MOSCOW, February 18. /ITAR-TASS/. A government commission has approved the bill placing restrictions on duty-free online trade, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov told reporters on Tuesday.

"The bill proposes to give authority to the government to introduce such restrictions," Siluanov said. "The commission on legislation met on Monday. It approved the bill recommending minor finalizing."

According to the minister, the government has the right to set the parameters for duty-free trade. "We believe these would be €150 for the value of transaction and ten kilograms for the weight of delivered cargo. The legislation spells out the government’s rights to set these restrictions," he went on.

Siluanov refused to elaborate on other provisions of the law.

At present, the value of duty-free cross border online purchase is limited to €1,000 per month. The Federal Customs Service offered to reduce it to €200 per month.

Late last year, Siluanov said his department was seeking to reduce the value of duty-free online purchases to €150 per month. But Deputy Economic Development Minister Alexei Likhachyov said €150 was a too low threshold. Duty free online trade should be set at several hundred euros, he said. The Ministry of Economic Development called for harmonizing these restrictions in the territory of all Customs Union sates in order to prevent illegal flows of goods.

In January, head of the Federal Customs Service Andrei Belyaninov told reporters that tightening control over online trade was being discussed. Apart from the proposed reduction of the value of transaction to €150 per month, it was suggested that the weight of delivered parcel should not exceed ten kilograms per month.