The Moscow Arbitration Court has ruled unlawful the claim by the Central Customs Administration (CTU) to recover more than 580 million rubles from Red Wings Airlines for importing two Airbus A320 aircraft.
In 2017, Red Wings purchased two A320s under a leasing agreement and took advantage of an exemption from duties and VAT. During an on-site inspection, the CTU determined that the carrier had not complied with the terms of the benefits, as the aircraft were not registered in the Russian registry.
The CTU issued a demand to the airline to pay VAT in the amount of 505 million rubles, which increased to 580 million rubles including penalties. In April 2025, Red Wings appealed the decision.
The court sided with the airline, pointing out that the legislation does not require aircraft to be registered in the registry to maintain the benefit. The court also took into account the circumstances related to the sanctions — the Bermudan authorities suspended the airworthiness certificates of the specified aircraft in March 2022, which made their operation impossible.
Earlier, www1.ru reported that Rostec declassified the heat resistance of the blades of the PD-8 and PD-14 aircraft engines.
