Fallback procedure
When there is a disruption in Customs' or the customer's system, some of the declarations to be submitted to Customs can be submitted using a form for exceptional situations. In addition, an electronic declaration should be submitted retrospectively.
Forms for exceptional situations and completion instructions (available in Finnish and Swedish)
Customs will inform customers if there is a service interruption in Customs’ systems. At the same time, Customs will also inform whether a fallback procedure can be used. Subscribe to disruption notices for message declarants. They will be sent to your email address.
If there is a service interruption in the customer’s system, the customer must request permission to use the fallback procedure from the Customs Electronic Service Centre at spake.varastointi@tulli.fi.
Message declarants can use online declarations as a fallback procedure without any separate authorisation.
There is no fallback procedure for the entry summary declarations (ENS) to be submitted to the ICS2 Declaration Service for Safety and Security Data (STI-STP); instead, the Commission has a business continuity plan (BCP) in place for system downtime. The goods can, however, be loaded and unloaded, when permission to use the fallback procedure according to the BCP has been issued. The goods can’t be presented or declared until the entry summary declaration has been submitted.
Fallback procedure request
The following must be mentioned in the fallback procedure request:
- reason for initiating the fallback procedure
- estimated duration of the interruption
- which place of entry the fallback procedure concerns
- which declarations the fallback procedure request concerns
- details of the means of transport, if known.
The customer must notify Customs of any continuation of the problems and of the end of the service interruption by email to spake.varastointi@tulli.fi.
In addition to the fallback procedure document, an electronic declaration is submitted retrospectively.
Declarations submitted under the fallback procedure are submitted retrospectively in electronic format when the service interruption is over. The reference number (LRN) of the entry summary declaration or the temporary storage declaration shall be the same as the one given under “Reference number” on the fallback form (SSD) or, if a different document is used, some other clearly marked reference should be provided.
In addition, the code FIXEV must be provided under “Additional statement” for the first goods item in the entry summary declaration and in the summary declaration. The additional information code FIFAL must be provided in the temporary storage declaration.
If the entry summary declaration (IE315) is submitted under the fallback procedure because of a service interruption in Customs’ Arrival and Exit Declaration Service (AREX), the declarations must be submitted to the customs office of entry within the normal time limits for declarations.
If the use of the fallback procedure is due to a service interruption in the customer’s system, the entry summary declaration must be submitted to Customs no later than 4 hours before the arrival of the goods.
With Customs’ permission, the submission of the electronic entry summary declaration may be delayed until the goods arrive.
Goods arriving from outside the EU for which an entry summary declaration couldn’t be submitted due to a service interruption can be unloaded in a railway yard at the border or outside the border customs office once the permission to use the fallback procedure has been received. A paper-based entry summary declaration must be submitted to the customs office of entry immediately upon arrival, unless it has been submitted in advance.
A temporary storage declaration for goods arriving directly from another EU country (FI337 or FI335) is submitted only after the service interruption is over. The goods may be unloaded in a port area or at an airport without any separate notification.
If the goods need to be released during the service interruption, the data should be submitted to the customs office of entry using fallback procedure documents in the manner specified in the instructions regarding the entry summary declaration. However, the time limits specified for the entry summary declaration don’t apply to temporary storage declarations submitted under the fallback procedure.
If goods arriving by road are presented to the customs office at the border together with the reference number MRN for the entry summary declaration during a service interruption in the system of Finnish Customs, Customs makes the necessary presentation entries into the system when the service interruption is over.
If the service interruption occurs during the arrival of a means of transport by sea or air and the operator isn’t able to submit an arrival notification (IE3N06) for the means of transport, the notification should be submitted electronically as soon as the service interruption is over. For unloaded goods, an entry summary declaration (FI332) can exceptionally be submitted directly, and the arrival notification will be submitted to the ICS2 Declaration System for Safety and Security Data when the interruption is over.
If goods arriving by sea, air and rail are to be declared during a service interruption in a situation where the entry summary declaration has been submitted electronically but the arrival notification and presentation cannot be submitted, the transport company provides the customs office of entry with the following information:
- for goods arriving by air: flight number and time of arrival
- for goods arriving by sea: name of the vessel, IMO number, Portnet number and time of arrival
- for goods arriving by rail: train list.
In the customs declaration, the MRN and goods item number of goods as well as the transport document number are provided in the previous document details, but the fallback procedure code is provided as the document code. However, the transport document number doesn’t need to be provided when the entry summary declaration has been submitted to the Arrival and Exit Declaration System (AREX).
If the warehouse keeper can’t submit an unloading report (IE044 or FI364) to Customs due to a service interruption, it will be submitted to Customs when the service interruption is over.
Delays in the warehouse keeper’s notifications caused by a service interruption will not prevent other customs clearance of the goods.
Under the fallback procedure, the safety and security data for goods arriving with a TIR Carnet must be submitted one hour prior to arrival to the customs office of entry with a SSD form or with an administrative, commercial or transport document containing the corresponding data.
Under the fallback procedure for T transit, the safety and security data can be submitted one hour prior to arrival with a TSAD form, SSD form or with an administrative, commercial or transport document containing the corresponding data.
Safety and security data for a T transit or TIR transit can also be submitted with a separate entry summary declaration. The transit declaration must contain a reference to the entry summary declaration as the previous document.