Excise relief and deferment of payment

Excise relief according to section 105 of the Act on Excise Duty means that Customs may, for special reasons, upon application and on conditions determined by Customs, reduce or completely appeal the paid or payable excise tax, surtax, penalty interest, interest for late payment or interest paid due to deferment, in situations where the taxation has been carried out according to customs regulations and the excise duty has been or will be levied upon customs clearance.

Relief can be granted if the collection of excise duty in full is deemed obviously unreasonable with regard to the circumstances, or if the products in question are excise products that are used for a limited period of time in research or development projects, the purpose of which is the technical development of environmental-friendly products or fuels derived from renewable natural resources.

Deferment of payment according to section 105 of the Act on Excise Duty means that Customs may, for special reasons and upon application, grant a deferment of payment of tax, in situations where the taxation has been carried out according to customs regulations and the excise duty has been or will be levied upon customs clearance. Grounds for deferment of payment are exceptional conditions independent of the applicant, fundamental decrease in solvency or other special reasons. When a postponement of payment is granted, the tax debt is paid according to a payment plan.

Tax relief

You should specify in a free-form application the basis for seeking a reduction, as well as the matter in question.

The application should contain the name of the applicant/company and contact information. The application must be signed. If the applicant is a company or other entity, a person/persons authorised to sign should sign the application. If the application was drafted by an agent, the power of attorney must be enclosed.

Send the free-form application to Customs to the address Tulli, Tuonnin oikaisuhakemukset, PL 512, 00101 or by email to kirjaamo(at)tulli.fi. Customs will send you a written decision. This decision cannot be appealed against.

Applying for relief will not interrupt the collection of outstanding taxes. Collection will only be interrupted if relief is granted, and only for the part that the relief concerns.

Postponement of payment

You can apply for deferment of payment with a written application. Customs will send you a written decision free of charge. This decision cannot be appealed against.

If you are granted deferment of payment, interest is levied for the deferment period. The interest is determined in the same way as the penalty interest in section 4 of the Act on Additional Tax and Penalty Interest. If the levy of interest is deemed obviously unreasonable, the deferment can be granted without any interest.

The following information should be provided in the application:

• the applicant’s company details and contact information
• suggestion on a payment plan and grounds
• the customs clearance decision for which deferment of payment is requested must be specified.

If the application was drafted by an agent, the power of attorney must be enclosed.

Send the application to Customs Debt Collection perinta@tulli.fi or to Customs at PL 512, 00101 Helsinki.