Goods for charitable and philanthropic organisations
Certain goods can be imported from outside the EU by State organisations and charitable or philanthropic organisations approved by Customs free of customs duty and tax. Relief from customs duty is based on Articles 61–65 of the Duty Relief Regulation (Council Regulation (EC) No 1186/2009).
Importers other than State organisations need an authorisation for import, applied for in the Authorisations and Decisions Service.
Duty-free goods are subject to transfer restrictions.
What goods can be imported?
State organisations and organisations approved by Customs can import the following goods free of customs duty and tax:
- basic necessities distributed free of charge to meet the immediate needs of people in need of aid (e.g. food, medicines, clothes and bed-clothes)(Article 61(1)(a) and (2) Duty Relief Regulation)
- goods of every description sent free of charge, by a person or an organisation established outside the customs territory of the EU, and without any commercial intent on the part of the sender, to State organisations or other charitable or philanthropic organisations approved by the competent authorities, to be used for fund-raising at occasional charity events for the benefit of needy persons (Article 61(1)(b) Duty Relief Regulation)
- equipment and office materials sent free of charge, by a person or an organisation established outside the customs territory of the EU, and without any commercial intent on the part of the sender, to charitable or philanthropic organisations approved by the competent authorities, to be used solely for the purpose of meeting their operating needs or carrying out their charitable or philanthropic aims (Article 61(1)(c) Duty Relief Regulation)
Please note that alcoholic and tobacco products, coffee, tea or motor vehicles (other than ambulances) cannot be imported free of customs duty and tax.
What organisations can get an authorisation?
Charities and aid organisations will need the duty relief authorisation from Customs for importing certain goods free of customs duty and tax. The authorisation can granted to organisations that do not engage in commercial or public sector activity.
State organisations do not need an authorisation from Customs.
How to apply for an authorisation?
The duty relief authorisation is applied for in the Authorisations and Decisions Service. To log in, you need a Suomi.fi mandate and a valid EORI number.
You should apply for the authorisation in good time before importing the goods, because the authorisation must be presented in conjunction with customs clearance.
In the application, describe the organisation’s activity. Attach documentation supporting the application, such as the organisation’s rules, annual report and a report of its activities. You should primarily submit the attachments in the Authorisations and Decisions Service at the same time as the application.
Please note: If you send documents containing personal data to Customs afterwards by email, we recommend that you use secure email. If you send attachments afterwards by email, remember to provide the unique reference of the application in the email message.
What information must be entered in the customs declaration?
Provide the following information in the customs declaration:
- Provide the commodity code.
- You can use the commodity code 9919 00 00 50. The goods description must, however, be sufficiently precise to enable identification of the goods.
- Provide the duty relief authorisation as an additional document at goods item level using the additional document code “9TAT – Relief from customs duty”, if the consignee is other than a State organisation.
- Provide the goods list indicating the use of the goods with the additional document code “1ZZZ – Other document”.
- In addition, provide one of the following additional procedure codes:
- Provide the additional procedure code C20, when you are declaring basic necessities not received free of charge, imported by State organisations or other approved charitable or philanthropic organisations (Article 61(1)(a) and (2) Duty Relief Regulation). The import is subject to VAT.
- Provide the additional procedure code 3HY, when you are declaring basic necessities sent free of charge to State organisations or other approved charitable or philanthropic organisations (Article 61(1)(a) and (2) Duty Relief Regulation). The import is VAT-free.
- Provide the additional procedure code C49, when you are declaring goods of every description sent free of charge to charitable or philanthropic organisations to be used for fund-raising at occasional charity events for the benefit of needy persons (Article 61(1)(b) Duty Relief Regulation). The import is VAT-free.
- Provide the additional procedure code C50, when you are declaring equipment and office materials sent to charitable or philanthropic organisations and received free of charge, to be used for the purpose of meeting their operating needs (Article 61(1)(c) Duty Relief Regulation). The import is VAT-free.
Transfer restrictions
Duty-free goods may not be lent, hired out or transferred for purposes other than those provided for by Article 61(1)(a and b) Duty Relief Regulation, without prior notification to Customs (Article 64 Duty Relief Regulation). If relief has been granted based on Article 61(1)(c) of the Duty Relief Regulation, the goods may not e.g. be used or transferred for purposes other than those laid down in the Duty Relief Regulation without prior notification to Customs by email at lupakeskus(at)tulli. Read more about transfer restrictions in Articles 64 and 65 of the Duty Relief Regulation.
- Duty Relief Regulation – Council Regulation (EC) No 1186/2009 setting up a Community system of reliefs from customs duty, Articles 61–65
- Value Added Tax Act (1501/1993), section 94(1)(15 a) and section 1(1)(2) (in Finnish)