National guarantee

The national comprehensive guarantee is valid only in Finland. It can be combined with guarantees involving import, special procedures (excluding transit) and temporary storage, and with guarantees involving excise duties, car taxes and shipping dues as provided for by national legislation. Companies belonging to a group may provide a joint guarantee if they wish.

The following guarantee types or their combinations, among others, can be accepted as guarantees:

  • Bank guarantee/suretyship insurance
  • bank account pledge.

The amount of guarantee can be changed in there is an essential change in the invoicing or liability amounts of a company, payment behaviour, financial situation or other circumstances notified at the time of application.

Points to consider

The Union Customs Code provides that the guarantee must cover the amount of customs debt. In import, a guarantee of 100% is required for customs debt, and a guarantee of 0% is required for VAT debt.

An authorised economic operator (AEO) is entitled to a reduction of the guarantee required for customs debt. A guarantee of 30% is required for customs debt. The amount of guarantee required for VAT debt is 0%.

In the reference amount for a special procedure, the maximum amount of customs debt and VAT debt (customs duty and VAT liability) concerning goods simultaneously under the procedure is taken into account. However, a guarantee is required only for the customs liability. In order to make sure that the guarantee is sufficient, it is recommended that the import reference/guarantee amount covers at least the amount of the customer’s highest customs debt for seven weeks.

The holder of a payment is entitled to a payment period of about five weeks for customs duties and taxes collected in connection with the import clearance of goods. The company will receive a periodic filing on customs duties and taxes to be levied on goods released during a single week. The due date for the payment of customs duties and taxes accordant with the periodic filing is the Friday of the fourth week following the week of release.

An amount corresponding to the customs debt is reserved as guarantee from the general import guarantee in connection with customs clearance. The reserved amount is released when the debt is paid (a delay of at least 1-2 days may occur from the time of payment). If there is not a sufficient amount of guarantee available for a new guarantee reservation, it is not possible to import goods using a credit number.

If a company wishes to make use of the payment period of about five weeks, the comprehensive guarantee must cover any pending payments during the credit period as concerns customs duties. Customs clearance decisions can also be paid for prior to their due date using the payment reference number in the decision. In such cases, guarantee reservations are released earlier, and a smaller guarantee can be lodged for import.

Guarantee reservation for debt in different guarantee categories

Release for free circulation

Guarantee category

Customs duty VAT
AEOC AB 30% 0%
Others AA 100% 0%

 


Specific use (temporary admission and end-use) and processing (inward and outward processing) are special procedures involving import. In these procedures, a guarantee is required for the liability for customs duties, based on the customer’s guarantee category.

The reference amount for temporary admission and processing is the maximum amount of customs debt as well as VAT and excise debt (liability for customs duty and liability for tax) possibly to be collected for goods simultaneously under the procedure. However, a guarantee is required only for the liability for customs duty. Guarantee is reserved in connection with the customs clearance from the comprehensive guarantee according to the customer’s guarantee category, 0%–100% for the liability for customs duty, and the guarantee remains reserved until the liability has expired (e.g. an acceptable bill of discharge has been presented).

The reference amount for the end-use procedure is the maximum amount of unlevied import duties for goods simultaneously under the procedure. Unlevied import duties means the difference between the general customs duty (as well as possible anti-dumping duty) and the reduced rate of duty for end-use. Guarantee is reserved in connection with the customs clearance from the comprehensive guarantee according to the customer’s guarantee category, 0%–100% for the liability for customs duty, and the guarantee remains reserved until the liability has expired (an acceptable bill of discharge has been presented). In the end-use procedure, the company must provide the maximum amounts of unlevied customs duties using this form:

The Union Customs Code provides that a company may be authorised to use a guarantee with a reduced amount for possible customs duties and other payments or to have a guarantee waiver, provided that certain requirements are met. The company must not have a record of any serious payment disruptions or credit malfunctions (e.g. bankruptcy, reorganisation or distraint). In addition, the company must meet the general requirements for the comprehensive guarantee authorisation, as well as the specific requirements based on guarantee category.

When the amount of liability guarantee is determined, companies are placed into guarantee categories based on their solidity and payment behaviour. Furthermore, companies must meet requirements specific to the different guarantee categories, for example relating to accounts and in-house control. In guarantee categories BD, BC and BB, companies must also have sufficient funds in relation to the reference amount.

The authorisation holder must keep track of the reference amount and contact the customs office of guarantee if the amount is not sufficient.

Guarantee reservation in different guarantee categories for specific use and processing:

Guarantee category BD BC BB BA
Customs duty 0 % 30 % 50 % 100 %
VAT and excise duty 0 % 0 % 0 % 0 %

 


The warehouse operator must inform Customs of the maximum value of goods located simultaneously in the warehouse.

The warehouse reference amount, i.e. the amount of liability for customs duties and tax, is determined based on the maximum value of the warehouse. In the reference amount, the default liability for value added tax is 24 % and for customs duties it is 6 %. If the warehouse contains only one type of product or a few types of products, the reference amount can be determined according to actual tax and customs duty rates.

The reference amount will also include any possible excise duties. As concerns excise duties, 30 % of their maximum value will be taken into account in the reference amount.

When a guarantee for a customs warehouse or a temporary warehouse is determined, the reference amount for the warehouse is considered based on the guarantee category. The guarantee is reserved from the fixed guarantee component.

Warehouse guarantee share of the reference amount in different guarantee categories:

Guarantee category BD BC BB BA

Customs duties and excise duties

0 %

30 % 50 % 100 %
VAT

0 %

0 %

10 % 50 %

The holder of the authorisation must keep track of the value of the stored goods. The warehouse keeper must make sure that the value of goods stored in the warehouse simultaneously does not exceed the reported maximum value.

You can give your warehouse details on this form: