National tax border declaration (customs declaration)

A national tax border declaration (customs declaration) must be submitted when

  • goods are transported from Åland to mainland Finland or
  • goods are transported from mainland Finland to Åland.

The tax border declaration is submitted for goods that cross the tax border. With a tax border declaration, the goods are declared for dispatch and import using a single declaration. 

Submit the declaration via the Customs Clearance Service or, if you’ve applied for status as a message declarant, submit a message declaration. 

Declaration procedure in one stage or two stages

  • All importers can submit the declaration in one stage. You can lodge the declaration no earlier than 30 days before the arrival of the goods, but no later than on receipt of the goods.
  • An importer registered for VAT can submit the declaration in one stage or using the two-stage periodic declaration procedure.

Who is responsible for submitting the declaration?

The importing company is responsible for declaring the goods. The importer must have an EORI number even if they use a representative to submit the declaration.

Using a representative

If you’re using a representative, the representative must also have an EORI-number. 

An importer responsible for the national tax border declaration can authorise a representative to submit the declaration on its behalf. Instead of using the Suomi.fi e-Authorizations, some other form of authorisation, such as a forwarding agreement, should be used.

There is no need to present the authorisation document, unless Customs specifically asks to see it. If you have authorised a representative to submit a national tax border declaration on your behalf, choose either direct representation or indirect representation as the type of representation in the declaration. 

Direct representation

If you use a direct representative for lodging the national tax border declaration for you, you are personally responsible for paying the VAT. VAT-registered importers are responsible for filing the VAT return to the Finnish Tax Administration.  If you are a VAT-registered importer, you will pay the VAT to the Finnish Tax Administration. Other importers pay the VAT to Customs.

Direct representation on guarantor’s responsibility

If you are an importer not registered for VAT, you can agree with your representative that your representative will pay the VAT to Customs. In that case, the additional information code FITAK must be used in the national tax declaration.

Indirect representation

If you are an importer not registered for VAT, you can agree with your representative that your representative will lodge the declaration in its own name and pay the VAT to Customs. VAT-registered importers must file the VAT return to the Finnish Tax Administration themselves, even if they had used an indirect representative to lodge the customs declaration on their behalf.

The Tax Administration’s guidance on import VAT

 

Other things to note

Internal goods deliveries of public entities and state agencies must also be declared to Customs. State agencies lodge customs declarations in the same way as other VAT-registered operators, if they are liable to pay tax on imports.

The importer (buyer) is responsible for declaring the goods in the Customs Clearance Service. The declaration must contain:

  • the importer’s details (EORI number)
  • the exporter’s details
  • the representative's details (EORI number if a representative is used to submit the declaration)
  • reference number of the additional document (it must be possible to access the additional document in the importer’s records afterwards)
  • reference number given to the declaration by the person lodging it (trader reference)
  • estimated date of arrival (exceptional tax date)
  • value information (price paid or to be paid).

The commodity code is not needed.

The tax must be paid before the transport company can hand over the goods in Åland or take the goods across the Åland tax border to mainland Finland.

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