Import fallback procedure
“Fallback procedure” refers to an exceptional procedure for lodging customs declarations, when there is a disruption in Customs' or the customer's system.
Please note that if you are using a two-stage declaration procedure where you submit a supplementary recapitulative customs declaration for a specific period, you should read the instructions for using a fallback procedure on the page “Supplementary recapitulative import declaration for a period”. If you are seeing to customs clearance with an EIDR and submitting a presentation notification, you should read the instructions for using a fallback procedure on the page “Entry in the declarant's records”.
1. Service interruption in Customs’ system
We notify our customers about service interruptions in our e-services on the online services front page and on the individual front pages of our specific services.
The Customer Support of Customs notifies customers of planned service interruptions in advance and once during the interruption. The notification has the following text: “You can use the fallback procedure until you receive a notification that the interruption is over”.
The Customer Support notifies customers of unplanned interruptions and serious malfunctions as soon as possible once an interruption occurs or a malfunction is observed.
If you do not receive a notification of an interruption even though you observe that no replies are sent to declarations submitted to Customs’ system, proceed as follows:
- first, contact your own Help Desk to check whether the message exchange works
- in operator-based message exchange, contact your own operator.
If the cause of the problem is not found, request permission to use the fallback procedure. The permission is requested using Customs form 954s (in Finnish), which is to be emailed to spake.tuonti(at)tulli.fi.
If you are a message declarant, do this during a service interruption
During a service interruption, you can submit a message declaration to the Customs system as a conventional message. The processing of the declaration will continue after the service interruption.
If you want the goods to be released during the interruption, submit your trade invoice and a SAD form to the customs office of entry. In section 44 of the SAD form, enter the text “Message declaration”. The SAD must have the same customer reference number as the declaration in message format. Customs will endorse the SAD. Customs will not enter this declaration into its system, but the actual customs clearance will be take place based on declaration sent in message format.
Do this during a service interruption if you submit customs declarations to the Custom Clearance Service
Wait for the interruption to end, and log in to the service only after the interruption has ended.
If you want your goods to be released during the interruption, submit your trade invoice and a SAD form to the customs office of entry. In section 44 of the SAD form, enter the text “Customs declaration submitted using the fallback procedure”. Please note that the SAD form must contain the same customer reference number as the electronic customs declaration that you submit to the Customs Clearance Service once the service interruption ends. Customs will endorse the SAD.
If there is no customs office in the place of placement under the procedure, you can request placement under the procedure by email. The request is made by emailing the copy 1 of the SAD and the invoice to spake.tuonti(at)tulli.fi. Write “Fallback procedure” in the subject line of the email message.
During service interruptions, temporary storage operators can release goods from temporary storage facilities against a SAD endorsed by Customs. The goods can also be released to private persons on presentation of form 1143s endorsed by Customs (Private person’s declaration of goods imported from outside the customs and fiscal territory of the EU).