Providing restrictions on F-gases and ozone-depleting substances

In the customs declaration, you may have to provide e.g. the following details of goods that are subject to a restriction:

• calculated net mass of the imported gases
• calculated tonnes of CO2 equivalent (TCE)
• F-Gas Portal registration number (EORI number)
• information on the company’s F-gas quota or authorisations to use quota.

Before import, check the restrictions on the commodity code e.g. in the Fintaric service and make sure that you have provided all the condition codes required for the commodity code in the declaration. Note that all the condition codes or declaration of conformity for F-gases displayed in Fintaric are not described in this instruction. Make sure that you provide the required condition codes correctly.

For some of the document codes required by the restriction, the Tonnes of Carbon dioxide Equivalent (TCE) must also be provided. The supplementary unit of the goods, such as the calculated tonnes of CO2 equivalent, is provided as additional information about the attachment of each goods item.

Details required about restrictions are provided in the following ways:

1. How you provide a declaration of conformity

The import of the goods may require a declaration of conformity, which must be provided as an additional document at goods item level in the customs declaration. If you import gas, the commodity code of which requires a declaration of conformity (appendix 5 of the restriction manual), use other document codes than ‘C057’, ‘C079’ or ‘C082’ when declaring.

The additional information in the additional document to the declaration of conformity (document codes C057, C079 and C082) is always the calculated tonnes of CO2 equivalent of the gases contained in the products and equipment and their components. Always provide ‘TCE’ as the qualifier of the calculated quantity.

Provide the calculated tonnes of CO2 equivalent in the Customs Clearance Service by first selecting ‘Additional information about attachment’. Provide the calculated tonnes of CO2 equivalent under ‘Quantity’ and provide ‘TCE’ as the qualifier under ‘Unit’.

Via message exchange, provide the calculated tonnes of CO2 equivalent in the data group ‘Write off’ under ‘Quantity’ and its qualifier (TCE) under ‘Quantity, measurement unit and qualifier’.

In the customs declaration, the declaration of conformity is provided with one of the following document codes (concerns products or equipment containing HFCs): 

• “C057 – Copy of the declaration of conformity – Option A, as referred to in Article 1.2 and in the Annex of Regulation (EU) 2016/879 (the most common option, the importer has sufficient authorizations to cover HFCs imported inside the equipment)” and its description is the identifier of the additional document.
  • In addition, provide the calculated tonnes of CO2 equivalent and ‘TCE’ as qualifier of the quantity.
• “C079 – Copy of the declaration of conformity – Option B, as referred to in Article 1.2 and in the Annex of Regulation (EU) 2016/879 (if the HFC compounds were previously exported from the EU and are re-imported inside equipment) and as its description the identifier of the additional document
  • In addition, provide the calculated tonnes of CO2 equivalent and ‘TCE’ as qualifier of the quantity.
• “C082 – Copy of the declaration of conformity – Option C, as referred to in Article 1.2 and in the Annex of Regulation (EU) 2016/879 (equipment manufactured in the EU, the HFC compounds placed previously on the EU market) and as its description the identifier of the additional document
  • In addition, provide the calculated tonnes of CO2 equivalent and ‘TCE’ as qualifier of the quantity.

If the import of HFC gases contained in products and equipment is less than 10 tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year and therefore does not require a declaration of conformity, provide the information under the condition code “Y120 – Undertaking importing less than 10 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent of hydrofluorocarbons, per year, contained in equipment or products, exempted from the provisions of Article 19 of Regulation (EU) 2024/573 (Article 19.6 of Regulation (EU) 2024/573)”. Enter NA as identifier for the condition code.

Via message exchange, provide the condition code beginning with Y in data group ‘Other reference’ by providing the condition code in the data element ‘Code’ and its additional information in the element ‘Reference number’.

In the Customs Clearance Service, first select the condition code beginning with Y under ‘Certificates’ and add the required additional information later under ‘Additional references of documents and certificates’.

2. How you provide the registration requirement

Importing F-gases from outside the EU requires registration in the F-Gas Portal. In addition, the condition code “Y123 – Undertaking registered in the F-Gas Portal according to Article 20 of Regulation (EU) 2024/573” must be provided, and enter as its identifier in the F-Gas Portal the registration and identification number (EORI number).

Via message exchange, the condition code beginning with Y is provided in data group ‘Other reference’ by providing the condition code in the data element ‘Code’ and its additional information in the element ‘Reference number’.

In the Customs Clearance Service, the condition code beginning with Y is first selected under ‘Certificates’ and the required additional information is provided later under ‘Additional references of documents and certificates’.

3. How you provide other condition codes beginning with Y that require additional information

The import of goods may require you to provide one of the following condition codes beginning with Y. Via message exchange, the condition codes beginning with Y are provided in data group ‘Other reference’ by providing the condition code in the data element ‘Code’ and its additional information in the element ‘Reference number’. In the Customs Clearance Service, the condition code beginning with Y is first selected under ‘Certificates’ and the required additional information is provided later under ‘Additional references of documents and certificates’.

How you provide condition codes beginning with Y:

• Y163 – Net mass of fluorinated greenhouse gases contained in products and equipment
  • As the additional document identifier, provide the calculated net mass of gases without the measurement unit.
• Y121 – Tonnes of CO2 equivalent of bulk gases and of gases contained in products or equipment
  • As the additional document identifier, provide the calculated tonnes of CO2 equivalent of bulk gases and of gases contained in products or equipment as a figure without the measurement unit.
• Y125 – Import falling under Article 16.1 of Regulation (EU) No 2024/573 on the reduction of the quantity of hydrofluorocarbons (HFC gases) placed on the EU market (Requirement that the company has a quota to cover imports)
  • Provide e.g. the importer’s EORI number as the additional document identifier (the registration number of the F-Gas Portal).
• Y152 – Exemption from import prohibition, granted for repair or servicing of existing equipment, according to the second paragraph of Article 11.1 of Regulation (EU) 2024/573
  • Provide e.g. the importer’s EORI number as the additional document identifier (the registration number of the F-Gas Portal).
• Y154 – Exemption from import/export prohibition on containers, non-refillable or without refilling provisions, for fluorinated greenhouse gases, empty or fully or partially filled, for laboratory or analytical uses according to Article 11.3 of Regulation (EU) 2024/573
  • Provide e.g. the importer’s EORI number as the additional document identifier (the registration number of the F-Gas Portal).
• Y951 – Exemption from the reduction of the quantity of hydrofluorocarbons placed on the market by virtue of Article 15.2.(f) of Regulation (EU) 517/2014 or 16.2 (a), (b), (d), (e) of Regulation (EU) 2024/573
  • Provide e.g. the importer’s EORI number as the additional document identifier (the registration number of the F-Gas Portal).
• Y972 – Exemption from the reduction of the quantity of hydrofluorocarbons placed on the market by virtue of Article 16.2 (c) of Regulation (EU) 2024/573
  • Provide e.g. the importer’s EORI number as the additional document identifier (the registration number of the F-Gas Portal).
• Y986 – Exemption from import prohibition according to Article 11.1 and 11.2 of Regulation (EU) 2024/573
  • Provide e.g. the importer’s EORI number as the additional document identifier (the registration number of the F-Gas Portal).

4. How you provide other condition codes beginning with Y as well as authorisations or additional documents (such as additional documents beginning with C)

The customs declaration for the import of goods must state all the restrictions related to the commodity code. The commodity code may be subject to several different import restrictions, which must be clarified before import, for example in the Fintaric service. Import of goods may also require you to provide some other restriction of the F-gas Regulation. For example, if the gas you import is in a refillable container and you have evidence of a binding arrangement to return the container for refilling, then provide the declaration of conformity under the additional document code ‘C045’.

Provide the condition codes beginning with Y as follows in the customs declaration:

• In the customs clearance service, under ‘Certificates’, select the necessary condition codes based on which you are importing goods. If the selected condition code beginning with Y requires additional information, provide it later under ‘Additional references of documents and certificates’. Just selecting the condition code is often enough.
• Via message exchange under ‘Other reference’, provide the required condition codes based on which you are importing the goods. If the selected condition code beginning with Y does require additional information, it is provided in the data element ‘Reference number’. Just providing the condition code is often enough.

Provide the additional documents and authorisations in the customs declaration as follows:

• In the Customs Clearance Service, add the restrictions on the commodity code as an additional document to the goods item by providing the correct additional document code and the identifier of the additional document as its description. Providing an additional document always requires that you provide the identifier of the document.
• Via message exchange, add the restrictions on the commodity code as an additional document to the goods item under ‘Additional documents’ by providing the correct additional document code and the identifier of the additional document as its description. Providing an additional document always requires that you provide the identifier of the document.

In the customs declaration, you may have to provide e.g. the following details of goods that are subject to a restriction:

• calculated net mass of ozone-depleting substance(s)
• net mass multiplied by the ODP of the ozone-depleting substance(s)
• ODS Licensing System registration identification number
• number of the import licence.

Always check the restrictions on the commodity code before import e.g. in the Fintaric service and make sure that you have provided all the condition codes required for the commodity code. Note that all the condition codes for ozone-depleting substances displayed in Fintaric are not described in this instruction. The required condition codes are provided in two different ways, so make sure that you have provided the required condition codes correctly.

1. Import licence

If the goods require an import licence, provide it in the customs declaration:

• L100 – Import licence "controlled substances" (ozone), issued by the Commission
  • If necessary, provide the number of the import licence as the additional document identifier.

2. Condition codes provided as an additional document

If the import of the goods requires that one of the following condition codes beginning with Y be provided, provide it as an additional document at goods item level and provide the required identifier:

• Y798 – Declaration of net mass of ozone-depleting substance(s), when included in products and equipment
• As the additional document identifier, provide the net mass of ozone-depleting substances as a figure without the measurement unit. Provide the mass also when they are included in products and equipment.
• Y799 – Net mass of the ozone-depleting substance multiplied by the ODP of the ozone-depleting substance(s), also when included in products and equipment
• As the additional document identifier, provide the net mass multiplied by the ODP of the ozone-depleting substances as a figure without the measurement unit. Provide the calculated net mass without the measurement unit qualifier. Provide this also when they are included in products and equipment.
• Y797 – Licensing system registration identification number as defined in Article 17.3 (a) of Regulation (EU) 2024/590
• As the additional document identifier, provide the registration identification number you have received from the Commission’s electronic ODS Licensing System.

 3. Providing other condition codes beginning with Y

If the import of the goods requires that some other condition codes beginning with Y required by the ODS Regulation be provided, provide them in the customs declaration as follows:

• In the Customs Clearance Service: under “Certificates”, choose the required condition codes on the basis of which you are importing the goods.
• Via message exchange: under “Other reference”, provide the required condition codes on the basis of which you are importing the goods.

For more information about the application of the articles of the Regulation, you can contact the Finnish Environment Institute, which is the supervising and directing authority in the matter. For more information about the import of ozone-depleting substances, you can also see the Customs restrictions manual (Tullin rajoituskäsikirja – Otsonikerrosta heikentävät aineet) (available in Finnish).