Approved border control post (BCP)

Foodstuffs and food contact materials subject to intensified EU controls as well as fresh vegetables, fruits and berries subject to the plant health legislation, live animals and foodstuffs of animal origin as well as plants intended for planting, cut flowers and timber can only be imported through border control posts (BCP) approved for these product categories.

Helsinki Airport, Vuosaari Harbour and Vaalimaa are approved border control posts for products subject to intensified controls as well as for fruits, vegetables and berries. Animals can be imported via Vaalimaa and Helsinki Airport, and products of animal origin via Vaalimaa, Helsinki Airport and Vuosaari Harbour. Correspondingly, approved border control posts have been designated for plants intended for planting, cut flowers and timber.

When a consignment that belongs under enhanced import controls or plant health controls is inspected at a border control post, the operator involved must personally arrange transfers, unloading and re-loading, and see to the resulting costs. Operators must also agree on sampling with the supervising customs office. Control measures to be conducted at a border control post are subject to a fee of 290 euros. In addition, Customs collects the regular fees for examinations and document controls. You should indicate in your customs declaration if you wish for the control to take place at a border control post.

However, it is possible to control goods also at another approved control post (CP). Read more about how to make use of other control posts.

The intensified import controls concern certain food and feed of non-animal origin, concerns several products and countries of origin, which are listed in regulation (EU) 2019/1793 and in annexes of other regulations on intensified controls. The product range is updated every six months. Prior to the import, always check whether the product and the country of origin are subject to intensified controls.

In this example, frozen capsicums that are subject to intensified import controls are imported from Turkey.

Before the goods arrive in Finland

An electronic CHED-D must be submitted in the Commission’s TRACES system before importing the consignment. Create the CHED-D as well in advance as possible or no later than on the previous workday before the arrival of the goods. Upload the scanned documents as an attachment to the CHED-D (sample and analysis results required on a case-by-case basis, official certificate) and the commercial invoice. Send an advance notification to Customs’ Consumer Protection, informing of the CHED-D that was created in the Traces system and the reference number of the CHED-D. Read more on how to create a CHED-D and on logging in to the Traces system. 

Please check before importing whether the legislation (e.g. Annex II to regulation (EU) 2019/1793) requires sampling and analysing in the country of departure as well as an official certificate issued based on the analyses. If required, the originals of these documents must always be presented at the border control post. If the documents cannot be accepted or if they are not presented at all, the import of the goods item is not allowed and it is returned to the country of departure or destroyed. When importing frozen capsicums, the documents in question are not required.

When the goods arrive in Finland

An import declaration must be lodged for the import consignment (as a message, an online declaration or by visiting the customs office at the border crossing point). Provide, among other things, the following details in the customs declaration:

If no required notifications have been made for the import consignment before the customs declaration, the required actions will be taken at the customs clearance stage. This may delay the processing of the customs declaration and the release of the consignment. 

When the consignment is not subject to controls or sampling

If the consignment is not subjected to control or sampling, Customs confirms the decision on release for the customs clearance, and the transport may continue its journey from the border control post.

When the consignment is subjected to control or sampling

When the frozen capsicums are imported via Vuosaari harbour, enter in the import declaration that the consignment can be inspected at the Vuosaari border control post. If the import of the product in question requires sampling and analysis by the country of departure as well as an official certificate issued based on the analyses, deliver the original documents with the reference number of the CHED-D to Vuosaari border control post. 

Customs Electronic Service Centre (Spake) provides the timeframe for the sampling, and the instructions for the practical measures. Confirm to Spake the time for sampling. After this, Spake will provide a transfer permit with the delivery address Vuosaari border control post. 

Order the lifting and transfer of the container to and from the border control post. Make sure that there is a person (e.g. a driver) present for the sampling, to present the goods to Customs and to unload the container. Please note that the operator is responsible for all the costs resulting from these actions. 

When the results of the control or the examination are available, Customs confirms the release decision for the import consignment, whereby the goods can be transported freely.

If non-compliances, which prevent the importation of the goods, have been observed during the control or examination, the release decision is not confirmed. You must immediately take the actions notified by Customs to return, destroy or repair the goods.

Read more