Under the Russian transfer pricing (TP) rules in effect since 1 January 2012, import/export transactions with unrelated parties may be subject to the transfer pricing rules if such transactions involve global exchange-traded commodities.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade has published a list of goods that should be considered as global exchange-traded commodities according to Article 105.14 of the Tax Code, including: oil and goods manufactured from oil, non-ferrous metals and precious metals. The specific list must be approved by the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade. Consequently, a taxpayer that imports or exports the goods mentioned on the list and whose total turnover from such transactions with the same counter-party exceeds RUB 100 million in 2012 (RUR 80 million in 2013), must notify the tax authorities and verify the price levels of such transactions.
