As the Union Customs Code (UCC) is applied as of 1 May 2016, interest on arrears as provided for by Article 114(2) of the Union Customs Code will be taken into use.
Interest on arrears will be charged in connection with import and export duties in the following situations:
- customs debt is incurred through non-compliance in accordance with Articles 79 or 82 of the Union Customs Code, or
- the notification of the customs debt results from a post-release control.
In these cases, interest on arrears shall be charged from the date on which the customs debt was incurred until the date of its notification. The rate of interest shall be equal to the interest rate as published in the Official Journal of the European Union, C series, which the European Central Bank applied to its main refinancing operations, on the first day of the month in which the due date of the customs debt fell, increased by two percentage points. Interest on arrears will not be charged if it is determined that the amount of interest is under ten euros.
In addition to interest on arrears charged in connection with customs duties, additional tax will be levied on value added tax and excise duties in accordance with the Finnish Act on Additional Tax and Interest on Arrears (1556/1995). The amount of tax increase corresponds with the reference rate for a half-year period preceding each calendar year referred to in section 12 of the Interest Act (633/1982) plus seven percentage points, but amounting to at least three euros. However, additional tax is calculated for the same period as interest on arrears, that is, from the date on which the customs debt was incurred until the date of its notification.
More information from Finnish Customs Business Information: yritysneuvonta(at)tulli.fi.
