Proving the Union status of goods exiting Finland
The customs status of Union goods exiting Finland must be proved by requesting endorsement of the Union status in EU’s Proof of Union Status (PoUS) system.
The operator, who has authorisation to endorse the Union status of goods (authorised issuer) must use the system by requesting registration in the system.
Request endorsement or registration before the goods depart from Finland in a way that enables Customs to inspect the goods before they exit Finland. Endorsement can be requested retrospectively in exceptional cases.
Who can request endorsement or registration of goods in the Proof of Union Status system?
Endorsement or registration can be requested by an operator who fulfils the following conditions:
- In the event of an inspection, the operator may arrange for Customs to be able to carry out an inspection.
- The operator has the required information about the Union status of the goods as well as the document required as an attachment to the notification.
- The operator can log in to the EU Trader Portal (Suomi.fi identification, mandate “Customs clearance”).
The request can be made by anyone who has the required information (e.g. transport document or commercial document) that proves the Union status of the goods.
If the notification is submitted by an operator other than the consignor, the party that submits the notification must be able to obtain detailed information on the goods from the customer if Customs requires it.
The person making the request for endorsement/registration is responsible for the correctness of the submitted details.
Customs can grant the operator an authorisation for the status of authorised issuer (ACP), by which the operator personally can endorse the union status of the goods. The requirement is that the authorisation is used regularly. You can apply for the authorisation in the Customs Decision System (CDS).
Proving the Union status of goods
In the Proof of Union Status system
The authorised issuer makes a registration request in the Proof of Union Status of Goods (PoUS) system, which is processed automatically in the system. The registration requests can be subject to requests for additional information and controls. In such cases, the request will not be completely processed automatically.
The authorised issuer’s authorisation number must be provided in the registration request. It must have been granted to the person who requested the proof of customs status of the Union goods.
With a manifest
If an authorised issuer uses a shipping company’s cargo manifest for proving Union status, the issuer can continue using the manifest until 15 August 2025 (Delegated Act, Article 126a). In such a case, the authorised issuer must submit to Customs an advance notification for the cargo manifest they have endorsed to the address unioniasema.ennakkoilmoitus@tulli.fi. However, an advance notification is not required if the authorised issuer is authorised to draft a shipping company’s manifest after the ship departs (Delegated Act, Article 128c).
If the authorised issuer does not use the shipping company’s manifest, the registration of the Union status of the goods must be requested in the Proof of Union Status (PoUS) system. In that case, the authorised issuer is not required to submit an advance notification to Customs.
When you request endorsement or registration of the Union status of goods in the Proof of Union Status (PoUS) system after the departure, and the goods are not available for Customs inspection, it is a retrospective request.
The additional information code “99210- Issued retrospectively” must be entered in the request for endorsement/registration. Enter in the explanation for the code, why the request was made retrospectively and when the goods departed.
You cannot provide the location of the goods in a request made retrospectively.
Details provided in the Proof of Union Status (PoUS) system cannot be amended retrospectively. Therefore, the actual loaded quantity of bulk goods cannot be amended after loading. Because of this, a request for endorsement/registration of proof of Union status for bulk goods can also only be submitted after loading, when the final loaded quantity is known. Such bulk goods can be, for example, liquid goods and grains.
In these cases, advance information on loading must be submitted for possible controls by Customs. The notification is emailed to Customs at pous@tulli.fi before the loading starts. As the subject of the email, use ”Ennakkotieto tavaroiden lastaamisesta” (Advance information on loading goods) and include the following details in the message:
- name of the notifying person
- authorisation number, if the advance notification is submitted by an authorised issuer
- loading location and start time
- vessel on which the goods are to be loaded
- description and estimated quantity of the goods to be loaded
- LRN (customer’s own reference).
The advance information can, when necessary, contain the details of several loadings e.g. during one week.
In the endorsement/registration request submitted in the Proof of Union Status (PoUS) system, the submitter provides the same LRN as in the advance notification of loading sent by email. In this case, the request for endorsement/registration of proof of Union status is not retrospective, except if the request has been submitted after the departure of the vessel.