The supplier is ready to ship the products, but their certificate has yet to be obtained. The laboratory needs samples first.
If the main shipment has already arrived, samples may be taken from it with customs authorization. Consider the following situation: the goods are at a temporary storage warehouse (SVH), and a declaration for their release for domestic consumption has not yet been filed. This is an important detail. Once the declaration is registered, a separate deadline for release must be considered alongside the storage period.
Choosing a conformity assessment procedure
Before shipping samples, determine what the conformity document is to cover: series-produced products, a specific batch, or an individual item. For a batch, the samples must belong to that particular batch; for series production, the selected items must be representative, and the other steps required by the scheme must be completed. Models that look identical may differ in composition or manufacturing technology. Matching item numbers do not eliminate those differences.
The applicable technical regulation, together with the conformity assessment scheme, establishes the rules. The Model Conformity Assessment Schemes under Decision No. 44 of the Council of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC), dated April 18, 2018, did not replace the previous rules for all products at once. Subparagraph “б” of paragraph 2 of that decision preserves the application of the Regulation under Customs Union Commission Decision No. 621 of April 7, 2011, to the previously adopted technical regulations it specifies, to the extent that its provisions do not conflict with them and until the relevant amendments are made. The sampling procedure must therefore be selected by reference to the technical regulation and its applicable version, not simply by choosing the decision with the later date.
For imports into Russia, Annex No. 18 to Russian Government Resolution No. 353 should be checked before arranging standard certification. Until September 1, 2027, paragraph 6 permits a Russian legal entity or individual entrepreneur, in specified cases, to declare the conformity of a batch or individual item based on its own evidence. The declaration of conformity must be registered and is valid for six months from that date; paragraph 8 then allows samples to be taken from the imported batch. This may change the sequence of shipment and testing.
For products on the list under Order No. 4114 of the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade, dated September 10, 2024, check the prohibition on new declarations under this procedure and the transitional rule for documents registered earlier. The list is in force in its version dated August 4, 2026. Products covered by paragraph 6 must not bear the EAC mark; if the applicant opts not to publish information about the declaration, the products may not be sold to consumers for personal or family use.
Testing arrangements and sample quantities
The number of samples follows from the sampling rules and test methods. The laboratory may need different product variants, items for destructive testing, and control samples. Each such need must be justified. There is no universal rule of “one of each,” nor a right to add spares simply because there is room left in the shipping carton. Before dispatch, it is useful to compare the sample quantity calculation with the models and quantities on the invoice and packing list.
Importing samples separately
Two ways to obtain samples for testing
This table does not replace the full conditions and restrictions set out in the article.
| Importing samples separately | Sampling from a consignment in temporary storage before the main customs declaration is lodged | |
|---|---|---|
| Basis | A contract with, or letter from, the conformity assessment body specified by the applicable technical regulation; notification of the import purpose in the prescribed form. | Customs authorisation for sampling; no separate declaration is required if samples are included in the declaration placing the goods under a customs procedure. |
| Quantity | The contract or letter confirms the quantity required under the sampling rules and test methods. | Sampling rules and test methods determine the quantity; the samples and their quantities must remain recorded. |
| Removal / movement | The exception concerns proof of compliance with technical regulations; customs declaration requirements, applicable payments, other restrictions and permitted use require separate checks. | After sampling is documented, the customs post sends the warehouse operator a removal authorisation notice; laboratory handover follows completion of removal formalities. |
When samples are imported separately, subparagraph “а” of paragraph 6 of the Procedure under EEC Council Decision No. 130 of November 12, 2021, applies. The declarant must have either a contract with the conformity assessment body specified by the technical regulation—a certification body or testing laboratory—or a letter from that body. The document must confirm the required quantity. There is no requirement to obtain both a contract and a separate letter solely to comply with this provision. The purpose of importation is confirmed by a notification using the form provided in the Procedure.
The products actually being shipped must be identifiable from these documents. If the letter covers one variant but the supplier sends another, first determine whether the actual variant is suitable for the selected tests and prepare documents for the goods actually supplied. Providing a copy of an earlier contract in response to a request is different from trying to create a previously absent legal basis after the fact. The exemption itself concerns confirmation of compliance with technical regulation measures; customs declaration requirements, applicable payments, and other restrictions must be checked separately. For samples containing controlled substances or components, a laboratory letter does not replace the required permit.
What will happen to the items after testing must also be determined before selecting a customs procedure. A short stay does not, by itself, make temporary admission suitable. Subparagraph 1 of paragraph 4 of Article 219 of the EAEU Customs Code excludes that procedure for the listed categories, including consumable materials and samples, subject to specified exceptions for individual items used for advertising and demonstration purposes, exhibition exhibits, or industrial samples. Once the procedure's applicability has been checked, assess identification, permitted use, and how the procedure will be discharged. For destructive testing, a promise to “ship them back afterward” is not enough.
Sampling authorisation and removal from temporary storage
For the shipment at the temporary storage warehouse in our example, the process begins with authorization to take samples. Article 17 of the EAEU Customs Code permits sampling provided that the operation does not impede customs control, alter the goods' characteristics, or lead to evasion of payments or noncompliance with restrictions. Article 102 and the Russian procedure must also be considered for goods in temporary storage. The laboratory letter substantiates the need, but customs grants the authorization.
Under Annex No. 3 to Order No. 444 of the Russian Federal Customs Service, dated March 18, 2019, the authorized person or their representative submits an application to the head of the customs post or the deputy head and simultaneously informs the temporary storage warehouse owner. Review and a decision must take no more than three working hours from the customs post's receipt of the application. The application describes the operations; identifying the relevant packages, items, quantities, and need to open packaging helps customs assess them. Operations involving customs identification devices must be agreed on, not assigned to a courier at the importer's discretion.
A registered declaration for the entire shipment is not a prerequisite for this sampling. Paragraph 4 of Article 17 dispenses with a separate declaration for the samples if they will be included in the declaration when the goods are placed under a customs procedure. The samples and their quantities must remain accounted for. This allows sampling before the main declaration is filed, but does not permit foreign goods to be consumed contrary to the conditions governing their customs treatment.
Once the sampling formalities have been completed, the samples must still be handed over by the warehouse. Under paragraphs 11–13 of Annex No. 1 to Order No. 444, the customs post sends the warehouse owner a notice authorizing the handover. The one-hour period for sending that notice runs from completion of the relevant documents, not from booking transportation. If another customs post completed the documents, the information is sent to the post supervising the warehouse. The three hours for the sampling decision and the one hour for the notice are not a total delivery deadline to the laboratory.
If the handover is delayed, establish exactly where the process has stopped: the application has not been reviewed, customs has refused authorization, the notice has not been sent, or the warehouse is not yet ready to hand over the goods. Retain proof that the application was received and all documents received in response. A refusal to authorize the operation must state reasons; it can be reviewed and challenged. A warehouse's failure to perform an operation that has already been authorized calls for a separate assessment of the contract and its actual readiness to hand over the goods. A general message that “we're waiting for customs” does not distinguish these situations.
Sampling and handover to the laboratory
From temporary storage to the laboratory
For a consignment in temporary storage before the declaration for release for domestic consumption is lodged.
- Customs authorisation for samplingSampling must not impede controls, alter goods’ characteristics, facilitate customs payment evasion or lead to breaches of restrictions.
- Authorisation for removal from storageAfter sampling is documented, the customs post sends the warehouse operator a notice authorising removal.
- Handover to the laboratoryOn handover, check the sampling record, transfer documents, and the samples’ quantity and condition.
Whether the samples may be used or consumed, and the conditions for releasing the main consignment, require separate checks.
At the same time, proper sampling for certification must be ensured. Where Model Schemes No. 44 apply, paragraph 45 assigns identification and sampling to the certification body in the applicant's presence. With the applicant's agreement, the body may entrust sampling to another certification body or an accredited laboratory with the required scope of accreditation, unless the technical regulation provides otherwise. A warehouse employee may provide access to the cartons, but that involvement alone does not replace the party required by the scheme.
Under the same Model Schemes, samples are segregated, packaged, and secured with seals or otherwise sealed at the sampling location. The sampling record states the place and date, storage conditions, and identifying characteristics. The batch number and markings link the item to its documents, while information on storage conditions helps establish whether the necessary properties have been preserved. For sensitive products, matching numbers alone are insufficient. Specific storage and delivery conditions are taken from the applicable requirements and methods; there is no universal temperature regime for all samples.
When the samples are handed over to the laboratory, compare the sampling record, transfer documents, and the quantity and condition of the items accepted. Then check what was actually tested and recorded in the test report. If an error is found in the designation, investigate its cause and the procedure for correcting it by reference to the original records. If different products were actually tested, changing a single line in the report is not enough. It is therefore worth obtaining confirmation of the laboratory's receipt before testing makes it impossible to identify the samples again.
The conformity document and conditions for customs release
After receiving the test report, the importer checks whether the other steps under the scheme have been completed and the conformity document has been issued or registered. In Russia, a certificate is deemed issued when its information is entered in the unified register under paragraph 10 of the Regulation approved by Russian Government Resolution No. 1856. A declaration of conformity is subject to the prescribed registration procedure. A draft document or a message announcing a favorable decision does not replace checking the register entry and status.
The Russian register also receives information about the customs declaration for the imported samples or other documents used in that capacity and, where their absence is lawful, the reasons why such customs documentation was not required. These requirements are set out in Resolutions No. 1856 and No. 936. If samples were taken without a separate declaration under Article 17, explain the procedure used and how the samples were subsequently accounted for rather than inventing a declaration number. When a declaration of conformity is registered, documents substantiating the quantity of imported samples must also be provided in the prescribed case. For a conformity document issued or registered in another EAEU member state, check the relevant Union and national rules; the Russian procedure does not apply there automatically.
When preparing to submit documents for the main shipment, check the date on which the certificate or declaration of conformity must be valid. As a general rule, paragraph 9 of Procedure No. 130 links this to registration of the customs declaration or the application for release before the declaration is filed. For advance declaration, it specifies a different date: registration of the document amending the declared information or the notification that no amendments are needed. Separate requirements for possessing and submitting documents remain applicable. An advance declaration does not make a certificate exist before it has been issued.
The particular declarant's entitlement to use the conformity document must also be established. For series-produced products, paragraph 10 of Procedure No. 130 provides for use by an authorized person, with confirmation of that entitlement. In Russia, an exemption from the obligation to confirm this entitlement to customs applies until September 1, 2027, but it does not cover products on the list under Order No. 4114. Even where proof of authorization is not required, the document must cover the imported goods.
If standard certification has not yet been completed, conditional release cannot be treated as a guaranteed extension of time to obtain it. Article 107 of Law No. 289-FZ provides for authorization following a reasoned application and an undertaking to submit the documents no later than 45 calendar days after release. This mechanism operates only where the governing rules allow compliance with the relevant restriction to be confirmed after release. It does not override Procedure No. 130. Authorization is refused, in particular, if the declarant was held liable under Article 16.20 of the Russian Code of Administrative Offenses during the year before the application.
The restrictions on conditional release extend beyond a ban on sales. Where release is conditional on later confirmation of compliance with prohibitions and restrictions, Article 126 of the EAEU Customs Code prohibits transfer to third parties; where the requirements concern safety, operation and consumption in any form are also prohibited. Authorization for conditional release alone therefore does not permit the entire shipment to be transferred to a laboratory or used in production. The intended action must be permitted for the goods' specific status and the legal basis on which they were released.
Waiting times and steps after testing
For a shipment that has not yet been declared for release, the temporary storage period remains important. The general limit is four months from the day after registration of the documents placing the goods in storage, subject to the exceptions in the Code. Charges at a privately operated temporary storage warehouse are contractual; the customs time limit is not a free storage period. The expected testing period should be compared with the time remaining well in advance.
Once the declaration is registered, a different clock starts: the release period under Article 119 of the EAEU Customs Code. An extension requires a prescribed legal basis. Having three months left in temporary storage does not mean that the same period is available to obtain a certificate under an already registered declaration. If the conditions for release are not met, release may be refused under Article 125. At the same time, the general extension period under Article 119 is not an absolute maximum in every case: the Code provides special grounds. Certification testing does not, by itself, constitute a customs expert examination.
If a long wait is expected, consider whether the customs warehousing procedure is available, without confusing it with temporary storage. It is a different procedure with its own conditions and costs. In particular, Article 156 requires more than 180 calendar days of remaining shelf life or sales period on the date of the relevant declaration. Article 158 allows sampling with customs authorization, but not functional use of the goods. Assess this option against continued temporary storage and return of the goods, taking account of their properties and the cost of each option.
An adverse test result also calls for a decision on the shipment. Where paragraphs 53–55 of Model Schemes No. 44 apply, certification is suspended to allow for possible corrective action or is discontinued; the body communicates its reasons. Simply sending new samples does not remedy the established nonconformity. Determine whether the products may be corrected and undergo further assessment, and decide in time how the waiting goods may lawfully be handled before the applicable deadlines expire.
What remains of the samples must be accounted for according to its actual condition and customs status. Following ordinary release for domestic consumption with the conditions fulfilled, the goods acquire Union status; conditionally released goods retain foreign status until the prescribed event occurs. To return Union goods, examine the export procedure or the special conditions for re-export of previously released goods. Lawful consumption during testing does not necessarily require the customs destruction procedure. But where that procedure is required for foreign goods, a laboratory write-off record does not replace it.
For the shipment at the temporary storage warehouse in our example, sampling before filing the main declaration allows the conformity document to be prepared before the release period under that declaration begins. The temporary storage period continues to run, however, and must be considered both while awaiting testing and while completing the resulting documentation.
Following authorized sampling and completion of the warehouse handover formalities, the samples are delivered to the laboratory; the suitability of the results for conformity assessment is checked separately. The main shipment needs a document covering those goods or another applicable basis for confirming compliance. The goods may be released only when all the conditions applicable to them are met: sampling authorization or a favorable test report alone is not enough.