From January 2017 VAT will be applied on digital goods and services in Russia

23 December 2015

At present, non-resident businesses providing digital goods and services in Russia do not have to charge VAT on their sales. However, in an effort to remove the unfair advantage given to non-resident companies over Russian resident providers, the Russian government has now announced that VAT at 18% will be applied on these types of transactions from 1 January 2017. This new tax will be applied to a range of electronic services including streaming games, music, apps, films, e-books, e-journals and internet services.