Shipping companies required to start using ICS2 messages no later than 1 April 2025
The new entry summary declarations for transport companies operating in sea traffic were deployed on 3 June 2024. As instructed by the Commission, the transition period granted for shipping companies that use message can be continued until 1 April 2025. Customs grants possible extensions of transition periods separately to each shipping company. For extending the transition period, please send a free-form application to ucc@tulli.fi.
Operators in the customs clearance chain should not that some shipping companies may still submit ICS1 messages (AREX) until 1 April 2025. Shipping companies that have already started submitting the new ICS2 messages can no longer go back to submitting ICS1 messages.
Submitting entry summary declarations in sea traffic with partial information
If a shipping company does have all consignment-specific information available, another operator in the supply chain must provide the required house level details on its own declaration (so-called “house filer”). Operators are to agree on this arrangement among themselves. In sea traffic, a forwarding agency or some other operator can submit entry summary declarations of the house filer level on consignments with house level details. In such cases, the shipping company concerned submits its own entry summary declaration with master level details.
House filer declarations were deployed on 4 December 2024, and Customs has been able to grant a transition period to operators engaged in message exchange until 1 April 2025 at the latest.
A temporary storage declaration is also required
If a shipping company has submitted a declaration with master level details, customs clearance of goods is not possible in Finland, unless the house filer operator has submitted its own declaration. A transition period granted to the house filer does not affect the matter. Therefore, the shipping company concerned must submit an additional temporary storage declaration (TSD). In such cases, the previous document to be indicated for customs clearance is the MRN issued to the temporary storage declaration.
Shipping companies are required to submit temporary storage declarations also after submitting F10 declarations, as we instructed in our customer notice of 19 August 2024. This requirement will be removed in March 2025 once the EU has changed the data content requirements for F10 declarations. A new requirement is that declarations must also indicate the ID of the house level transport document which is necessary for customs clearance.
More information
Shipping companies: if you are submitting a non-F11 entry summary declaration, be sure to also submit a temporary storage declaration (customer notice, 19 August 2024)
Declarations for arriving goods
ICS2 Process and Data: Maritime and Inland Waterways
ucc@tulli.fi