Meeting with Head of the Federal Customs Service Valery Pikalev
Ahead of Customs Officer Day, Vladimir Putin held a working meeting with Head of the Federal Customs Service Valery Pikalev.
October 24, 2025
14:10
The Kremlin, Moscow
President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon.
Mr Pikalev, how's everything going? What are the results?
Head of the Federal Customs Service Valery Pikalev: Mr President,
Thank you for this opportunity to report on the Federal Customs Service's key performance results ahead of Customs Officer Day.
This year, we have completed the first stage of implementing the Service Development Strategy and have summed up its results. Given the unprecedented sanctions pressure from unfriendly countries, we have made the necessary adjustments to the measures of the second stage of the Strategy, which runs until 2030, and have already begun its implementation. We have carried out the required structural and organisational staffing measures and addressed matters pertaining to service progression and the training of customs personnel.
Thanks to your support, the process of replacing civil service positions with staff positions is continuing. Starting this year, nearly 4,000 customs officers will benefit from more competitive salary levels and an expanded package of social guarantees.
In furtherance of your instruction, work is underway to organise the construction of service housing near checkpoints in the Far East. Between 2028 and 2029, we plan to allocate 388 apartments to customs officers.
We are improving medical provision, expanding the departmental health resort network, and creating the necessary infrastructure for service operations in the historical territories. In the near future, we plan to complete repairs in the Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics, as well as the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions. We will do everything to ensure worthy conditions for our officials.
This year, we have opened 15 specialised customs classes in 12 schools located in Vladivostok, Murmansk, Perm, Kazan, Samara, Yekaterinburg, Astrakhan, Krasnodar, Lugansk, and Donetsk. We are developing targeted training programmes at the Russian Customs Academy, and starting next year, we will provide additional scholarships to students enrolled in them.
In order to attract young specialists to the customs authorities, we plan to introduce cadet positions for academy students, awarding them special ranks. In short, graduates of our academy will receive the rank of lieutenant in the customs service and a guaranteed five-year contract to serve in the customs authorities.
This year, our entire country celebrated the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War. I would like to report that on this memorable day, for the first time, our students - future customs officers - took part in parade formations on the main squares of Moscow, St Petersburg, Rostov-on-Don, and Vladivostok.
It is no coincidence that I am placing such emphasis on personnel, as we understand that only by building a reliable team of professionals can we accomplish any task, no matter how complex.
We pay particular attention to supporting participants in the special military operation, with 84 of them currently serving in the combat zone. Since this year, a dedicated advanced training programme has been established at the Russian Customs Academy for returning special military operation participants - 186 in total - to enhance their professional skills. This enables them to reintegrate smoothly into civilian life and continue their service as part of our customs team. To date, 58 veterans of the special operation have completed these courses. Mr President, they are undoubtedly our pride, an example of patriotism and faithful service to the Fatherland.
We also continue to support officials working in the reunified and border territories. In line with your instructions, a special service bonus has been introduced for customs officers in the historical territories: they now receive a 100 percent bonus. In addition, officers of the special rapid response units of the customs authorities operating in border areas receive an additional payment for life-threatening conditions.
Vladimir Putin: How much?
Valery Pikalev: Sixty percent.
Mr President, the service's activities this year have been primarily focused on fulfilling your instructions: developing international transport and logistics corridors, expediting the movement of goods across borders, and implementing economic support measures.
Vladimir Putin: Are shipments along these routes increasing?
Valery Pikalev: They are, yes; up by 6.3 percent.
We are expanding and enhancing cooperation with the customs services of foreign countries through whose territories the North-South and East-West transport corridors pass, as well as the Azov-Black Sea and Caspian routes.
To reduce the time required for state control at checkpoints, we are implementing the "two agencies at the border" principle, whereby border guards conduct passport control while customs officers handle all other forms of inspection: transport, quarantine and sanitary, veterinary, and other controls. Under this model, 53 checkpoints are already operational, including 14 in the free port of Vladivostok, 26 in the Arctic zone, and a further 13 checkpoints that have been added to this list since September 1, 2025, across various regions.
According to our estimates, consolidating the authority of other control agencies within the customs service reduces the average duration of state control procedures at checkpoints to 15 minutes. This represents a significant improvement in time efficiency. Additionally, to expedite clearance at vehicle checkpoints we are relocating goods inspections to alternative arrival and departure points situated away from checkpoints or at the final destination.
Under these conditions, we have secured daily federal budget revenues averaging over 20 billion rubles. To date, we have transferred a total of 4.5 trillion rubles to the federal budget. Of this, imports account for 3.745 trillion rubles, exports for nearly 400 billion rubles, and other payments for 343 billion rubles. The Federal Customs Service's revenue target for 2025 stands at 5.9659 trillion rubles. To date, we have fulfilled 75 percent of this target.
Russia's trade turnover for the first nine months of 2025 amounted to slightly more than US$425 billion, with exports totalling US$255 billion and imports US$170 billion.
We operate on the principle of balancing state and business interests. Our service remains open to dialogue with compliant participants in foreign economic activity. We regularly meet with business community representatives and participate in numerous councils and working groups. Before making significant decisions, we conduct consultations and necessary discussions.
At the same time, Mr President, we are taking all necessary measures to counter illicit trafficking and have stepped up inspections aimed at combating grey imports.
I would like to report that, in line with our legal mandate, a mobile customs team operating near key checkpoints is conducting random vehicle inspections based on a risk management system.
So far this year, these inspections have identified over 7,000 vehicles, with a total weight of 123,000 tonnes, that were transporting goods in violation of customs regulations.
Our inspection efforts also extend to goods already circulating on the domestic market. The most common illicit imports we have detected include motorcycles, electronics, various types of equipment, and tobacco products.
We recognise that combating grey market goods requires a system-wide approach. To this end, the Finance Ministry, together with the taxation and customs authorities, is developing a national proof of delivery system, known as SPOT. As part of this system, customs will be empowered to verify that a delivery from EAEU countries is expected and confirmed. The pilot for SPOT will launch on April 1, 2026, with full implementation scheduled for July 1, 2026.
Vladimir Putin: Could you clarify what you mean by "expected delivery"?
Valery Pikalev: Essentially, it means a vehicle carrying goods intended for the Russian market cannot cross the border without verified confirmation from a Russian tax resident that they are waiting for that specific shipment.
Vladimir Putin: Otherwise, they could just turn around and go.
Valery Pikalev: Precisely.
Vladimir Putin: I see. And these vehicles currently benefit from privileged treatment within the EAEU.
Valery Pikalev: They do. But with SPOT, we will have certainty that there is a specific consignee expecting the goods, with all the corresponding payments and documentation in order.
Vladimir Putin: So this is a key part of the fight against grey imports.
Valery Pikalev: Exactly.
Vladimir Putin: Good.
Valery Pikalev: Mr President, following your instructions, we have implemented robust measures to combat the illegal trafficking of weapons and ammunition. To date, more than 1,000 illicit items have been seized. This includes firearms such as pistols, carbines, and rifles, alongside cartridges, bladed weapons, and other related items.
Thanks to very close - and I would say, constructive - cooperation with other agencies, particularly the Federal Security Service, to whom I extend my personal gratitude, our joint efforts have yielded significant results in combating drug smuggling. This year alone, the volume of intercepted substances has exceeded 34 tonnes. This includes narcotics of both natural and synthetic origin, precursor chemicals for their manufacture, as well as potent and psychotropic substances.
Furthermore, the number of criminal cases falling under the exclusive jurisdiction of customs authorities has risen by 20 percent. These cases involve the smuggling of strategically important goods, cultural treasures, valuable flora and fauna, among other serious offences.
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