How to submit an import declaration
An import declaration must be submitted for the goods when
- the goods are imported from outside the customs and fiscal territory of the EU. Check the customs and fiscal territory of the EU.
- the goods are imported from an area that is part of the customs territory but not of the fiscal territory of the EU (e.g. from the Canary Islands or the Åland Islands). Check the guidance concerning Åland.
An import declaration is not required for intangible assets and services.
Who submits the declaration?
The import declaration can be submitted by the importer or by a representative, e.g. a forwarding agency, authorised by the importer.
Basic case: release for free circulation
The customs procedure under which the import goods are placed must be provided in the import declaration. Most goods are placed under the customs procedure called release for free circulation. In this procedure, goods delivered from outside the EU are cleared into the EU (Finland). The goods are usually removed from customs supervision and they can be consumed or moved freely within the EU.
In addition to the procedure code, you have to enter e.g. an additional procedure code in the import declaration to provide more information about the goods and the procedure. Read the instructions below on this page.
Proceed as follows
- The company has an EORI number.
- You have found out the commodity code of the goods.
- You have an invoice, an order confirmation or some other document indicating the value of the goods and any shipping costs.
- You have calculated the statistical value of the goods in euros when brought to the Finnish border.
- You have obtained documentation on origin and restrictions, if any.
- You have obtained sufficient mandates for submitting the import declaration
Why you should do this in advance
Insufficient information and mandates slow down the submission of the import declaration. This may lead to additional costs for your company e.g. due to a longer storage time for the goods.
You can submit the import declaration when you have obtained
- the arrival notification or the MRN of the previous document from the carrier as well as the identification of warehouse (format: FI1234567-800101) from the warehouse keeper, if the goods are in a warehouse.
Submit the import declaration in the Customs Clearance Service. If you are a message exchange customer, submit the declaration via message exchange.
In the import declaration, you must provide details of the imported goods. For example, the goods-specific restrictions are checked and the import duties and taxes are calculated based on these details.
The most common import declaration is the standard customs declaration (FI415). In a standard customs declaration, you provide all the required details at the same time.
You will receive the goods against the decision on release. The company receives the decision on release before paying the customs invoice if it can pay the customs invoice later based on a payment deferment authorisation). If there is no payment deferment authorisation, the customs invoice must be paid before the goods can be released.
Please note that the goods are not always removed from customs supervision after being released. Check whether the procedure or additional procedure you are using is subject to restrictions after release. For example, there may be restrictions regarding the use of goods imported free of customs duty on the basis of the Duty Relief Regulation (such as goods for charity) or the transfer of these goods to another company.
In the import declaration, you must provide details of the imported goods. For example, the goods-specific restrictions are checked and the import duties and taxes are calculated based on these details.
Various codes, which are mostly uniform in the customs territory of the EU, are used in customs declarations.
In addition to the commodity code of the goods, e.g. the following details must be provided in the import declaration:
Parties
The details of the parties that are related to the imported goods and that have different responsibilities and obligations are provided in the customs declaration. For example, the company responsible for the import duties and taxes is provided here.
Always provide the following parties:
- declarant
- importer
- exporter.
You can also provide other parties, such as a representative.
Procedure codes
The customs procedure code 4000 is used when the goods are to be released for free circulation (40) and there is no previous procedure for the goods (00), that is, the goods are imported to the EU for the first time.
In the customs declaration, choose
- code for requested procedure 40
- code for previous procedure 00
Please note that there are other procedures for release for free circulation that may be subject to restrictions or conditions concerning the use or transfer of goods, for example.
Additional procedure code
With an additional procedure code you provide more detailed information about what is going to be done to the goods placed under the procedure and what the goods are going to be used for. The code indicates, for example, the grounds for duty exemption and VAT exemption.
The additional procedure code C07, for example, is used when declaring low value consignments, that is, consignments of negligible value, up to 150 euros, if all the conditions for the declaration are met.
Please note: If the goods are released for free circulation and you provide, for example, an additional procedure code beginning with C, the imported goods may be subject to restrictions or conditions. Additional procedure codes beginning with C are used when declaring duty-exempt goods in accordance with the Duty Relief Regulation, which cannot be transferred freely or used for other than specified purposes. If one wishes to do so anyway, Customs must be notified.
The additional procedure code must also be provided when there is no additional procedure. In that case, the code is “999 – no additional procedure”.
List of additional procedure codes
Condition code and TARIC additional code
If the goods are subject to import restrictions, provide the restrictions in the customs declaration e.g. with condition codes and TARIC additional codes.
Declaring restrictions, preferential treatment and anti-dumping duties
Preference and country of origin
Provide the country of origin of the goods in the customs declaration. If you do not know the country of origin, enter the last country of dispatch.
Also provide a preference code for the goods.
- If you are not applying for preferential treatment, select “100 – Tariff arrangement erga omnes” as the preference code.
- In that case, the general third country duty will be levied on the goods.
- If you are going to apply for preferential treatment for the import goods, you must provide a preference code in the customs declaration. For example, if you apply for preferential treatment based on origin, provide the preferential country of origin or country group as well as the preferential certificate of origin.
Import duties are levied on the goods based on the codes provided in the declaration, so make sure that the details concerning preference are correct.
Values
The transaction price of the goods as well as any items to be added to or deducted from the transaction price must be provided in the customs declaration. These together make up the customs value of the imported goods. Provide the items to be added to the transaction price only if the items are not already included in the transaction price.
The statistical value of the goods must be provided in the declaration as a total amount.
Previous document
The details of the previous document must be provided correctly in the customs declaration, so that Customs receives it for processing and so that the carrier or the warehouse keeper can release the goods to you. You usually get these details from the carrier transporting your goods or from the warehouse keeper storing goods you have imported.
At least the code describing the previous document type and the document identifier, usually the MRN, must be provided concerning the previous document. The document type affects how the details are provided in the customs declaration.
Providing the previous document
Quantity details and supplementary unit
Provide the actual quantity details of the goods, such as net mass, gross mass and number of packages. For some commodity codes, you may also have to provide a supplementary unit (statistical quantity) or a tax calculation quantity.
Customs duty is usually a percentage of the value of the goods, but the quantity of goods, the supplementary unit and the tax calculation quantity may affect the amount of customs duty.
You can use e.g. the Fintaric service to check the supplementary units or tax calculation quantities that are required by the commodity code and that need to be provided for the import goods.
Location and control location
Provide the details of the control location of the goods carefully and accurately, so that Customs can, if necessary, direct the goods with a movement permit to the control location for inspection. It must be possible to unload the goods safely at the control location.
Providing the location and control location
You can find more detailed guidance on import declarations here.
How to use the SAD form when you are e.g. importing goods for a business as an airline passenger
- The SAD form is to be completed by the business.
- The form can be completed in advance online, and should then be printed on self-copying paper. When you use the SAD form as an import declaration, you do not need to print out the back of the form.
- You can also buy Customs’ printed forms from PunaMusta’s online store.
- Present the paper SAD form to Customs.
- Present the form at the customs office of entry for the goods, if it is a customs office with customer service.
- If there is no customs office at the point of entry, contact the customs office closest to the point of entry in advance to ensure smooth service when you arrive.
Fallback procedure
During a service interruption, you can use the SAD form as a fallback procedure document, if you want the goods you have imported to be released for free circulation. Read more about the import fallback procedures.
Goods can be released for free circulation although they are not directly released from all obligation or the use of the customs procedure is subject to restrictions. In these cases, codes other than 40 and 00 are used for indicating the requested procedure and the previous procedure in the customs declaration.
Examples:
- Goods exported temporarily from the EU and re-imported to the EU, such as goods exported for exhibitions or for test purposes. Read more about re-import of temporarily exported goods
- Goods exported permanently from the EU and goods re-imported to the EU. Read more about returned goods and the conditions related to them
- Goods moved to a tax warehouse. Read more:
- The payment of import VAT is transferred to the final Member State of destination (section 94 b of the Value Added Tax Act) Read more: Other cases of tax exemption
- If you are an importer registered for VAT, you must file the VAT on your imports. Read more on the Tax Administration website: Value added taxation of imported goods
- If you are an importer not registered for VAT, you must pay the VAT upon import. Read more: Import VAT when importing from outside the EU
A split consignment means that goods specified in one contract are arriving in separate consignments or that goods specified in one transport document are arriving at different times due to technical issues. The goods of split consignments arrive from the same consignor addressed to the same consignee under the same terms of contract.
If the import declarations of split consignments are lodged immediately after arrival without placing the goods under temporary storage or customs warehousing, a separate declaration must be submitted for each consignment. Only goods that have arrived in Finland can be cleared by Customs.
If you don’t know what goods the consignment that has arrived contains, you can, for a charge, request an examination of the goods.
Split consignments can be included in one declaration if all the goods of the split declaration are placed under temporary storage or customs warehousing and all the information needed can be submitted in the declaration. In addition, the goods must have the same mode of transport. The declaration cannot be submitted as a pre-lodged declaration (D), but must always be lodged in a standard form as a complete declaration, i.e. the additional declaration type A.
Please note when declaring split consignments:
- Provide all the previous documents relating to the goods you are declaring using their specific document codes. Read more: Providing the previous document
- Provide as the identifier of the means of transport the identifiers of all the means of transport of the split consignments. Separate the identifiers, for example, by a slash (/). A single import declaration can cover as many split consignments as there is room for identifiers of means of transport. The maximum number of allowed characters in the data field is 35.
The other declaration header details in the customs declaration must be the same for all arrived items:
- nature of transaction
- term of delivery
- mode of transport at the border
- nationality of means of transport
- inland mode of transport
- type of identification of transport
- country of dispatch
- country of destination
- location of goods
- proposed control location
You can also declare import goods using these declarations
In addition to the standard customs declaration, there are other declarations:
- Customs declaration for low-value goods (FI485) (the link is not yet functional), with which you can declare goods worth 150 euros or less, with certain exceptions. Fewer details are required when submitting this declaration compared to the standard customs import declaration.
- Simplified import declaration, which you can use e.g. if you only have an estimate of the price of the goods. In that case, you must provide the missing details later with a supplementary customs declaration. If you use this declaration procedure regularly, you will need an authorisation from Customs.