EU e-service for submission of airline safety and security data now opened

On 1 March 2023, the EU introduced the ICS2 service (STI-STP) where airlines and their representatives can submit renewed entry summary declarations and arrival notifications on goods arriving by air from outside the EU. Declarations for airline safety and security are mainly submitted in message format, and most airlines will start submitting renewed declarations to the ICS2 system through message exchange in early summer 2023. This change will not directly affect import clearance.

For the most part, airlines will not start submitting ICS2 declarations until summer 2023.

Until now, declarations for safety and security data in air traffic have been submitted to the national systems of EU member states where goods arrive first. Declarations will now be submitted in a centralised way to a single EU-maintained system in message format or through the ICS2 service (STI-STP). This means that, in the future in Finland, declarations will not be submitted to the Arrival and exit declaration service (AREX) maintained by Finnish Customs. Registration to the ICTS2 service of the Commission takes place through the EU Trader Portal.

Furthermore, in the future airlines can agree with consignors on the submission of two complementary safety and security declarations for a single consignment: an entry summary declaration from the airline with Master air waybill details, and a summary declaration from the consignor or other operator with House air waybill details.

Airlines will start using the renewed declarations according to the schedule agreed separately with businesses. Finnish Customs estimates that the new declarations will be introduced in early summer 2023, or at the latest on 1 July 2023 when message exchange customers start using the renewed declarations.

Note that safety and security declarations are not submitted for goods imported by air from Switzerland and Norway. In accordance with their agreement with the EU, Switzerland and Norway are included in the same safety and security area as the EU. When goods arrive from these countries, a temporary storage declaration is submitted for them.

As for sea, road and rail traffic, safety and security declarations will be renewed in March 2024.

The change affects import clearance only indirectly

The change does not affect import clearances of goods imported by air. If the declaration preceding an import declaration is an entry summary declaration involving air traffic, the customs declaration must specify the reference number of the house-level transport document in addition to the MRN of the previous declaration and the consignment number. This principle also applies to customs declarations submitted for goods imported to Finland from EU airports and harbours which will undergo customs clearance in Finland. For such goods, a temporary storage declaration will be submitted upon arrival. This declaration was taken into use in late 2022, replacing the previously used summary declaration.

In the renewed entry summary declarations, you must provide the commodity code of import goods at a level of six digits, along with consignee details in addition to other information. Consignors who enter into transport contracts with airlines may therefore request Finnish importers to provide their EORI numbers. When an EORI number is used on an entry summary declaration, the declaration does not need to contain any name and address details of the consignee.

More information

• Changes to entry declarations and temporary storage declarations
• ucc(at)tulli.fi