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How to submit a customs warehousing declaration

Lodge the customs warehousing declaration in Customs’ online service or with a message. You can lodge a standard customs warehousing declaration before the arrival of the goods. The declaration may be lodged, at the earliest, 30 days prior to the presentation of the goods.

For lodging customs declarations in Customs' online service you need a Katso ID with the roles 'Customs clearance' and 'Company employee'. If you lodge customs declarations with a message, you identify yourself with a certificate issued by the Population Register Centre.

The customs declaration can also be lodged with an entry in the records and the related presentation notification, if Customs has given the declarant an authorisation for entry in the declarant's records. Authorisation for entry in the declarant’s records is one of the simplifications in customs warehousing.

A customs warehousing declaration shall also be lodged when the goods are going to be moved under the customs warehousing procedure

  • to the authorisation holder’s premises from the point of entry or from some other location where they are placed under the customs warehousing procedure, e.g. from Vaalimaa to a customs warehouse in Kotka or
  • to another authorisation holder, who will place the goods under the customs warehousing procedure again.

If the goods are moved under the customs warehousing procedure, no transit declaration shall be lodged for the same movement.

The holder of the procedure is responsible for lodging the declaration

In the case of a private customs warehouse, the holder of the authorisation is, as the holder of the procedure, always responsible for lodging the customs declaration. In the case of a public customs warehouse, the declarant can be the holder of the customs warehousing authorisation or another trader who wishes to declare the goods for the customs warehousing procedure.

A representative may be appointed for lodging the declaration. In the case of a private customs warehouse, only direct representation can be used. In the case of a private customs warehouse, indirect representation is also possible.

Customs issues a transaction-specific reference number, an MRN, to the declaration. The declarant or the declarant’s representative shall submit the customs declaration details as well as the declaration’s MRN and goods item numbers to the keeper of the public customs warehouse into whose warehouse the goods are unloaded.

Pre-lodged customs warehousing declaration

When you lodge a customs declaration in advance before the presentation of the goods to Customs (IM D), Customs will register the declaration and issue an MRN to it. Customs will continue to process the customs declaration, when

  • the arrival notification and presentation has been submitted and approved or
  • the goods have been presented on the land border or
  • the authorised consignee for transit has received the goods and sent an arrival notification message to Customs or
  • if the holder of the authorisation to keep the receiving warehouse does not have the authorised consignee authorisation for transit, the processing will begin when Customs’ Electronic Service Centre (Spake) has given a loading permission to the transit.

The holder of the procedure must ensure that the reference (MRN and goods item number) of the declaration preceding the warehousing has been entered correctly in the customs declaration.

In the customs declaration, provide the complete details for placing the goods under the procedure

The customs declaration must contain the complete details of the goods. The goods must be declared by goods item in the customs declaration. Under one goods item, enter the goods with the same technical or commercial goods description. When completing the declaration, consider how the goods are going to be entered in the record and in what kind of units they are intended to be removed from the warehouse. In this way you will ensure that the audit trail remains intact.

There is usually no need to attach any documents to the customs declaration. If there is uncertainty regarding the type of goods, goods quality or any other details concerning the goods to be placed under custom warehousing procedure, Customs may demand that e.g. transport documents, packing lists or documents related to the previous customs procedure also be presented by the declarant, i.e. the holder of the procedure.

Make use of Customs’ instructions and search services when completing the declaration. If you are completing the declaration in the online service, you can look at the tooltips for fields and other instructions for the user interface.

If you are a message declarant, you can make use of Customs’ message implementing guidelines and other guidance for message declarants. The Fintaric commodity code service and Customs’ information services are also available to you.

Points to consider

Usually Customs requests attachments with an additional information request. If you have lodged the customs declaration in Customs’ online service, you will receive the request in the online service. Upload the requested attachments to the Attachment Upload Service. 

If you have lodged the declaration with a message, you will receive the request for additional information with a message. Send the required attachments via the Attachment Message Service. After that, reply to Customs with a message that includes the reference number of the attachment.

If you know that Customs will request you to present documents, you can send them to Customs in advance. You can send the attachments to a declaration when Customs has notified you that it has approved your declaration or notification. You can send the attachments to a pre-lodged declaration when you receive a notification that Customs has registered the declaration.

When you request amendment of the customs declaration before or after release or invalidation of the declaration, check whether you need to send any attachments at all. For example, an amendment request after release usually does not require any attachments.