The new customs clearance system UTU combines EU legislation and ICT solutions that meet the needs of the future

The new customs clearance system, or UTU, is a project for a comprehensive customs clearance reform worth tens of millions, which was launched by Customs in 2015. The aim of the largest ICT project in the history of Finnish Customs has been to introduce a new customs clearance system that complies with EU requirements. The comprehensive reform, which will be completed in 2026, has been challenged by both binding legislation and changing e-commerce trends. Despite the challenges, Finland is one of the leading countries in the EU-wide reform work.

UTU, which was launched by Customs in 2015, has been a project for a major system reform. It is based on EU legislation, i.e. the Union Customs Code (UCC), which has gradually become applicable in recent years. In order to comply with the UCC, Customs had to develop a new customs clearance system.

Customers have gradually seen evidence of the reform since 2019. Customs’ schedules have been determined based on the EU's Multiannual Strategic Plan (MASP). Because of the step-by-step introduction, the information system solutions have had to take into account all the linkage systems required in the customs clearance process, in order to ensure smooth customs clearance throughout the UTU project. By spring 2025, most of the components of the new customs clearance system will already be in use.

– Despite the changed EU schedules and various content changes independent of Finnish Customs, Finland is one of the EU countries that has fulfilled its obligations. It has been a huge project, but despite the challenges posed by its size, UTU will soon be complete," says Project Manager Leila Lappalainen of Customs ICT Services.

According to the current estimate, the work with the reform will continue until 2026, after which the systems will enter the maintenance phase.

– Many of the system's functionalities are EU-wide, which is why, in addition to digitalisation and changing operating methods, EU-level changes will also require development work in the future, says Senior Customs Officer Anu Brander.

The changing operating environment and the growing e-commerce challenge the development of systems

One of the biggest challenges of the UTU project has been that customs clearance systems cannot only be designed according to current laws or the needs of Customs and customers. The world around us has changed all the time, and that has had to be taken into account as part of the construction of the information system, in addition to the reforms required by the changing Union Customs Code.

The most significant changes affecting customs declarations have been the special system IOSS (Import One Stop Shop) related to e-commerce (i.e. a special VAT payment system for online purchases worth up to 150 euros), changes to VAT rates and the removal of the minimum levy as well as the digitalisation of permits or registrations related to restrictions, and the validation of data from various official systems across the EU.

In concrete terms, the reforms mentioned above have been reflected, for example, in a significantly increased volume of e-commerce, and thus in the increasing number of parcels to be cleared through customs (in Finnish). The volume requirements of the UTU system have been significantly increased during the project.

– The expansions have been successful, but the soaring growth has required plenty of additional work, such as more testing rounds and optimisation in the platform, the UTU system and the systems integrated with UTU, says Anu Autio of Customs’ ICT services.

The new systems increase operational reliability and harmonise processes

The UTU project started with the changing requirements set by the EU and the customer needs identified by Customs. In addition, when assessing the extent of the changes, Customs found that the old systems were at the end of their life cycle. The comprehensive reform of the systems would increase the costs efficiency, e.g. thanks to simpler maintenance.

The UTU project consists of two systems: UTU and the commodity code service Fintaric, which manages commodity code information. UTU, which ended up being the name of the entire project, is a customs procedure system that covers all different customs procedures, such as import and export. Before the UTU project, the procedures worked in their own systems implemented in different ways, but with the reform, the UTU system serves as a joint operational system. In other words, the various customs clearance processes were harmonised as far as possible in order to be independent of customs procedures.