The general VAT rate will rise from 24 per cent to 25.5 per cent on 1 September 2024 – the date of acceptance of the customs declaration is decisive

16.8.2024 10.29 | Published in English on 16.8.2024 at 13.04

Press release

The date of acceptance of the customs declaration determines the VAT rate. The order date is irrelevant.

If the customs declaration has been accepted no later than 31 August 2024, the general VAT rate of 24 percent is applied. If the customs declaration has been submitted in advance, it can’t be accepted until the transport company has presented the goods as arrived in Finland. If the customs declaration has been submitted in advance already in August, but it isn’t accepted until in September, the VAT rate is 25.5 per cent. This change also applies to customs declarations submitted in Åland.

From 1 September 2024, the new VAT rate of 25.5 percent will be applied to the customs clearance of goods whose current VAT rate is 24 per cent.

Example:

On 31 August 2024, you submit a customs declaration for goods you have ordered from outside the EU to Finland. Customs accepts the customs declaration as received on 31 August 2024 and issues the customs clearance decision on 1 September 2024. You pay 24 per cent in VAT for the goods.

The VAT rate on IOSS purchases

If you have paid the VAT to the IOSS seller already at the point of purchase, the VAT rate is determined according to the date of purchase of the goods, and you don’t have to notify this separately with a customs declaration.