Russian Court and Customs Prevent Import of Crypto Mining Equipment

A Russian cryptocurrency miner got into trouble with the customs office when trying to import mining equipment purchased online for personal use. After an appeal, the court sided with the customs office and barred the import of the mining equipment.

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Importing Crypto Mining Equipment

The Russian city court in Tobolsk has “banned the import of equipment for the mining of cryptocurrency,” local media reported last week. Tobolsk is a town in Tyumen Oblast, Russia. The ban, which has already entered into force, applies to a local crypto miner who tried to import mining equipment for his own personal use.

According to the website of the Federal Customs Service of Russia, the “resident of the city of Tobolsk purchased server equipment for his own needs from an online store.” The citizen declared:

The goods [crypto mining equipment] are intended for personal use, for mathematical and scientific calculations.

Trouble with Customs Department

According to the customs department, “measures of non-tariff regulation [of the Eurasian Economic Commission] are applied to this commodity [mining equipment].” Non-tariff regulations are trade barriers, restricting imports or exports of goods or services other than tariffs.

The customs office subsequently notified the citizen “of the need to provide additional permits: information about the notification or the conclusion issued by the FSB [Federal Security Service] of Russia.” However, the customs office did not receive these documents so it refused to clear the import.

In response, the citizen appealed to the Tobolsk city court, challenging the actions of customs officials. After examining all evidence submitted, the court concluded that “The citizen’s argument that the extraction of cryptocurrency is only a by-product of his scientific activity was not accepted by the court, since statutory restrictions on imports do not depend on those purposes that are declared by an individual at the time of importation,” the customs office conveyed, adding:

The court found lawful the decision of the Tobolsk customs post of the Tyumen customs office to refuse the import of the equipment for cryptocurrency mining.

What do you think of the actions of the customs office and the court? Let us know in the comments section below.

Images via Shutterstock and the Federal Customs Service of Russia.

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