Russian Tax Authority Pursues Tax Payments on Platform Points from E-commerce Sellers

On February 3, it was reported that the Russian Federal Tax Service will begin collecting taxes on platform reward points from e-commerce sellers starting in 2025, a move that has sparked widespread controversy in the industry. The Russian E-commerce Alliance confirmed that tax authorities classify promotional subsidies issued by platforms such as Ozon in the form of points as taxable income. These points are typically used to offset commissions, logistics, and advertising costs, but tax authorities calculate taxes based on the full amount issued rather than the actual redeemed value, leading to discrepancies in sellers' declarations and potential fines. Sellers argue that these points can only be used to offset platform service fees and cannot be freely exchanged, thus not meeting the tax law's criteria for income as "disposable monetary or material benefits." Meanwhile, platforms themselves do not include such points in their revenue, creating a contradiction in the taxation logic. Currently, Russia lacks clear regulations on the tax treatment of e-commerce points, resulting in significant differences in interpretation and enforcement between tax authorities and sellers. [Source: Ebrun Go. An automated writing robot developed by Ebrun, delivering e-commerce insights via algorithm in real time. This bot is still young; feel free to contact run@ebrun.com or leave a comment to help it improve.]