If you cannot declare the gift in the Import Declaration Service for private persons, you can ask another person to declare it on your behalf. Such a person may be e.g. a family member, friend, colleague or fellow student. The person must be able to identify himself by using his personal data when logging in to the electronic service.
The other person may declare a gift on behalf of the gift recipient in the Import Declaration Service for private persons, provided that he has
- Finnish online banking ID codes, a mobile certificate or a certificate card (one of these is needed for identification)
- an arrival notification for the parcel and information given on it
- information on the contents and value of the gift
- name and address details of the gift recipient
- the personal ID number or date of birth of the gift recipient.
If the gift recipient does not possess a Finnish personal ID number, enter the date of birth of the gift recipient.
Customs can also separately request written information on the contents and value of the gift. You should pass this written information on to the person who declares the gift on your behalf.
Please note:! Declarants of gift parcels cannot use the Finnish Authenticator app to identify themselves when logging in to the Import Declaration Service.
Who is responsible?
You are personally responsible for paying the customs duties and taxes, as well as for paying other payments retrospectively in cases of possible errors. If another person clears goods on your behalf, they are liable for it if they were aware or they should have been aware that the information provided in the declaration was incorrect. This is called direct representation.
Even if the consignment is declared by somebody else, it may be delivered to you directly. Posti delivers the postal consignment to the recipient stated on the consignment or to a pick-up point. Other transport companies deliver the consignments to the recipient as agreed.
You can send cheese from EU countries as a gift.
You cannot send cheese or dairy products to Finland from non-EU countries with the following exceptions:
- No import restrictions on products from Andorra, Liechtenstein, Norway, San Marino and Switzerland.
- You can send no more than 10 kilograms of cheese or other dairy products as a gift from the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Iceland.
Read more on Finnish Food Authority's website.
You can send chocolate and sweets to Finland as a gift.
More information: Finnish Food Authority's website.
If you don’t know what gifts the consignment contains or what their value is, contact the sender to find out. You cannot declare the consignment without these details.
If needed, ask the sender about the contents and value of the gift, e.g. “book, USD 20”. If the gift is self-made, ask the sender to give an estimate of its value, e.g. “hand-knitted socks, USD 10”. The value can be the price for which the gift would be sold in the country of dispatch.
Please read the instructions on the Tax Administration website.
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.
You’ll find instructions on sending parcels abroad on Posti’s website. Posti’s website also has information on prohibited and dangerous items and country-specific bans and restrictions.
Many export restrictions also apply to gift consignments. Such goods include products derived from endangered animals and plants.
Please note that the sender is responsible for finding out what the current export restrictions are, as well as the import restrictions of the country of destination. You can get more information about the restrictions e.g. from the country’s embassy or authorities. Finnish Customs does not provide information about the import restrictions of other countries.
An article ordered and paid for over the Internet to be sent to another person is not a gift exempt of customs duty or taxes. Therefore, goods delivered to Finland from outside the EU customs and fiscal territory or from within the EU as undeclared are not exempt from customs duty and tax. Such consignments are subject to tax and are to undergo normal customs clearance. Read more: Ordering goods online
Declare the gift consignment in the Import Declaration Service for private persons. Choose that you wish to declare a gift sent by a private person.
For the declaration, you’ll need to know the content and value of the gift, and you’ll need the notice of arrival.
However, if the gift is exempt from customs duty and tax, you do not need to pay any import duties or taxes.
Read more: Clearing gifts through Customs.
Gifts sent from outside the EU from a private individual to another that are worth up to 45 euros, and meant for the personal use of the consignee or their family members, are usually duty free and tax exempt, given that the nature and quantity of the goods does not imply commercial intent. Exceptions to the exemption from duty/tax: gift consignments containing alcohol products and tobacco products, perfumes, eau de toilette products, coffee or tea.
Value added tax and excise duty are always collected when the gift consignment arrives from outside the customs and fiscal territory of the EU and contains cigarettes, cigarillos, cigars, pipe tobacco and cigarette tobacco, alcohol or alcoholic beverages. Detailed information: Receiving gifts
If e.g. a friend or a family member asks you to declare a gift, you can declare the gift on behalf of the gift recipient in the Import Declaration Service for private persons.
In order for you to declare a gift on behalf of the gift recipient you must have
- Finnish online banking ID codes, a mobile certificate or a certificate card (one of these is needed for identification)
- an arrival notification for the parcel and information given on it
- information on the contents and value of the gift
- name and address details of the gift recipient
- the personal ID number or date of birth of the gift recipient.
If the gift recipient does not possess a Finnish personal ID number, enter the date of birth of the gift recipient.
Customs can also separately request written information on the contents and value of the gift. Request the information from the gift recipient.
Please note:! You cannot use the Finnish Authenticator app to identify yourself when logging in to the Import Declaration Service.
Also the sender of the gift can declare the gift
Some transport companies offer service that provides for the sender of the gift to buy the customs clearance of the parcel from the transport company that transports the gift. Ask the transport company that transports the gift more about the service.
Who is responsible?
The person you are representing is responsible for paying the customs duties and taxes, as well as for paying other payments retrospectively in cases of possible errors. If you clear goods on someone else’s behalf, it means that you are liable in cases where you were aware or you should have been aware of the incorrectness of information provided in the declaration. This is called direct representation.
Even if you declare the consignment for somebody else, it may be delivered directly to the recipient. Posti delivers the postal consignment to the recipient stated on the consignment or to a pick-up point. Other transport companies deliver the consignments to the recipient as agreed.
For declaring your gift, you need the following:
- arrival notification from the transport company
- information on the gift and its value, for example, a free-form account on the value or a receipt on the goods. (If necessary, ask the sender for the account in advance.)
- Customs may also wish to see other documents.
Please have a look at the frequently asked questions.
If you have a question about the arrival of parcels, its contents or the handling fee, please contact Posti.