The wholesale
buyer's guide

How to read the sidewall marking

Further along the sidewall: XL / Reinforced — reinforced casing; C after the diameter (195/75 R16C) — light commercial with a dual load index of 107/105 (single / dual fitment); M+S — mud and snow (a marketing claim), 3PMSF (snowflake inside a mountain) — a genuine winter tyre proven by test; Studdable / Studded — ready for studs / already studded; TL — tubeless; DOT plus four digits — the week and year of manufacture.

Truck tyres are written the same way: 315/80 R22.5 156/150L — 156 (4 000 kg) single, 150 (3 350 kg) dual, L — up to 120 km/h. The imperial designations 11 R22.5 and 12.00 R20 give the width in inches, with the standard aspect ratio.

Load indices — how many kilograms a tyre carries

The index is the maximum load on a single tyre at the rated pressure. For passenger tyres allow a margin: the tyre index must be ≥ the index given in the vehicle documents. For truck tyres check both figures — single and dual fitment.

Speed indices — the letter after the load index

For the Russian market, passenger buyers usually take T for winter and H/V for summer. A higher index is not “better”, it is stiffer and dearer; for taxi and fleet work H is more economical than W.

Season: summer, studded winter, non-studded winter, all-season

• Summer — a hard rubber compound, working from +7 °C. In Russia the selling season is March–May; place the factory order in December–January.
• Studded winter — a fast-moving line in regions with black ice. Chinese factories fit the studs on the line; ask for the stud count (usually 96–130 on R16) and the retention type. The selling season is September–November, so book production in June–July.
• Non-studded winter (“friction”) — for cities and the south, where the roads are cleared. Always look for the 3PMSF marking.
• All-season and A/T — the crossover and commercial vehicle segment. They sell all year round, with fewer seasonal peaks and mark-downs.

DOT and tyre age

The last four digits in the oval after the letters DOT are the week and year of manufacture: 2326 = week 23 of 2026. Under GOST a tyre counts as new for 5 years from the date of manufacture if it is stored correctly, but the market and the marketplaces want to see tyres no more than a year old.

Our terms: from stock — no more than 6 months old; on order — fresh production (1–3 months old on arrival). The date of every batch is stated in the batch passport and visible in the loading photographs.

Documents for a batch — what each one covers

• VAT invoice with 22 % VAT — your principal document: both the delivery note and the tax invoice. Input VAT is recoverable.
• TR CU 018/2011 certificate — the Customs Union technical regulation “On the safety of wheeled vehicles”. Without it a tyre cannot be released for circulation. It covers a series and is issued for a given manufacturer and set of sizes.
• GOST R 51893-2024 certificate — confirms that the PAH (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) content is within the limit. From 2026 it determines the recycling levy coefficient: 1 or 18.
• Customs declaration (CD) — proof of lawful import and of duty and VAT paid. Required for tenders and inspections.
• Chestny Znak marking codes — a DataMatrix on every tyre, entry into circulation, transfer through the EDI system.
• Batch passport — factory, DOT, container number, packing list, photo report.

Recycling levy and PAH: where 1 135 ₽ per tyre comes from

The recycling levy is paid by the importer to cover disposal. The formula: weight × rate (11 135 ₽/t for the “tyres” group) × recycling target (50 %) × coefficient. Under Government Decree No. 1041 as amended by No. 258 of 11.03.2026 the coefficient is 1 where the FGIS UOIT register holds the details of a GOST R 51893-2024 certificate, and 18 where it does not.

Anti-dumping duty on truck tyres — by factory

Truck tyres from the PRC (radial, 17.5″–24.5″) are subject to an EEC anti-dumping duty (Decision No. 154, extended by Decision No. 37 until 13.11.2026, currently under review). The rate depends on the manufacturing legal entity, not on the brand. It does not apply to OTR or agricultural tyres.

We match the factory to the segment with the rate in mind: steer and drive — Triangle, Sailun, Long March, Aeolus; trailer — Sailun S637+; Doublestar on truck tyres only when the FOB price outweighs the duty. On passenger tyres an EEC safeguard investigation has been running since spring 2026: a duty (the figure named is of the order of 30 %) or quotas are under discussion, and no decision has been taken yet. That duty is not in today's price — we do not charge it in advance, and the price list is calculated at the rates in force. If a duty or quotas are introduced, we will recalculate the price list and show the working line by line, and we hold the price in a quotation already issued for 5 working days.

How many tyres fit in a container, and why that is the key figure

40HQ container: 12.03 × 2.35 × 2.70 m, usable volume 75–76 m³, up to 26–28 t. Tyres run out of volume before they run out of weight: 230 truck tyres of 315/80 R22.5 weigh 14.5 t against a permitted 26. Freight, customs clearance and delivery are therefore spread across the number of tyres — and the price per tyre depends on the size far more than on the brand.

The formula for any size: (length / overall diameter) × (width / section width) × (height / overall diameter). Herringbone stacking gives +10–20 %, but not every factory does it — we ask about each size and build it into the loading plan.

Batch acceptance inspection: a 10-minute checklist

• Check the quantity against the VAT invoice and the packing list — the pallets are shrink-wrapped, each with a label giving the size and the quantity.
• Check the DOT on 3–5 tyres from different pallets: it must match the batch passport.
• Inspect the sidewall and the bead: no cuts, no bulges, no signs of storage in the sun (fine cracking).
• Scan 2–3 DataMatrix codes with the Chestny Znak app — the status should be “in circulation”, the owner SHINOPORT until transfer.
• Accept the marking codes in the EDI system with one click, together with the VAT invoice.
• Found a discrepancy — photographs and a report on the day of the inspection; replacement from the reserve in the warehouse.

How to store tyres without losing the warranty

• Temperature from −30 to +35 °C, humidity up to 80 %, out of direct sunlight and away from ozone (well clear of welding and electric motors).
• Without rims — upright on racking, turned once a quarter; on rims — stacked or hung.
• Not next to oils, solvents or acids; not under a load.
• A stack of passenger tyres without rims — no higher than 1.5 m and for up to a month; any longer, upright only.
• Where these conditions are met a tyre keeps its properties for 5 years from the date of manufacture — and that is the basis of the warranty.

Wholesaler's glossary

• FOB Qingdao — the factory price including loading on board at the port of Qingdao; freight, insurance and everything beyond are the buyer's.
• CIF / DDP — delivered to the port of destination / to your door with duties paid.
• EXW Moscow Region warehouse — our base price: the tyre in the warehouse, loading onto your vehicle included.
• 40HQ — a 40-foot container of increased height (High Cube).
• Pallet — the minimum batch from stock: 40 passenger or 12 truck tyres.
• TR CU 018/2011, GOST R 51893-2024, CD, VAT invoice — see documents.
• Private label — production of tyres under your own brand at a partner factory, from 2 containers.
• 3PMSF — “three peaks and a snowflake”, a certified winter tyre.
• PAH — polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the softening oil; the limit is ≤ 0.25 % (GOST R 51893-2024, cl. 4.2).