Keeping records and reporting in temporary storage

The holder of the authorisation for temporary storage must keep records of the goods in temporary storage in a manner approved by Customs. Before issuing the authorisation, Customs controls that the storage records are suitable for this purpose. The records enable Customs to supervise the operation of the storage facility, the identification of the goods placed under that procedure, their customs status and their movements.

Customs may waive the requirement for some details, where this does not adversely affect the customs supervision and controls of the goods.

Purpose of the records and general requirements

Customs may give permission for storing Union goods in a facility for temporary storage provided that this does not jeopardise customs supervision. The Union goods must also be separated from the goods in temporary storage, and their customs status must be entered in the records.

The records consist of entries and of the documents the entries are based on. The customs declarations and other documents concerning the start and the end of temporary storage are a part of the records material. The records documentation can be in electronic format.

An electronic customs declaration or other document that is attached to the records does not have to be a standard-form PDF document. It must be possible to present the document or electronic information to Customs, when necessary.

The records must be kept in real-time and indicate the quantities and types of goods in temporary storage.

The records material must be kept for six years from the end of year when the goods were placed under a customs procedure or re-exported, destroyed or abandoned to the State.

If the storage records and the main accounts for customs purposes are separate, there must be references between them so that the audit trail of entries can be verified.

If the storage operator’s accounting system changes after the issuing of the authorisation, the new system must be approved by Customs before use.

Points to consider

The goods must be entered in the records by goods item and package type, and these details may not change during the temporary storage so that the audit trail of the goods breaks. The goods must be removed from the temporary storage facility using the same quantity unit as upon placement in the temporary storage facility. If the goods have arrived at the temporary storage facility and entered in the records e.g. in number of boxes, they cannot be removed from the facility in number of pieces, unless they have been entered in the records also in number of pieces.

The records for a temporary storage facility must be kept and the entries must be made in Finnish, Swedish or English, also when the goods description for the transit preceding the storage has been provided in another language, e.g. Dutch, that is accepted in the country of departure.

The records for a temporary storage facility should contain at least the following details:

  1. Date and a reference to the declaration based on which the goods have been placed under temporary storage.

    • MRN and goods item number of the (entry) summary declaration

    • MRN of the temporary storage declaration, goods item number, house level transport document number, e.g. number of the bill of lading or House Airway Bill and the transport document type, if needed

    • transit MRN

    • other reference number (e.g. in the Åland tax border traffic, the number of the transport document)

  2. Date and reference number of the declaration for the discharge from temporary storage:
    • MRN as well as the goods item number, if any

    • other reference number (e.g. reference to a document concerning the destruction of goods or abandonment of goods to the State)

  3. Entry number or other optional reference issued by the temporary storage operator. When necessary, dates and identification details of customs and other documents.

  4. Goods description and quantity:

    • package details and any ID numbers, number and type

    • goods quantity

    • common commercial or technical description 
    • container ID (when necessary))
  5. Location of the goods (at least the address of the temporary storage facility)

  6. Customs status of the goods

  7. Details of the forms of handling designed to ensure the preservation of goods in an unaltered state

  8. Details of any transfers of goods under temporary storage

If needed, enter also the house level transport document type

If there is no separate field or column in the records for transport document number, then the transport document type must be entered. Enter as house level transport document type N714 for goods that arrive by sea and N703 for goods that arrive by air. If you enter both the house level transport document type and number in the same field, for example in the section or column ‘Additional information’, enter the document type before the number.

Details of movements of goods under temporary storage

If goods are moved under temporary storage, the records of both the dispatching and the receiving warehouse must have details of the movement. Such details are, for example, the MRN of the temporary storage declaration after movement (FI377), details of the house level transport documents as well as goods item numbers. 
 

Warehouse deposit

  • T-transit: copy of the Transit Accompanying Document
  • TIR Carnet: copy of voucher (volet) no. 2 of the TIR carnet with attachments, if any
  • Entry Summary Declaration / Summary Declaration: a reference to the MRN number and the goods item number
  • Temporary storage declaration: MRN, goods item number and house level transport document number

  • Movement of goods under temporary storage, receiving storage facility: MRN of the temporary storage declaration after movement (FI377), goods item number and the house level transport document number.

Removal from a the warehouse

  • Import or special procedure: decision on release for import or special procedure, release message or some other document for release confirmed by Customs
  • T1 transit: The transit MRN number in the stock records is a sufficient. However, Customs recommends that you attach a copy of an accompanying document to the stock records, along with any itemisations on goods.
  • Movement of goods under temporary storage, dispatching storage facility: MRN of the temporary storage declaration after movement (FI377), goods item number and house level transport document number 
  • TIR carnet: copy of voucher (volet) no. 1 of the TIR carnet with attachments, if any
  • Destruction of goods under customs supervision: on a case by case basis, either the certificate of destruction endorsed by Customs or the decision on release for inward processing.
  • Handing over to the State: a document endorsed by Customs of abandonment of goods to the State.

The entry concerning the end of temporary storage must be made in the stock records no later than when the goods are removed from the temporary storage facility. The temporary storage operator must see to that the the goods released from storage match, in terms of quantity and quality, the details provided in the customs declaration (e.g. transit declaration) discharging the temporary storage.

Note that even if the temporary storage operator issues, in their own records, a reference or an entry number for the goods received in the facility, this detail cannot be used as previous procedure in the customs declaration. The correct document code, MRN and goods item number, if any, must be used as previous procedure. The number of the transport document must also be provided for consignments, when the preceding declaration on arrival is a temporary storage declaration (TSD).

If one of the details is incorrect, the declaration remains open in Customs' system, and the placement of the goods under the procedure cannot be verified. Therefore, Customs requests the holder of the temporary storage authorisation to provide information on the consignments that haven’t been placed under a customs procedure, based on the information obtained by Customs. When the holder of the authorisation releases goods from the storage facility, they must check that the release documents indicate the correct code for previous procedure, the MRN and goods item number that matches the entries in the records.