It may happen that you receive a defective item that you do not have to send back to the seller. If the seller sends you a new item or a new component of the item free of charge, please note that the new item or component must be declared.
If you declare the new item or component in the Import Declaration Service for private persons, select that you wish to declare “purchased goods” on the start page. When declaring the value of the new item or component, enter the normal price of the item or component.
After that, you can apply for a correction, i.e. revision of the customs clearance decision, so that you can get a refund of the import taxes that you have paid for the defective item. To complete your application for revision you need the MRN of the original declaration and the MRN of the declaration of the new item.
Please note that you cannot apply for a revision of the customs clearance decision if you received the original item from EU territory, but the new item or component arrives from outside the EU. The new item or component must be declared and when declaring its value, the normal price of the item or the component must be entered.
Please note that in the Import Declaration Service for private persons, select “goods replaced for free under warranty” only if you sent the defective item back to the seller.
When you’ve ordered goods from Ukraine, you should declare the consignment in the Import Declaration Service for private persons as follows:
- On page 2, “Consignment details”, you are asked “Does the consignment contain goods subject to restrictions or excise duty?”. Choose ‘Yes’.
- On page 3, “Goods details”, select the tab “Commodity code”. You must provide the commodity code of the goods; that is, you cannot use the goods search. You can ask about the commodity code using the chat provided in the service or by calling the Customs Information Service, or you can find the commodity code yourself in the commodity code service Fintaric.
- Continue filling in the declaration as normal and answer the other questions about your consignment.
Have you received a customs clearance request concerning a letter, a card or a parcel containing for example a certificate, passport or some other document? Very often, such items are not commercially valuable. However, you are required to declare such a parcel, as a value was determined for it upon dispatch.
You can declare the consignment yourself in the Import Declaration Service for private persons. On the start page, select the option of declaring “purchased goods”. On the “Consignment details” page, enter the value of the parcel. Usually the value of a document is very low. However, the declared value cannot be 0 euros. The lowest possible declared value is 0.01 €. If you do not know the value, you should ask the sender.
Enter any possible transport costs under “transport costs”.
On the “Goods details” page, find and select “Printed products ” and enter the value of the goods to be declared. Add the goods to the declaration basket, and enter any other required details.
If your consignment is transported by Posti and you paid tax for the customs clearance, remember to also pay the Posti handling fee so that Posti can deliver your parcel. This does not concern customers of Åland Post.
This is how you clear documents if you cannot use the e-service
If you cannot use Import Declaration Service for private persons, e.g. because you don’t have Finnish online banking ID codes, a certificate card or a mobile certificate, clear documents with the form “Private person’s declaration of goods imported from outside the customs and fiscal territory of the EU” (1143). See also the detailed instructions for completing the form.
A subscription newspaper or magazine arriving from outside the EU
You must declare each newspaper or magazine individually to Customs and pay the VAT due for it. Even if you have subscribed for the newspaper or magazine for a longer period, each newspaper or magazine issue included in the subscription must be declared separately.
In the Import Declaration Service for private persons, select that you wish to declare “purchased goods”.
You can calculate the value of a single newspaper or magazine issue by dividing the total price of the subscription with the number of issues included in it.
- Example: The subscription period is 12 months, that is, 1 January–31 December 2024. The magazine is delivered once a month. The price of the subscription period is USD 80. Divide the price of the subscription period, USD 80, with the number of magazine issues. The price of an individual magazine issue is USD 6.67 (80 : 12 = 6.67).
On the page “Consignment details”, under “Value of the consignment without transport costs”, enter the price and currency of a single magazine issue.
On the page “Goods details”, enter “magazine” in the search field and select “magazines and comics”. Under “Price and currency”, enter the price and currency of the individual magazine issue.
Fill in the missing details and submit the declaration. You can pay the VAT straight away.
A free membership magazine sent by an association or an organisation
You can declare the consignment yourself in the Import Declaration Service for private persons. On the start page, select the option of declaring “purchased goods”. On the “Consignment details” page, enter the value of the parcel. Usually the value of a membership magazine is very low. However, the declared value cannot be 0 euros. The lowest possible declared value is 0.01 €. If you do not know the value, you should ask the sender.
Enter any possible transport costs under “transport costs”.
On the “Goods details” page, find and select “Magazines and comics” and enter the value of the goods to be declared. Add the goods to the declaration basket, and enter any other required details.
Gifts for magazine subscribers or free magazine samples
A gift sent from outside the EU can only be tax free if you receive it free of charge from another private individual. Goods sent by a company must be declared and import duties and taxes must be paid for them, even though you have not bought the goods. The same is also true for, for example, gifts for magazine subscribers or free magazine samples.
When you declare the goods in the Import Declaration Service for private persons, select that you wish to declare “purchased goods” on the start page. Enter as the goods value the price that would be charged for a similar product, for example, in an online store. You can also ask the sender (consignor) to provide information on the value of the goods.
Posti handling fee
If your consignment is transported by Posti and you paid tax for the customs clearance, remember to also pay the Posti handling fee so that Posti can deliver your parcel. This does not concern customers of Åland Post.
Have you received a request concerning a parcel that contains, for example, a payment card from a bank, such as a bank card or credit card? Very often, such items are not commercially valuable. However, you are required to declare such a parcel, as a value was determined for it upon dispatch.
You can declare the consignment yourself in the Import Declaration Service for private persons. On the start page, select the option of declaring “purchased goods”. On the “Consignment details” page, enter the value of the parcel. Usually, the value of a payment card is very low. However, the declared value cannot be 0 euros. The lowest possible declared value is 0.01 €. If you do not know the value, you should ask the sender.
Enter any possible transport costs under “transport costs”. Enter here the amount of service fees or other costs charged by the bank.
On the “Goods details” page, enter the commodity code 852321 for the item if the card has a magnetic stripe but no chip, or the code 852352 if the card has a chip, or both a chip and a magnetic stripe. Declare the value of the item on the same page. Add the goods to the declaration basket, and fill in any other required information.
If your consignment is transported by Posti and you paid tax for the customs clearance, remember to also pay the Posti handling fee so that Posti can deliver your parcel. This does not apply to customers of Åland Post.
Have you received a customs clearance request concerning a sampling instrument used for DNA testing that you will return to the sender after taking a sample? A sampling instrument in the consignment could be, for example, a plastic bottle or a plastic stick.
You can declare the consignment yourself in the Import Declaration Service for private persons. On the start page, select the option of declaring “purchased goods”. On the “Consignment details” page, enter only the value of the sampling instrument. Usually the value of an instrument is very low. However, the declared value cannot be 0 euros. If you do not know the value, you should ask the sender.
Enter any possible transport costs under “transport costs”.
On the “Consignment details” page, find and select “DNA tests” and enter the value of the goods to be declared. Add the goods to the declaration basket. Please enter the other required details.
If your consignment is transported by Posti or you paid tax for the customs clearance, remember also to pay the Posti handling fee so that Posti can deliver your parcel. This does not apply to customers of Åland Post.