In 2026 you can send a parcel from Russia to Serbia in three ways: by Russian Post, with a courier or freight company that serves the route, or with a traveler. For the recipient, the key Serbian customs rule is this: a gift from a private person worth up to 70 euros is free of both import duty and VAT. Below is what works and how delivery times and charges are worked out, from primary sources as of Oct 27, 2026.
Which methods work in 2026
Three methods work: the post, courier and freight companies, and travelers. They differ in timing, price and who goes through customs.
- Russian Post: send from any post office; customs clearance in Serbia is handled through Pošta Srbije, the Serbian postal operator.
- A courier or freight company, if it has opened the Russia to Serbia route. Check this on the company's website before sending.
- A traveler: someone going from Russia to Serbia who takes the item in their luggage. You can find them on the route pages and in the trips feed.
By Russian Post
Russian Post accepts international parcels, and as of Oct 27, 2026, Serbia is not on its "Postal exchange restrictions" page. The calculator on the Russian Post website shows the delivery time and price for your parcel.
What you can send
- Small packet: up to 2 kg.
- International parcel: up to 20 kg; when you arrange it online, you can choose "Basic" or "Accelerated" delivery.
- EMS: up to 30 kg. Serbia is not on the list of countries with a lower limit. Length, width and height together must not exceed 300 cm.
Parcels, small packets and EMS with goods need an electronic customs declaration. You can fill it in in the Russian Post app or on its website.
What happens in Serbia
Pošta Srbije delivers the parcel and tracks it on its website. Serbian customs calculates charges mostly from electronic advance data on the parcel, which arrives before the parcel does. The recipient can check the amount due on the customs website using the item number and their name.
On top of customs charges, Pošta Srbije charges its own fees under its tariff, for example for representing the recipient when the customs declaration is filed. If customs asks for documents about the contents, they must be provided within 30 days, or the parcel is returned to the sender.
By courier or freight company
A courier fits when you need door-to-door delivery or the item is heavier than the postal limits. Whether a particular company serves the Russia to Serbia route, check on its official website.
Serbian customs states two things about courier shipments:
- express shipments fall under separate articles 420 to 424 of the Regulation on Customs Procedures and Customs Formalities (Uredba o carinskim postupcima i carinskim formalnostima);
- for parcels worth more than 50 euros, the customs value includes the shipping cost to Serbia, so expensive shipping can increase the duty. Customs says outright that courier services are considerably more expensive than regular post.
With a traveler
The traveler carries the item in their luggage, and the parcel is in Serbia the day they arrive. Timing depends only on the trip date, and the traveler goes through customs personally.
How it works on Parcelane
- Post a request: the city in Russia, the city in Serbia, the deadline, a description and photos of the parcel.
- Find a trip on the route and message the traveler in the chat, or wait for a response.
- Agree on the meeting, the recipient and the reward. Parcelane is free and does not process payments: you agree on the amount yourselves.
- At the meeting, show the contents. The traveler inspects every item and does not accept anything sealed.
- Once the recipient has it, confirm the delivery on Parcelane.
Each step is covered in detail in the article on how to send a parcel with a traveler.
What the traveler should know about Serbian customs
- Personal luggage is duty-free: items for personal needs during the trip, such as clothes, shoes, devices and medicines for regular treatment.
- The 100-euro allowance for imported items applies, under customs rules, to Serbian citizens, and it cannot be pooled: one item worth more than 100 euros cannot be "split" between several passengers.
- Goods worth more than 100 euros must be reported to the customs officer at the border. Goods bought abroad for personal use worth up to 3,000 euros can be cleared under a simplified procedure: 10% duty plus 20% VAT on top.
- Allowances: 1 litre of spirits or 1 litre of sparkling and liqueur wine, plus 1 litre of other wine; 50 cigarettes; one perfume up to 50 ml and one eau de toilette up to 25 ml. Snus is banned in Serbia.
- Food: factory-packed, in reasonable quantities; food of animal origin up to 1 kg, provided its import from the country of origin is not banned.
- Cash of 10,000 euros or more must be declared when entering and leaving.
An item the traveler carries for someone else is not their personal luggage. If it is new or expensive, the sender should provide the receipt, and the traveler should decide in advance whether to declare it.
Duty on postal parcels in Serbia
Serbian customs sorts postal items into four groups by value. Here is how it looks for parcels from Russia to a private person.
- No charges: documents, letters, postcards and parcels up to 70 euros sent free of charge by one private person to another, with no commercial purpose.
- VAT of 20% only: non-commercial parcels up to 50 euros other than gifts from private persons, for example online purchases.
- 10% duty plus 20% VAT: parcels over 50 euros, and gifts from private persons over 70 euros, up to 3,000 euros. VAT is charged on the value plus the duty.
- Standard customs clearance at customs tariff rates: parcels over 3,000 euros.
A worked example from the customs website: shoes for 80 euros with 10 euros shipping. The customs value is 90 euros, the 10% duty is 9 euros, and 20% VAT on 99 euros is 19.80 euros. That is 28.80 euros in total, payable in dinars at the National Bank of Serbia rate.
Value is not the only factor. The right to import some items is regulated separately: if customs finds medicines, medical devices, weapons, ammunition or narcotics in a parcel, it applies the standard import rules and the rules on prohibitions and restrictions.
Delivery times
We did not find exact delivery times for this route in primary sources, so here is how to find them out.
- Russian Post: the calculator on its website shows the time for your parcel.
- Courier: the company shows it on its website when you get a quote.
- Traveler: the trip date they listed on Parcelane, plus the time until they meet the recipient.
What you cannot send
Anything prohibited in Russia, in Serbia or by the carrier's rules. Our full list is in prohibited and restricted items, and battery and liquid limits are covered in the article on what you cannot send with a traveler.
How to choose
The choice depends on the deadline, the weight and the value of the item. A quick guide:
- No rush, item up to 20–30 kg: Russian Post.
- Door-to-door delivery needed: a courier company, if it serves the route.
- Needed by a date or hand to hand: a traveler. Post a request or browse trips by route.
- A gift worth more than 70 euros: whatever the method, factor in Serbian charges: duty and VAT for a parcel, import allowances for a traveler.
Sources
- Customs Administration of Serbia: postal items (in Serbian), checked Oct 27, 2026.
- Customs Administration of Serbia: customs privileges (in Serbian), checked Oct 27, 2026.
- Customs Administration of Serbia: personal luggage (in Serbian), checked Oct 27, 2026.
- Customs Administration of Serbia: clearance in passenger traffic (in Serbian), checked Oct 27, 2026.
- Customs Administration of Serbia: bringing currency in and out (in Serbian), checked Oct 27, 2026.
- Russian Post: international parcel delivery (in Russian), checked Oct 27, 2026.
- Russian Post: EMS "Courier Express" (in Russian), checked Oct 27, 2026.
- Russian Post: international items, electronic declaration (in Russian), checked Oct 27, 2026.
- Russian Post: postal exchange restrictions (in Russian), checked Oct 27, 2026.
- Parcelane Prohibited and Restricted Items, checked Oct 27, 2026.