Amendment and invalidation of customs warehousing declarations

If you notice that there are errors in the customs declaration, you may request permission from Customs to amend them, also after Customs has already accepted the declaration for processing. However, the amendment request must be made before the goods have been released for the procedure. Customs may also ask you to amend the declaration.

Almost all details in the customs declaration can be amended. If you submitted the declaration via message exchange, you should also make the amendment request via message exchange. If you submitted the declaration via Customs’ e-service, you should make the amendment request in the e-service.

Submit a new declaration and request invalidation of the original declaration if one of the following details is incorrect:

• the first two digits of the customs procedure code
• the declarant’s identification number (the EORI number)
• the representative’s identification number (the EORI number)
• type of representation.

You can amend the last two digits of the customs procedure. For example, procedure 7100 can be amended to procedure 7171. If you have submitted e.g. a customs warehousing declaration (7100) by mistake, even though you were supposed to declare the goods for free circulation (4000), you must request invalidation of the declaration and submit a new customs declaration using the correct procedure code.

You can amend the name and address details provided in the trader details by changing the trader office code. The trader office code is a three-digit number, e.g. 000, provided after the EORI number.

Customs will reject the amendment request if

• Customs has notified you that it is going to inspect the goods.
• Customs has found that the details in the original customs declaration are incorrect
• the goods have already been released for the customs procedure. In this case, you have to request amendment after release.

Customs may ask you to amend the declaration details

Customs may ask you to amend the declaration details if it detects errors in them e.g. during the processing of the declaration or during the inspection of the goods.

If you have submitted the declaration via message exchange, Customs sends you an error notification (FI444A). The error notification is a request to amend the detected errors.

If you have submitted the declaration via Customs’ e-service, you are notified of the error via the user interface of the e-service. Make the required amendment and submit the declaration to Customs.

Check the error notification to see whether the error concerns the whole declaration or an individual goods item. You should also check also how much time Customs has given you for making the amendment. If you do not respond within the prescribed time limit, Customs will invalidate your declaration. If you need more time, request extension of the time limit either with the message ‘Free-form contact’ or via the e-service.

How to amend the declaration

You can amend the declaration as follows:

• If you have submitted a standard customs declaration with the message FI415A, send the amendment request message FI413A to Customs.
• If you have submitted a presentation notification with the message FI475A, send the amendment request for the presentation notification with the message FI473A to Customs.
• If you have submitted a standard customs declaration or a presentation notification in Customs’ e-service, you should amend the declaration via the e-service. See the guidance on the e-service for more detailed instructions on making an amendment request.

When Customs has accepted your amendment request, you will receive the release decision according to your transaction channel, either to Customs’ e-service or via message exchange.

Applicable legislation

• Union Customs Code, Article 173

If you notice an error in the customs declaration after you have received a decision on release for the customs warehousing procedure, you must request amendment after release. Amendment after release can be requested by the declarant or the declarant’s representative. Customs can also amend the declaration after release on its own initiative.

Almost all details in the customs declaration can be amended after release. If you submitted the customs declaration via message exchange, you should request amendment after release via message exchange. If you submitted the customs declaration via Customs’ e-service, you should request amendment after release in the e-service. Amendment after release can be requested within three years from the acceptance date of the declaration. Request amendment of declaration details after release as soon as you notice that there are errors in the details.

As a rule, no attachments to the request for amendment after release are needed. However, Customs may ask you to present the details used as grounds for the amendment. Attach an account of the undershipment or overshipment to the customs warehouse records, such as an explanation from the consignor, other available documents concerning the goods and the warehouse unloading report.

Amendment after release cannot be used in all situations

Not all details in the customs declaration can be amended after release. If your declaration cannot be amended after release, request invalidation of the declaration and submit a new declaration. If you receive an overshipment that has not been declared in the customs declaration at all, an entirely new customs declaration must be submitted for the overshipped goods.

If the following details are incorrect, the declaration must be invalidated and a new declaration must be submitted:

• the first two digits of the customs procedure code
• the declarant’s identification number (the EORI number)
• the representative’s identification number (the EORI number)
• type of representation.

If you try to request amendment after release regarding a declaration that should be invalidated and for which a new customs declaration should be submitted, Customs will reject the amendment request.

When to request amendment after release

A customs declaration for goods released for the customs warehousing procedure can be amended after release if

• you notice that you have provided an incorrect previous procedure n the customs declaration.
  • If needed, request also that the details of the previous procedure or declaration be amended.
• the warehouse notices, when receiving the goods, that there are goods missing or that e.g. the number of packages, the kind of packages, the weight of the goods or the goods description does not match the details in the declaration.
• the warehouse notices, when receiving the goods, that completely incorrect goods have been declared in the customs declaration.
  • In the request for amendment after release, enter ‘0’ as the quantity of the goods with the incorrect goods description and submit a new customs declaration for the goods that have not been declared at all. For example, if the goods description provided in the customs declaration is ‘hobs’, but the goods are ovens, the original declaration must be amended after release and a new customs declaration must be submitted for the ovens.
• an error has occurred when counting the unloaded goods, and it is not until during an inventory that the warehouse detects that the inventory result does not match the records.
• When inspecting the goods, Customs notices that the declaration must be amended after release.

If the error is detected after the goods or products have already been entered in the warehouse records, amendment of the declaration after release also requires amendment of the details in the records.

If Customs has notified that the goods will be inspected, the request for amendment after release cannot be accepted until after the inspection.

How to request amendment of a declaration after release

If a customs warehousing declaration you have submitted needs to be amended after release, request amendment after release with a free-form contact. If you submitted the declaration via message exchange, use the message ‘Free-form contact’ for submitting the request for amendment after release. If you submitted the declaration via Customs’ e-service, send the request for amendment after release from the “Summary and submission” page of the declaration.  

In the free-form contact, describe the reason for the request for amendment after release. For example, in the case of overshipment or undershipment, describe in which way the details provided in the declaration have changed.

Example: “When unloading the goods, we noticed that the quantity that had arrived at the warehouse did not match the declaration details.

Goods item 1: Declared 27 ct, established 35 ct.

Goods item 2: Declared 50 ct, established 25 ct.

Total number of packages: declared 77 ct, established a total of 60 ct.

Kind regards, Frank Forwarder, Forwarding Ltd.”

You will always receive a decision concerning your request for amendment after release. The decision will be either a decision on amendment after release or a rejection of a request for amendment after release. The decision will indicate the grounds on which Customs has accepted or rejected the request for amendment after release.

What attachments or information can Customs request concerning the amendment request?

Customs may ask you to send an attachment or information regarding the request for amendment after release. This information may be e.g. a warehouse unloading report, a packing list, an invoice or other proof of the received goods that have been entered in the records. Upload the required information in Customs’ e-service or send it via message exchange. Indicate the attachments in the request for amendment after release.

What should I do at the warehouse, if I notice that the goods I have received do not match the declared goods?

Check your company’s guidelines for a situation where the received goods do not match the declared goods. In the records, enter the quantity of goods that actually arrived and submit a request for amendment of the declaration after release and a possible new customs declaration. The customs warehouse records must be up-to-date, the documents in the records must be accurate and the goods must remain under customs supervision.

Customs can also amend a customs declaration after release

Customs can also amend a customs declaration after release for the customs procedure e.g. based on control observations. In such case, you will receive a decision from Customs indicating why the declaration has been amended after release.

Applicable legislation

• Union Customs Code (UCC), Article 173
• UCC, Article 237(2) (Union goods have been placed under the customs warehousing procedure in accordance with Union legislation governing specific fields).

Bulk goods can be placed under the procedure with the quantity details provided in the previous document If the quantity of the goods is not measured at this stage, the discrepancy in the quantity cannot be matched to a specific declaration later. Therefore, amendment concerning bulk goods is slightly different from amendment concerning break bulk goods. When matching is not possible, you should request that the amendment be made in accordance with the ‘first in, first out’ principle starting from the oldest declaration.

Amendment after release based on measurements

When goods are deposited in or removed from a warehouse after a previous measurement, you should request amendment based on measurements. Only a measurement without any transactions does not require amendment. You should also request amendment if the warehouse is emptied and the measured quantity of goods is different from the declared quantity.

Amendment after release when there are more goods than what was declared in the original declaration

If there are more goods in the warehouse than what was declared in the original declaration, you should request amendment of the declaration. If these goods are other than those declared in the original declaration, submit a completely new declaration of the goods. In this case, you should provide “1ZZZ – Other previous document” as the previous document. As the previous document reference, provide the identifier of the document on which the observed discrepancy is based as well as the date of the observation. The document can be, for example, a measurement report.

Request amendment after release for the oldest declaration when there are less goods than what was declared in the original declaration

If there are less goods in the warehouse than what was declared, you should request amendment of the oldest declaration. If the observed shortage is equal to or larger than the quantity provided in the oldest declaration, request that the gross mass be amended to 0 in as many declarations as needed to cover the shortage.

In your amendment request, you should specify

• the quantity provided in each declaration
• the quantity to be amended in each declaration
• the document on which the amendment is based. If necessary, Customs will ask you to present the documents.

You can request Customs to invalidate the customs declaration either before or after release for the procedure. Customs can also invalidate the declaration. A declaration submitted before release for the procedure has been accepted if you have received an MRN for it.

A customs warehousing declaration submitted to and accepted by Customs must be invalidated if

• several declarations have been submitted for the same goods by mistake
• the goods have been placed under another customs procedure at the same time
• placing the goods under the customs warehousing procedure is not justified e.g. because the goods have been destroyed.

A completely new declaration and invalidation of the original declaration is also required if one of the following details is incorrect in the declaration:

• the first two digits of the customs procedure code
• the declarant’s identification number (the EORI number)
• the representative’s identification number (the EORI number)
• type of representation.

All customs declarations cannot be invalidated

If Customs has notified that the goods will be subject to control, the invalidation request cannot be accepted until after the goods control.

If the goods have already been placed under the customs warehousing procedure, the declaration can only be invalidated if

• the customs declaration contains incorrect details that cannot be amended after release
• several declarations have been submitted for the same goods by mistake
• the goods are Union goods that should not have been placed under the customs warehousing procedure at all.

Amendment before or after release cannot be replaced by invalidation and a new declaration. When a customs warehousing declaration contains an error that can be amended before or after release, the declaration must be amended before or after release.

How to request invalidation of a declaration

If a customs warehousing declaration you have submitted must be invalidated, you should request Customs to invalidate the declaration. Request invalidation with free-form contact. If you submitted the declaration via Customs’ e-service, send the invalidation request from the “Summary and submission” page of the declaration. If you submitted the declaration via message exchange, use the message “Free-form contact” to send the invalidation request. Check what attachments you need for the invalidation request or whether just providing the MRN is sufficient.

You will always receive a decision concerning your invalidation request. It will be either an invalidation decision or an invalidation request rejection. The decision will indicate the grounds on which Customs has accepted or rejected the invalidation request.

What attachments or information do I need for my invalidation request?

If you have mistakenly submitted two customs warehousing declarations for the same consignment, one of them must be invalidated. In the invalidation request, indicate the MRN issued to the duplicate declaration.

If a declaration for another procedure has already been submitted for the goods, provide the MRN issued to the customs warehousing declaration in the invalidation request.

If the reason for the invalidation request is e.g. that the goods have been destroyed, that there is a duplicate declaration or that the goods should not have been placed under the customs warehousing procedure at all, a description of what has happened must be attached to the invalidation request. Upload the required information to Customs’ e-service or send it via message exchange. Indicate the attachments in the invalidation request.

If you have pre-lodged a customs warehousing declaration and the goods have e.g. been destroyed due to an accident, attach proof of the destroyed goods to the invalidation request, e.g. a document issued by the insurance company on the matter.

If you have mistakenly placed Union goods under the customs warehousing procedure, attach proof of the customs status of the Union goods to the invalidation request. This proof can be e.g. a T2L, T2LF or a customs goods manifest.

Customs can also invalidate a customs declaration

Customs can also invalidate a customs declaration that has already been accepted. This may be the case e.g. when Customs carries out a goods control and detects that the goods do not meet the conditions for release. In such case, you will receive a decision from Customs indicating why the declaration has been invalidated.

Applicable legislation

• Union Customs Code, Articles 174 and 237(2), and Delegated Regulation, Article 148(4) (invalidation of a customs declaration).