The Law Is on Your Side — But There Is a Wall
Lawyers can quote Civil Code articles at length, demonstrate the oppressive nature of force-majeure clauses, and prove that retroactive application of amended terms is legally impermissible. The law genuinely favours the seller. The marketplace is a custodian — it is liable for the goods.
But when it comes to the practical step of filing a claim, sellers hit a wall. The name of that wall is the new Russian court filing fee.
Numbers That Demoralise
Following Russia’s significant increase in arbitration court filing fees, enforcing business rights has become frankly prohibitive.
Example: if your goods burned at a Wildberries warehouse and the loss amounts to 10,000,000 roubles, the court filing fee alone — just to have the right to submit the claim — is approximately 325,000+ roubles.
Before the reform, the same 10 million-rouble claim cost 73,000 roubles to file. The fee has increased nearly 4.5 times.
Add to this the costs of an independent expert assessment, a notarial examination protocol, and legal representation — and a seller whose working capital has just burned needs to find another 300,000–500,000 roubles in cash just to start the fight.
Marketplace platforms know this arithmetic. It is why they calmly offer “preferential rates” — they calculate that many sellers will not have the financial resources to file.
Three Lawful Ways Over the Barrier
Option 1. Fee deferral (Article 102 of the Code of Arbitration Procedure, Article 64 of the Tax Code)
If your accounts have no funds following the emergency, we file an application with the court accompanied by bank and tax authority certificates confirming the absence of funds. The court grants a deferral of the filing fee until the decision on the case is issued.
In practice: the fee is paid from the money recovered from the marketplace — after you win. You enter the proceedings now, without an immediate budget impact.
Option 2. Collective / group action
Instead of each seller paying large fees and funding separate expert assessments, affected sellers pool their claims. Legal fees, expert costs, and court fees are divided among all participants.
The cost of entry drops significantly, and the scale of a collective claim more effectively demonstrates to the court the systemic nature of the violations.
Option 3. Litigation funding (assignment / litigation investor)
In large cases, the claim attracts litigation funders or law firms willing to cover court costs and filing fees in exchange for a share of the recovery. The seller pays nothing for the litigation out of pocket. Funding is provided against the result.
The Bottom Line
Do not allow the size of a court filing fee to deprive you of million-rouble compensation. The financial barrier is real — but it is surmountable through lawful means.
Read Also
- Behind the Scenes: How a Lawyer Builds a Defence Strategy for Marketplace Sellers
- Notarial Evidence Preservation After a Warehouse Fire: Why Screenshots Are Not Enough
We can assess your company’s financial position, prepare the documentation for a filing fee deferral, and help you enter arbitration proceedings without an unmanageable upfront outlay. Contact us for an initial consultation.