Customs duties and taxes
When goods are imported from outside the EU, so-called third country duty, that is, general customs duty is levied on them. In addition to the general customs duty, you may also have to pay other customs duties, such as anti-dumping duties, as well as VAT, other taxes or charges.
The customs duty levied on goods may be lower than the general customs duty e.g. based on the origin of the goods. Make use of preferences
Excise duty must be paid in Finland on certain products, such as alcohol and tobacco products. If you wish to pay the excise duties upon import, you must submit a customs declaration in the Customs Clearance Service as a cash customer. In other cases, the excise duty return must be filed in the Finnish Tax Administration’s MyTax service.
The commodity code indicates, what customs duties and taxes must be paid for the goods. With the correct commodity code, you can make sure that you will pay the correct amount of taxes and that you will not need to make more payments retrospectively.
Regarding import duties and taxes, it is not relevant from which country you ordered the goods but from which country the goods are dispatched. Instead, from where the goods are dispatched does not affect the country of origin of the goods. Check with the seller to confirm the country of dispatch and the country of origin of the goods.
Examples:
a. You are ordering goods from within the EU, from Germany
The goods are not dispatched to you from Germany, but from outside the EU, from China. In this case, a customs declaration must be submitted and the import duties and taxes must be paid for the goods.
b. You are ordering goods from outside the EU, from the USA
The goods are not dispatched to you from the USA, but from another country outside the EU, such as China. In that case, an anti-dumping duty must be paid for some goods in addition to the general customs duty.
c. You are ordering goods from outside the EU, from Hong Kong
The goods are dispatched to you from Hong Kong, but the country of origin of the goods is China. In that case, the same customs duties, such as anti-dumping duties, are levied on these goods as on other goods of Chinese origin.
The amount of customs duty is calculated on the basis of the customs value of the goods. The customs value is an amount that is usually made up of the transaction value of the goods and e.g. of the transport costs up to point of entry into the EU. The customs value is used as the taxable amount for import VAT, but other costs are also added to this amount.
You can be granted reduced duty rates if the goods are originating products listed in EU trade agreements. You will not get a reduced duty rate automatically without taking measures.
You can get a reduced duty rate for the goods e.g. by making a claim for a tariff quota (the link is not yet functional). The EU has also granted autonomous tariff suspensions for certain goods
In addition to the general customs duty, you may also have to pay other customs duties, such as anti-dumping duties.
Estimate the amount of customs duties taxes using the Fintaric calculation tool
When you know the commodity code of the goods, the customs value, the country of origin and the country of dispatch, any preferences and anti-dumping duties, you can use the Fintaric calculation tool to estimate the costs for importing the goods.