value is wrong. Customs must identify the grounds for doubt and give the declarant a genuine opportunity to provide documents and explanations.

If the supplier, warehouse or forwarder does not respond, send a written request to the information holder and retain the recipient, date, contents, attachment list and proof of sending. Paragraph 10 of the regulation approved by Decision No. 42 allows a declarant in a valuation review to explain and substantiate that a requested document does not exist, is not used in the transaction, was withheld or was not supplied in response to a request. This special rule does not automatically extend to every question about quantity, classification, origin, or prohibitions and restrictions.

Even proven unavailability does not establish the price, quantity or allocation of packages. Fill the remaining gap with relevant evidence, or identify precisely which fact remains unproved.

More attachments do not necessarily answer the question. A bank statement does not explain package allocation, and photographs of boxes do not prove how a payment was applied. Link each document to the fact it is intended to establish.

For an initial assessment, provide the two contract numbers, whether the sellers and buyers are the same, the number of invoices and payments, whether the goods have shipped, whether the DTs are registered and the issue that has arisen.

A final assessment requires both contracts and annexes, invoices, payment terms and records, the complete packing list, transport documents, freight and insurance records, calculations of additions, draft or registered DTs and the customs document received.

Sources and scope

Legal framework as at 21 August 2026:

This article addresses ordinary commercial imports under two independent transactions. Special customs procedures, periodic, incomplete or advance declarations, release before a DT is filed, project shipments, unassembled goods and other exceptions require separate assessment. It does not determine tariff classification, origin, permit requirements, the applicable valuation method or foreign-exchange control consequences without the specific shipment documents.