Commercial consignments carried by travellers

Safety and security data are to be provided electronically to Customs for goods that cross Union borders prior to their arrival in or departure from the Union. For arriving goods, safety and security data are primarily provided on an entry summary declaration. For exiting goods, the data are most often provided as part of an export or transit declaration.

Safety and security data need not be submitted for personal goods carried by passengers, even if passengers declare goods items as private individuals. In addition, a safety and security data declaration need not be submitted for goods for which a oral customs declaration is permitted.

Points to consider

When a traveller arrives in Finland from outside the Union and brings a commercial consignment which undergoes customs clearance in the name of a company, safety and security data must be provided for the goods in one of the following ways:

  • by submitting an advance electronic entry summary declaration (315) to Customs’ AREX system, or
  • with a written declaration to the customs office of entry located at an airport, port or land border, or to customs officers on a train (Allegro train passengers provide their declarations in connection with customs inspections carried out on the moving train, and passengers travelling on other trains provide them at Vainikkala Customs when the train stops at the border).

It is recommended that the written safety and security declaration is provided using the SSD form (form 890), which complies with EU standards. The form can be printed out on the Customs website.

Travellers can also use representatives in submitting declarations.

Some other commercial or administrative document with sufficient information, can also be accepted as a declaration. A list of necessary particulars for the declaration can be found in Annex 9 (Appendix A) of the Transitional Delegated Act of the Customs Code.

Data on the transport company is not included in entry summary declarations submitted by a passenger. Instead, the company in whose name the next customs clearance of the commercial goods will be carried out is entered as the declarant. The company must be registered for EORI.


Passengers must always present their commercial consignments to the customs office of entry. The reference number MRN received from Customs and the goods item numbers of an electronic entry summary declaration submitted in advance must be presented at the same time.

If the company has submitted the import declaration to the ITU system of Customs in advance (a so-called D declaration), an electronic manifest presentation must exceptionally be provided for goods brought in by the passenger.

Import customs clearance must be carried out at the customs office of entry before the goods can be carried further by the passenger. If the entry summary declaration has been submitted electronically, the entry summary declaration must be entered as the previous document’s code on the import declaration and as its number, the Customs reference number (MRN), along with the goods item numbers.

If the safety and security data is provided in a document, the import declaration is to include the code of the fallback procedure document as the previous document’s code and as the number, the number provided by the customs office of entry.


  • A flight passenger must present commercial goods and the accompanying document of the advance electronic export declaration (e-AD form) to airport customs officials. Customs discharges the export procedure and the customer receives a decision on release with exit confirmation if the passenger exits the EU directly, or if the goods are located in the passenger’s registered luggage. If the passenger carries the export consignment as hand luggage and changes aircraft at another EU airport, the goods and the e-AD form are presented and the export procedure is discharged at the last EU airport.
  • A passenger travelling on a vessel to a non-EU country must present the export goods and e-AD form to Customs at the port.
  • Passengers travelling on the Allegro train present the goods and the e-AD form to the customs officer during the customs inspection carried out on the moving train, and passengers travelling on other trains are to present them at Vainikkala Customs when the train stops at the border.
  • In road traffic, the export goods and the e-AD form are to be presented to the customs office of exit at the border.

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