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Changes to entry declarations and temporary storage declarations

The changes to the EU customs legislation will bring about phased changes to customs declarations in 2020‒2025. 

Declarations for goods arriving from non-EU countries - now

The following must be submitted to Finnish Customs via the arrival and exit declaration service (AREX) or via message exchange:

  • an entry summary declaration
  • in sea, air and rail traffic, a combined arrival and presentation notification.

Regarding transports with shared cargo space, the arrival notification and the presentation notification are usually submitted as separate notifications. The entry summary declaration and the presentation notification together are regarded as a summary declaration for temporary storage.

The details in a transit declaration submitted for goods arriving under the transit procedure are used as a summary declaration. The safety and security data can also be provided in the transit declaration, in which case no separate entry summary declaration is required.

For postal consignments arriving by air, the entry summary declaration must be submitted to the Commission’s information system (CR). Presentation notifications must also be submitted to Customs (UTU) for postal consignments, when the postal consignment arrives in Finland.

Changes to declarations and notifications for goods arriving from non-EU countries

There will be changes to the entry summary declarations and, in future, they will be submitted to the Commission’s ICS2 system. The new declarations will be introduced for each mode of transport in several phases. The declarations for postal consignments were already introduced in 2021, the declarations for air transport will be introduced on 1 March 2023 and the declarations for the other modes of transport in 2024.

The arrival notification, which will be a new notification, is separate from the presentation notification. It will be submitted after the entry summary declaration to the Commission’s ICS2 system, when the goods arrive by air, sea or rail. These notifications cannot be submitted to the Finnish Customs system.

The new declarations and notifications can be submitted either via the EU’s e-service or via message exchange. Message declarants must test the messages in the Commission’s testing service. If a message declarant uses an IT service provider for technical sending of messages, the IT service provider will test the message exchange.

In addition to the entry summary declaration and the arrival notification, a presentation notification for goods unloaded in Finland will be submitted to Finnish Customs via the Customs Clearance Service or via message exchange. This notification shall be tested with Finnish Customs.

In Finland, there will still be no requirement to submit a separate temporary storage declaration for consignments arriving from outside the EU after the entry summary declaration and presentation notification have been lodged, if the first point of entry into the EU for the consignment is in Finland.

In air transport, entry summary declarations must be submitted before the goods are loaded. If the transport company doesn’t have access to all the details required for the entry summary declaration before loading, the consignor or the forwarding agency can provide the safety and security data required before loading by submitting an entry summary declaration with only partial details and the number of the transport company’s master air waybill (MAWB). In that case, the transport company submits its own entry summary declaration with partial details after loading, before the arrival of the goods.

Partial entry summary declarations can also be submitted for goods arriving by sea.

In the new entry summary declaration, the mandatory safety and security data include details of the seller and the buyer as well as the goods description and the commodity code at the level of at least six digits.

New transit declarations will be introduced in September 2023. The safety and security data can also still be provided in the transit declaration, in which case no separate entry summary declaration will be required, when transit is used.

The EU Commission has published message specifications on the Circab website for the messages to be deployed. There will be new entry declaration messages, and the data content of the old messages will change.

Message abbreviations

The messages are numbered according to their use. Messages beginning with IE3F are entry summary declarations that message declarants send to the EU’s ICS2 system. The data contents of entry summary declarations vary depending on the mode of transport, on who submits the declaration and on whether a declaration with all details or only partial details is provided. For example, the messages IE3F10–IE3F17 are entry summary declarations for maritime cargo and the messages IE3F20–IE3F29 are entry summary declarations for air cargo.
The new message declarations are numbered as follows:

  • Messages beginning with IE3A are amendment requests sent by message declarants.
    • For example, amendment of the message IE3F20 details is requested using the message IE3A20.
  • Messages beginning with IE3Q are used e.g. for requesting additional information from the declarant (IE3Q02) or the declarant can request invalidation of the declaration (IE3Q04).
  • Messages beginning with IE3R are responses.
    • IE3R01 is a response sent to inform the declarant of the registration of the entry summary declaration and of the MRN issued to the declaration.
  • Messages beginning with IE3N are various notifications.
    • IE3N06 is a notification sent by the message declarant of the arrival of the goods, i.e. an arrival notification.
    • IE3N08 is a control notification sent to the customer.

Where to find the message specifications

Read about the ICS2 Release 2 – air transport – message specifications and customer testing on the EU’s Circabc website, in the public group “ICS2 Release 2: air cargo general, postal and express pre-arrival”.

The message data requirements can be downloaded from the folder “ICS2 Common Functional System Specifications”. Open the latest version (ICS2-HTI-v2.01.zip) of the folder “ICS2-HTI”, download it and select the folder ”ICS-HTI-IE”. Under the subfolder ”HTI-IEs", you can choose whether to view the data contents in text format (RTF) or in spreadsheet format (XLS).

The data content of each message is in a separate file. The message abbreviation is used as the file name. The abbreviations of the declaration messages used in different modes of transport as well as the message names will be published later on this page.

Read more about the new and updated ICS2 Release 3 – maritime, rail and road transport – message specifications on the EU’s Circabc website, in the public group ” ICS2 Release 3: maritime, road, rail and postal and express goods transported via those modes”.

On 1 March 2023, air traffic will start using

  • new declarations for airlines
  • new declarations for express freight companies

On 1 July 2023, air traffic will start using

  • updated declarations by postal operators
  • new security data declarations on information in house-level consignment notes

If your company intends to start as a message declarant in air traffic, but is unable to deploy messages at the required time, your company can apply for a transition period.

Operators submitting security data declarations on information in house-level consignment notes

When talking about operators who submit security data declarations on information in house level consignment notes, this means for example consignors based outside the EU or forwarding agencies that represent importers in the EU that are unable to provide airlines with the data required for them to submit complete entry summary declarations. Operators can arrange with airlines so that operators themselves submit the required house level consignment note details with their own entry summary declarations to the Commission’s CR system. Such operators are referred to as “house level filers” in the EU’s English-language materials.

Who can apply for a transition period?

Companies responsible for declarations can apply for transition periods. Representatives of such declarants who submit messages and service providers responsible for transmission of messages cannot apply for transition periods for themselves. Instead, they can apply for transition periods on behalf of declarants.

You can apply for a transition period with Finnish Customs Businesses when your company has an EORI number issued in Finland. If for example an airline or a consignor based outside the EU has an EORI number issued in another EU member state, the said operator must apply for an extension period with the EU member state responsible for the EORI registration.

How to apply for a transition period?

Be sure to apply for a transition period by 1 February 2023 at the latest. Include the following information in your application:

  • The name and EORI number of your company
  • One of the following roles in which you are submitting declarations:
    • airline
    • express freight company
    • postal operator
    • house level filer
  • Declaration messages that your company plans to submit
  • Statement of reasons for the transition period
    • For example, indicate the joint schedule planned with submitters of partial declaration data included in the supply chain.
  • Duration of the transition period you are applying for
    • start and end dates of the transition period
      • Airlines: you can apply for a transition period for the time window between 1 March and 30 June 2023.
      • Express freight companies: you can apply for a transition period for the time window between 1 March and 1 October 2023.
      • Postal operators and house level filers: you can apply for a transition period for the time window between 1 July and 1 October 2023.
    • the date when you intend to start using the new declarations.

Email your application to ucc(at)tulli.fi.

Declarations for goods arriving from EU ports and airports – now

For goods arriving by sea or air, the following must be submitted to Customs either via the Customs Clearance Service or via message exchange:

  • a temporary storage declaration
  • a presentation notification.

In the temporary storage declaration, either the goods description or the commodity code at the level of at least six digits must be provided. 

Electronic notifications can be used for movements between temporary storage facilities, when a temporary storage declaration introduced after 5 November 2022 has been submitted for the goods. The use of electronic notifications regarding movements must begin no later than on 1 March 2023.

Changes to declarations for goods arriving from EU ports and airports

The commodity code must be provided as a mandatory detail in the temporary storage declaration at the latest when transport companies have started using the new entry summary declarations. This varies depending on the mode of transport. In air traffic, the new entry summary declarations will be introduced on 1 March 2023, and transport companies will have a transition period until 1 June 2023 for changing over to the new declarations. As for other modes of transport, the aim is to introduce the new entry summary declarations in 2025.

Proving the Union status of goods – now

The Union status of goods worth no more than 15 000 euros can be proved using an invoice or a transport document without endorsement by the customs office of departure. A document proving the Union status of goods worth more than 15 000 euros must be endorsed at the place of departure. 

The Union status of goods can be declared to Customs in one of the following ways:

  • an entry summary declaration submitted via the arrival and exit declaration service (AREX) or message exchange
  • a temporary storage declaration submitted either via the Customs Clearance Service or message exchange.

If the goods were received at a temporary storage facility as non-Union goods at a Finnish port of destination, the document proving the Union status of the goods can also be submitted to the temporary storage operator.

Changes to proving the Union status of goods

The Union status of goods worth no more than 15 000 euros can still be proved using an invoice or a transport document without endorsement by the customs office of departure. In future, the Union status of goods worth more than 15 000 euros can be proved by submitting an electronic declaration to the Commission’s PoUS system. The deployment of the system is planned for 2024–2025. The MRN issued for the declaration submitted to PoUS must be provided in the presentation notification to Customs, when the goods arrive in Finland.