Excise relief according to section 105 of the Act on Excise Duty means that Customs may, for special reasons, upon application and on conditions determined by Customs, reduce or completely appeal the paid or payable excise tax, surtax, penalty interest, interest for late payment or interest paid due to deferment, in situations where the taxation has been carried out according to customs regulations and the excise duty has been or will be levied upon customs clearance.
Relief can be granted if the collection of excise duty in full is deemed obviously unreasonable with regard to the circumstances, or if the products in question are excise products that are used for a limited period of time in research or development projects, the purpose of which is the technical development of environmental-friendly products or fuels derived from renewable natural resources.
Deferment of payment according to section 105 of the Act on Excise Duty means that Customs may, for special reasons and upon application, grant a deferment of payment of tax, in situations where the taxation has been carried out according to customs regulations and the excise duty has been or will be levied upon customs clearance. Grounds for deferment of payment are exceptional conditions independent of the applicant, fundamental decrease in solvency or other special reasons. When a deferment of payment is granted, the tax debt is paid according to a payment plan.
You can apply for tax relief with a free-form application with information about why and on what grounds you are applying for tax relief. Send the application to the registry office of Finnish Customs: Contact information
Customs will send you a written decision. This decision cannot be appealed against.
Applying for relief will not interrupt the collection of outstanding taxes. The collection will only be interrupted if the relief is granted, and only for the part covered by the relief.
You can apply for deferment of payment with a written application. Customs will send you a written decision free of charge. This decision cannot be appealed against.
If you are granted deferment of payment, interest is levied for the deferment period. The interest is determined in the same way as the penalty interest in section 4 of the Act on Additional Tax and Penalty Interest. If the levy of interest is deemed obviously unreasonable, the deferment can be granted without any interest.
Send your application for deferment of payment to the registry office of Finnish Customs: Contact information
Include the following information in the application: