Two-stage declaration procedure

Only companies registered for VAT can submit the national tax border declaration (customs declaration) in two stages.

In the two-stage declaration process,

  • the importer makes an entry in the records upon receipt of the goods and
  • submits a periodic declaration to Customs no later than at the end of the following calendar month.

The VAT-registered importer must also

  • submit a VAT return to the Tax Administration.  
  • submit a customs declaration when transferring own goods across the tax border. In such cases, the company is both the importer and the exporter.

Instructions for submitting customs declarations

You can submit the two-stage declaration only after the transport company has submitted a presentation notification for the arriving goods.

The importer registers the goods as arrived and keeps a list of the goods that have arrived, e.g. in the warehouse records or in some other records. There are no formal requirements for other records, they can be e.g. in the form of an excel spreadsheet. The records can also be handwritten.

The entry in the records must contain at least the following details:

  • The reference number of the presentation notification, the transport document identifier or invoice identifier provided upon presentation, or some other identifier with which the presentation notification can be found in Customs’ system (e.g. how the notification was submitted, when and by whom)
  • Running number
  • The date when the transport company handed over the possession of the goods to the consignee. The registered date determines the month to be provided in the periodic declaration.

If the importer is not notified of the presentation notification by the transport company, the transport company that brought in the goods must be entered in the records as the submitter of the presentation notification.

If the importer has decided that the goods will be delivered directly to another consignee, it is still the responsibility of the importer to register the goods as arrived on the day when the transport company handed over the possession of the goods to the consignee.

Submit the periodic declaration (tax border declaration) via the Customs Clearance Service or via message exchange no later than on the last day of the month following the month of import.

In the periodic declaration, provide the details of the goods received from an individual seller in no more than one calendar month. One calendar month may have several declarations per seller. However, details of goods for which a consignment-specific customs declaration has already been lodged should not be provided in the periodic declaration.

Lodge the periodic declaration separately for each seller so that one periodic declaration contains a summary of the details of goods received from an individual seller during the period covered by the declaration. The additional information code “FITIJ – Import across the national tax border, periodic declaration” must also be provided in the periodic declaration. As the description, enter the month for which the declaration is lodged in the format mm/yyyy. 

Subscriptions of newspapers and magazines 

VAT-registered companies or organisations that receive newspapers or magazines sent to Åland from another EU country or from mainland Finland must submit a tax border declaration and pay VAT for the them to the Tax Administration. The company can declare the issues for the whole subscription period at the same time.

You do not have to submit a tax border declaration for membership magazines from organisations or for magazines that are free of charge, such as advertisement catalogues.

Postal consignments

A two-stage national tax border declaration can also be lodged for postal consignments where the consignee is a VAT-registered company.

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