EAEU Harmonizes E-Commerce Rules Across Its Internal Market
The heads of government of the five Eurasian Economic Union countries signed an Agreement on Electronic Commerce in Goods on August 7 in Cholpon-Ata, Kyrgyzstan.
It was one of three international agreements signed following a meeting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council.
The meeting brought together Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Belarusian Prime Minister Alexander Turchin, Kazakh Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov, Kyrgyz Cabinet Chairman Adylbek Kasymaliev and Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin. EEC Board Chairman Bakytzhan Sagintayev also participated.
The new agreement establishes a common legal framework for online trade between EAEU member states, with the Eurasian Economic Commission seeking to make regulation more predictable for businesses while strengthening consumer protection.
Marketplaces Will Operate Under More Consistent Rules
The agreement covers mutual electronic commerce within the EAEU and establishes common principles for interactions between participants.
According to the EEC, it is designed to protect the rights and legitimate interests of parties involved in cross-border online transactions while reducing the risk of national regulatory barriers restricting the free movement of e-commerce goods.
That is particularly important for marketplaces.
When a platform, seller and buyer are located in different EAEU countries, differences in national requirements can complicate product returns, refunds, documentation, data processing and dispute resolution.
The agreement is intended to establish a common baseline for these areas.
EEC Trade Minister Andrey Slepnev said the framework should make e-commerce regulation more predictable while supporting the free movement of goods throughout the Union.
Consumers Will Have a Common 14-Day Return Period
One of the agreement’s most specific provisions concerns product returns.
The document establishes a 14-day period for returning goods of proper quality, subject to applicable conditions. It also sets principles for refunds and pre-trial settlement of disputes involving e-commerce participants.
For consumers purchasing from sellers in another EAEU country, that should reduce uncertainty created by different national practices.
Businesses should also benefit from more consistent procedures. A company serving several EAEU markets will have a clearer regional framework instead of developing entirely separate customer-service systems for every jurisdiction.
Electronic Documents Become Part of the Common Framework
Digital documentation is another important element.
The member states agreed to develop common approaches to electronic document management in e-commerce, alongside requirements governing data protection and information security.
This is relevant not only to online marketplaces but also to logistics operators.
An e-commerce shipment connects the seller, marketplace, payment provider, warehouse, carrier and final customer. Greater compatibility between electronic documents can reduce manual processing as goods move between member states.
For carriers and fulfillment providers, deeper digital integration could eventually connect orders, documentation, warehouse operations and final delivery more closely.
EAEU Will Create a Register of Restricted Online Goods
The agreement also addresses goods that cannot be freely sold online.
The EAEU plans to create a register covering products whose internet sale is prohibited or restricted under the national legislation of member states.
Requirements concerning advertising communications and information handling are also included.
For marketplaces and merchants, such a register should make it easier to determine whether a particular product can be offered to consumers in another EAEU country or is subject to national restrictions.
The common register will not itself abolish national prohibitions. Instead, it will bring information about those restrictions into a more coordinated framework.
External E-Commerce Is Being Reformed Separately
The new agreement on mutual trade within the EAEU should not be confused with the Union’s separate reform of external e-commerce, meaning purchases imported from countries outside the bloc.
That is a different legal track.
At the same Cholpon-Ata meeting, the governments were instructed to ensure readiness for the new Customs Code provisions on external e-commerce from January 1, 2027.
For most e-commerce goods, the duty-free threshold has been set at €200. Purchases above that level will be subject to a 5% customs duty, but no less than €1 per kilogram, applied to the full purchase value, in addition to applicable national VAT. Certain product categories will have special rates.
The EAEU is therefore reforming two different parts of the digital trade system simultaneously: commerce between participants inside the Union and customs treatment of online purchases arriving from third countries.
Brokers Will Gain Access to Other EAEU Exchanges
E-commerce was not the only area covered by the agreements signed in Cholpon-Ata.
The governments also signed an agreement allowing brokers and dealers licensed in one EAEU member state to participate in organized trading on exchanges in other member states.
The agreement provides for mutual recognition of national broker and dealer licences and direct access to securities and derivatives trading on exchanges elsewhere in the Union under equal conditions.
Eligible firms will be able to submit orders, obtain technical trading access, participate in clearing and open relevant accounts with depositories in other EAEU countries. Remote access can also be provided.
The EEC expects the mechanism to increase exchange liquidity, broaden funding opportunities for issuers and support cross-border investment.
EAEU Is Building a Common Exchange Space
The broker-access agreement forms part of a wider effort to integrate EAEU capital markets.
The EEC links it to an earlier agreement governing the cross-border admission of securities for placement and circulation. Together, the two agreements establish a legal foundation for a future common organized financial market.
The practical impact will depend on technical integration between exchanges, clearing organizations, depositories and national regulators.
However, mutual recognition of licences removes an important administrative barrier by reducing the need for a professional market participant to obtain a completely separate licence simply to trade on an exchange in another EAEU state.
Academic Titles Will Also Be Mutually Recognized
The third agreement concerns labor mobility and academia.
EAEU countries agreed to mutually recognize documents confirming academic titles. Once the agreement takes effect, national documents covering titles such as senior research fellow, associate professor and professor will be directly recognized when citizens seek employment in another EAEU country.
The change is intended to remove lengthy and costly recognition procedures and make it easier for scientists and university teachers to work across the Union.
The new arrangement complements the agreement on mutual recognition of academic degree documents that has been in force since May 2024. The agreement on academic titles will take effect after ratification by all EAEU member states.
The EEC expects the reform to support scientific cooperation and improve mobility for highly qualified specialists within the common labor market.
Three Agreements Expand Integration Into New Areas
The Cholpon-Ata decisions show the EAEU extending integration beyond conventional goods trade into digital platforms, financial markets and highly skilled labor.
For e-commerce, the most visible changes include common baseline rules for marketplaces and merchants, a 14-day return period for eligible goods, electronic documentation and more standardized consumer protection.
For financial markets, the important change is cross-border access for licensed brokers and dealers.
For academia, it is the direct recognition of academic titles once the relevant agreement enters into force.
The next challenge will be implementation. The real impact on businesses and consumers will depend on how effectively national legislation, information systems, online platforms and regulatory procedures are aligned with the new regional framework.
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