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How to declare

Declare your parcel when you receive the notice of arrival from Posti or some other transport company. Most consignments can be declared in the Import Declaration Service for private persons. In order to receive your consignment, you may also have to pay Posti’s handling fee.

When your consignment arrives in Finland, Posti or some other transport company will send you a notice of arrival. The notice of arrival says whether the consignment needs to be cleared through customs.

A consignment transported by Posti must be declared within 20 days of the arrival of the consignment in Finland. For other transport companies, the time to declare is usually shorter. If you don’t declare the consignment within the given time limit, it will be returned to the sender. Please note that you must keep any documents relating to customs clearance for six years. For example, be sure to archive your confirmation order or receipt even after customs clearance.

Declare your parcel

To declare your consignment, you will need the notice of arrival as well as information on the content and value of the consignment. In addition, Customs may ask for a separate written account of the contents and value of the consignment. This can be a receipt or a free-form account provided by the sender of the consignment (consignor).

You can declare the consignment in different ways: 

  • Declare the consignment yourself or authorise someone else to declare it for you in the Import Declaration Servce for private persons.
  • Buy the customs clearance service from Posti or some other transport company that transports your parcel.
  • If you are unable to declare your parcel electronically, you can declare it using a form or visit a customs office. Read more about how you can declare your parcel using alternative services. Read the instructions below “How to declare when you do not have online banking codes, a mobile certificate or any other means of electronic identification.”
  • Posti or some other transport company usually declares the consignment automatically on your behalf, if the value of the goods, exclusive of transport costs, does not exceed 150 euros and the online store has an IOSS number. Ask the online store whether it has an IOSS number. Read more about the IOSS number.

Note that some goods cannot be declared in the Import Declaration Service for private persons. Such goods include, for example, investment gold and tax-free banknotes. If you wish to declare such goods yourself, you have two options:

  • Use a paper form or an online form. Read the instructions below “I do not have online banking codes, a mobile certificate or any other means of electronic identification.”
  • Declare the goods in the Customs Clearance Service. The Customs Information Service can help you to fill in the declaration.

Handling fee to Posti or decision on release to some other transport company 

If the parcel is delivered by Posti and if you paid import duties or taxes in connection with the declaration, you must also pay Posti’s handling fee. If you didn’t pay any import duties or taxes in connection with the declaration, you don’t need to pay Posti’s handling fee.

If the parcel is delivered by some other transport company, check the notice of arrival to see if the transport company requires the decision on release. If you declared the parcel in the Import Declaration Service for private persons, the decision on release is available in the section My declarations in the service.


Three ways to declare – choose how to clear your goods

I'm declaring the goods in the Import Declaration Service for private persons

The customs import declaration service is free of charge and available 24/7; i.e. always. The service is available in Finnish, Swedish or English. You can also authorise another person to take care of the customs clearance online on your behalf.

Get acquainted with the guides for the Import Declaration Service on Customs’ website, and in the declaration service itself. Frequently asked questions regarding the Import Declaration Service are available on the Customs’ website and in the import declaration service itself.

Logging in

Log in to the declaration service using your online banking IDs, mobile certificate or certificate card.  If you don’t have any of these, you can authorise another person to take care of the customs clearance on your behalf.

If you are a foreign private person who does not have a Finnish personal identity code and you are unable to identify yourself with Finnish identification tokens, you cannot, at the moment, identify yourself using the Finnish Authenticator Service when logging in to the Import Declaration Service for private persons or to the Customs Clearance Service.

Instead, you can authorise another person or an agent to declare the consignment on your behalf. See also Instructions for other service alternatives.

Payment

As payment method, choose online banking or card (VISA debit/credit and MasterCard debit/credit) or mobile payment.

Postal consignment

A postal consignment will be sent directly to your home or to a pick-up point, once you have cleared it and paid the import duties.

A consignment delivered by another transport company – you may have to deliver a decision on release

The transport company needs the decision on release. You get the decision on release from the Declaration Service. Deliver the decision on release to the transport company as instructed. The transport company then delivers the consignment to you or you can agree on a pick-up point with the transport company.

Other things to note regarding the service

The documents pertaining to the customs clearance transaction must be kept on file for the current year + the following six years. You must submit the documents to Customs when requested to do so. Customs has the right to inspect the goods without you being present.

The due date of a customs invoice provided by Customs is 10 days from the date of the invoice. If the customs invoice is not paid by the due date, Customs will calculate an interest for the invoice after the due date. This interest must also be paid before the goods can be released.

When can the Import declaration service for private persons NOT be used?

For example, live animals, removal goods, investment gold, aircraft parts, VAT-free bank notes or goods you transport to Finland yourself cannot be cleared using the service. You can declare consignments that contain such goods in the Customs Clearance Service.

Transactions on someone else’s behalf in the Import Declaration Service for private persons

You can declare a parcel also on behalf of another person in the Import Declaration Service for private persons. You can grant a mandate, i.e. an authorisation for another person to declare the goods on your behalf. Respectively, another person can grant you a mandate for declaring a parcel on his or her behalf.

Posti and other transport companies will deliver the postal consignment directly to the recipient stated on the consignment.

Read more: This is how another person can declare your parcel for you in the Import Declaration Service for private persons

Read more: This is how you declare a parcel on behalf of the recipient (consignee) in the Import Declaration Service for private persons

Who is responsible if I am declaring a parcel on behalf of another person?

If you are declaring the goods on the behalf of someone else, you are acting on behalf of the other person, but you are not solely responsible for the clearance. You are responsible for the customs debt only insofar as you were aware or should have been aware of the incorrectness of information provided in the customs declaration. Otherwise, the person on whose behalf you are declaring the goods is solely responsible for the customs debt and any post-clearance duties due (direct representation). Read more about direct representation.

How am I notified of declarations submitted on my behalf?

If another person is declaring goods on your behalf, they are responsible for informing you about the declarations that they have submitted on your behalf.  Ask the party that has declared the goods on your behalf for the declaration reference, i.e. the MRN. After that, you can check your declaration details in the Customs Clearance Service.

If you do not receive the MRN of your declaration from the person who is declaring on your behalf, ask the Customs Information Service for the MRN. As a private person, if necessary, you can also get information on declarations submitted on your behalf by making a control request related to personal data.

More information:

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I’m paying Posti or some other transport company to declare the goods for me

You can also buy the customs clearance for your consignment. You can authorise Posti or a forwarding company to clear the consignment on your behalf.

  • You can authorise Posti to clear your postal consignment for you. Instructions can be found e.g. in the notice of arrival sent to you by Posti. In the Åland Islands, the clearance of postal consignments is handled by Åland Post. Consult Posti or Åland Post for more information.
  • You can authorise a forwarding company to clear other than postal consignments for you. Consult the transport company for more information.

The company will clear your consignment and pay the import taxes to Customs on your behalf. The company will deliver a file copy of the customs clearance to you.

Why does a transport company ask for my personal ID number for clearing my consignment through Customs?

When a transport company sees to the customs clearance of your consignment on your behalf, the company needs certain information for the clearance. The personal ID number of the consignee is such an item of information.

The transport company is responsible for the obtaining the required information.

If you have any questions or if you suspect fraudulent activity, you should be in direct in contact with the transport company.

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I’m declaring the goods at a customs office

As a rule, all consignments carried by transport companies must be declared electronically or by purchasing customs clearance services from an agent. Read more about how you can declare your parcel using alternative services.

Alternative – this is how you clear the consignment at the customs office

  • Bring with you: the notice of arrival, order confirmation/invoice/receipt and your identification and any other documents concerning the consignment.
  • Accepted payment methods are: cash, debit card, Visa, MasterCard, Visa Electron, Maestro and cheque.
  • Check the opening hours of the customs office in advance. Go to contact information.
  • You can also authorise another person to do the customs clearance on your behalf. The authorisation must be in writing.

Check the addresses and the opening hours of the customs offices. Go to contact information.

In certain cases, you can also make an oral customs declaration for a goods consignment at a customs office 

The easiest way to declare the consignment is through the Import Declaration Service for private persons. You can also ask a representative to submit the declaration on your behalf. In some cases, you can make an oral declaration to Customs at a customs office.

You can make an oral customs declaration for a goods consignment from Monday to Friday, from 8 a.m. to 4.15 p.m if all of the following conditions are met: 

  • the consignment is sent by a private individual to another private individual
  • the consignments are of an occasional nature
  • the goods are intended solely for the personal use of the recipient or his or her family
  • the nature and quantity of the goods is such that they are not imported for a commercial purpose
  • the consignor (sender) does not receive any kind of payment from the consignee (recipient).

Please note that you cannot declare online purchases by oral declaration. It is also not possible to use an oral declaration when declaring goods that are subject to restrictions, such as alcohol, tobacco products, foodstuffs of animal origin, animals or plants.

If needed, Customs may ask you to fill in customs form 1143e.

If some other transport operator than Posti is carrying your parcel, that operator can hand over the parcel to you only after receiving a decision on release for the customs clearance. Be sure to keep an eye on any instructions you receive by email and, if necessary, contact the transport operator.

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Points to consider

If you don’t know the contents of the postal consignment, ask the sender about it. Also check the order history in your online shop. Very often, the order history shows the price details and item tracking ID for each consignment.

If the consignment is a gift, you should ask the sender to provide information on the contents and value.

Customs is not able to find out the contents of consignments. Customs does not store or transport consignments. Instead, consignments are kept in the storage facilities of transport companies.

Parcels delivered by Posti

The parcel may get a new tracking ID during transport. You can check the reference of the possible sender of the postal parcel using Posti’s Item Tracking as follows:

Search for the consignment details by entering the item tracking ID that you received from Posti. If after entering the tracking ID there is a small arrow pointing down beside it (the drop down menu), select it. The text “Sender’s reference” is shown below; this could be the original sender’s reference that you received from the sender or, for example, the order number. With this number, you can possibly find out what consignment is waiting for you to declare it.

You can try to check the route of the consignment as well as any item tracking IDs that have possibly been changed, by using different tracking pages, i.e. the Parcelsapp webpage.


Have you received a request concerning a parcel that contains, for example, a payment card from a bank, such as a bank card or credit card? Very often, such items are not commercially valuable. However, you are required to declare such a parcel, as a value was determined for it upon dispatch.

You can declare the consignment yourself in the Import Declaration Service for private persons. On the start page, select the option of declaring “purchased goods”. On the “Consignment details” page, enter the value of the parcel. Usually, the value of a payment card is very low. However, the declared value cannot be 0 euros. The lowest possible declared value is 0.01 €. If you do not know the value, you should ask the sender.

Enter any possible transport costs under “transport costs”. Enter here the amount of service fees or other costs charged by the bank.

On the “Goods details” page, enter the commodity code 8523210000 for the item if the card has a magnetic stripe but no chip, or the code 8523520000 if the card has a chip, or both a chip and a magnetic stripe. Declare the value of the item on the same page. Add the goods to the declaration basket, and fill in any other required information.

If your consignment is transported by Posti and you paid tax for the customs clearance, remember to also pay the Posti handling fee so that Posti can deliver your parcel. This does not apply to customers of Åland Post.


Have you received a customs clearance request concerning a letter, a card or a parcel containing for example a certificate, passport or some other document? Very often, such items are not commercially valuable. However, you are required to declare such a parcel, as a value was determined for it upon dispatch.

You can declare the consignment yourself in the Import Declaration Service for private persons. On the start page, select the option of declaring “purchased goods”. On the “Consignment details” page, enter the value of the parcel. Usually the value of a document is very low. However, the declared value cannot be 0 euros. The lowest possible declared value is 0.01 €. If you do not know the value, you should ask the sender.

Enter any possible transport costs under “transport costs”.

On the “Goods details” page, find and select “Printed products ” and enter the value of the goods to be declared. Add the goods to the declaration basket, and enter any other required details.

If your consignment is transported by Posti and you paid tax for the customs clearance, remember to also pay the Posti handling fee so that Posti can deliver your parcel. This does not concern customers of Åland Post.

This is how you clear documents if you cannot use the e-service

If you cannot use Import Declaration Service for private persons, e.g. because you don’t have Finnish online banking ID codes, a certificate card or a mobile certificate, clear documents with the form “Private person’s declaration of goods imported from outside the customs and fiscal territory of the EU” (1143). See also the detailed instructions for completing the form.


You can ask another person to declare on your behalf

You can authorise another person to declare your parcel in the Import Declaration Service for private persons or in the Customs Clearance Service and to pay the import duties on your behalf. The authorisation may be given either verbally or in writing. The other person identifies him or herself in the service and declares your parcel and your details on your behalf. The service guides the user on how to fill in the details.

Posti will deliver your parcel to the address provided on the consignment or to a pickup point. The person who submits the declaration is only liable for the customs debt and for the details provided in cases where they are aware or should have been aware of the incorrectness of information provided in the customs declaration. You are responsible for both the customs debt and any post-clearance duties (direct representation).

You can declare goods using a form

You can also send the declaration details on a form by email or post to Customs as described.

Send the scanned customs declaration form primarily to the email address provided on the form.  Attach at least the arrival notice and a document indicating the value and content of the consignment (e.g. the order confirmation). Use the secure email service to send the declaration: Guidance on the use of secure email service. It is advisable to use email to speed up the processing of the declaration, because Posti will return undeclared consignments to the sender after 20 days from their arrival in Finland.

  • Alternatively, you can send the documents to the following address: Airport Customs/Declaring with a form, PO Box 512, 00101 Helsinki.
  • Before sending the documents, check carefully that you have completed all mandatory sections of the form and that you have attached all the required documents. If the required details have not been provided, the declaration cannot be processed.
  • If you cannot send the documents electronically yourself, you can ask a customs officer at a customs office with customer service to send them on your behalf.
  • Customs processes the declarations during office hours. You will usually receive a reply no later than on the following working day. Please note: the reply can also be a request for additional information, so follow the instructions in the request.

Pay the customs invoice before the storage time of the parcel comes to an end

The customs invoice must be paid and the payment must be sent to Customs before the storage time of the parcel announced by Posti or some other transport company comes to an end. Customs cannot extend the storage time for consignments.

Please note that the due date of the customs invoice can be after the end of the storage time. Please move the due date before paying the invoice so the declaration is completed within the time limit specified by the transport company and the transport company won’t have to return your parcel. Please note that, depending on the method of payment, it can take two to three banking days for the payment to be registered on Customs’ bank account.


  1. You can declare your parcel at a customs office with customer service, using a tablet available for customers. To fill in the online declaration you must identify yourself using Suomi.fi identification, for example with online banking codes or a mobile certificate. You can ask a customs officer to help you with the declaration.
  2. You can authorise another person to declare your parcel in the Import Declaration Service for private persons or in the Customs Clearance Service and to pay the import duties on your behalf. The authorisation may be given either verbally or in writing. The other person identifies him or herself in the service and declares your parcel and your details on your behalf. The service guides the user on how to fill in the details. Posti will deliver your parcel to the address provided on the consignment or to a pickup point. The person who submits the declaration is only liable for the customs debt and for the details provided in cases where they are aware or should have been aware of the incorrectness of information provided in the customs declaration. You are responsible for both the customs debt and any post-clearance duties (direct representation).

You can ask another person to declare on your behalf

You can authorise another person to declare your parcel in the Import Declaration Service for private persons or in the Customs Clearance Service and to pay the import duties on your behalf. The authorisation may be given either verbally or in writing. The other person identifies him or herself in the service and declares your parcel and your details on your behalf. The service guides the user on how to fill in the details.

Posti will deliver your parcel to the address provided on the consignment or to a pickup point. The person who submits the declaration is only liable for the customs debt and for the details provided in cases where they are aware or should have been aware of the incorrectness of information provided in the customs declaration. You are responsible for both the customs debt and any post-clearance duties (direct representation).

You can declare your goods by visiting a customs office that provides customer service

You can declare your parcel at a customs office with customer service using a tablet available for customers and with the assistance of a customs officer, or you can ask the customs officer to save and submit the declaration on the tablet on your behalf free of charge once you have accepted the details provided. In both cases, you have to identify yourself in the service.

You can declare goods using a form

You can also send the declaration details on a form by email or post to Customs as described.

Send the scanned customs declaration form primarily to the email address provided on the form.  Attach at least the arrival notice and a document indicating the value and content of the consignment (e.g. the order confirmation). Use the secure email service to send the declaration: Guidance on the use of secure email service. It is advisable to use email to speed up the processing of the declaration, because Posti will return undeclared consignments to the sender after 20 days from their arrival in Finland.

  • Alternatively, you can send the documents to the following address: Airport Customs/Declaring with a form, PO Box 512, 00101 Helsinki.
  • Before sending the documents, check carefully that you have completed all mandatory sections of the form and that you have attached all the required documents. If the required details have not been provided, the declaration cannot be processed.
  • If you cannot send the documents electronically yourself, you can ask a customs officer at a customs office with customer service to send them on your behalf.
  • Customs processes the declarations during office hours. You will usually receive a reply no later than on the following working day. Please note: the reply can also be a request for additional information, so follow the instructions in the request.

Pay the customs invoice before the storage time of the parcel comes to an end

The customs invoice must be paid and the payment must be sent to Customs before the storage time of the parcel announced by Posti or some other transport company comes to an end. Customs cannot extend the storage time for consignments.

Please note that the due date of the customs invoice can be after the end of the storage time. Please move the due date before paying the invoice so the declaration is completed within the time limit specified by the transport company and the transport company won’t have to return your parcel. Please note that, depending on the method of payment, it can take two to three banking days for the payment to be registered on Customs’ bank account.



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Any questions?

Contact Customs Information Mon–Fri 8 am–4.15 pm

Please have a look at the frequently asked questions.

If you have a question about the arrival of parcels, its contents or the handling fee, please contact Posti.

Customs Information Service