The system for confirming the expected delivery of goods in the Russian Federation: issues of legal justification and development prospects in the context of the Eurasian Economic Union

The subject of the study is the national system for confirming the expected delivery of goods (SPOТ) introduced in the Russian Federation. The article analyzes the legal and organizational foundations of the functioning of this system in the context of Eurasian economic integration. Special attention is paid to considering the historical stages of integration processes – from the Customs Union of 1995 to the Eurasian Economic Union – and the role of the Russian Federation as a key subject in these processes. The relationship between the fundamental principles of the EAEU and the unilateral measures of state regulation undertaken by Russia in the context of geopolitical tension is examined. The focus of the research is also directed towards the consideration of three key elements of SPOТ: the electronic document for the upcoming delivery of goods, the security payment, and state control at the border, as well as the peculiarities of the distribution of powers among competent state authorities. The authors utilized both general scientific methods (abstraction, induction, deduction, hypothesis, analogy, synthesis, typology, classification, systematization, generalization, and others) and special methods of scientific cognition (systemic analysis, comparative legal, historical, formal-legal, and others). The scientific novelty of the research is determined by the fact that SPOТ is studied for the first time as a complex legal phenomenon that enters into conflict with the unconditional implementation of the principles of EAEU functioning. The authors establish that SPOТ, by its nature and functional character, is analogous to the permissive procedure for importing goods of the Union into the territory of the Russian Federation, empowering customs authorities with powers that were previously abolished under conditions of economic integration, which effectively means the revival of state control at the internal borders of the EAEU. At the same time, the authors also conclude that SPOТ has a particular fiscal orientation, suggesting that additional revenues to the federal budget exceed the total fiscal effect of customs control. It is noted that the legislative adoption of SPOТ took place in the context of the implementation of a qualitatively different practice of assessing the compliance of national acts with EAEU law. The authors conclude that, despite the justification of SPOТ from the standpoint of national security considerations and fiscal interests, the long-term, strategic goals and the need for sustainable development of Eurasian integration require prioritizing coordinated intergovernmental mechanisms over unilateral decisions.