FAS opens case against Federal Customs Service for iPad favoritism

Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service has launched formal proceedings against the Federal Customs Service for exempting iPads from customs duties. The decision to open a case comes after an investigation that determined that Apple is the only tablet manufacturer that is excluded from paying import fees. The Federal Customs Service had classified tablets with built-in GPS modules as navigators, thereby causing manufacturers to pay a 5 percent import duty.

The iPad, on the other hand, is classified a computer, which protects it from having to pay import fees. The FAS suspects the Federal Customs Service of giving Apple preferential treatment. According to the FAS, the Customs Service rejected a proposal that would have eliminted customs duties for all tablets.

Full content: RAPSI

Related content: Intellectual Property Rights Protection Versus Antitrust: Tug of War? (Andrey Shastitko, Bureau of Economic Analysis Foundation, Moscow Lomonossov State University & Alexander Kurdin, Moscow Lomonossov State University)

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