  I compute the Coulomb correction to the total and diffractive cross sections
for virtual photon scattering off a heavy nucleus at low $x$. I show that it
violates the geometric scaling in a wide range of photon virtualities and is
weakly $x$-independent. In heavy nuclei at low $Q^2$ the Coulomb correction to
the total and diffractive cross sections is about 20% and 40% correspondingly.
