Newspaper and magazine subscriptions to Åland
Newspapers and magazines arriving from outside the EU must be declared individually
If newspapers or magazines are sent to you from outside the EU, you must declare each newspaper or magazine individually to Customs and pay the VAT due for it. You can declare the newspaper or magazine in the Import Declaration Service for private persons once you have received the notice of arrival from Posti or other transport company. The newspaper or magazine will be delivered to you only after you have paid the VAT due. However, you don’t have to declare the newspaper or magazine or pay the VAT if the sender has declared it on your behalf.
A subscription newspaper or magazine arriving from outside the EU
You must declare each newspaper or magazine individually to Customs and pay the VAT due for it. Even if you have subscribed for the newspaper or magazine for a longer period, each newspaper or magazine issue included in the subscription must be declared separately.
In the Import Declaration Service for private persons, select that you wish to declare “purchased goods”.
You can calculate the value of a single newspaper or magazine issue by dividing the total price of the subscription with the number of issues included in it.
On the page “Consignment details”, under “Value of the consignment without transport costs”, enter the price and currency of a single magazine issue.
On the page “Goods details”, enter “magazine” in the search field and select “magazines and comics”. Under “Price and currency”, enter the price and currency of the individual magazine issue.
Fill in the missing details and submit the declaration. You can pay the VAT straight away.
A free membership magazine sent by an association or an organisation
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 membership magazine 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 “Magazines and comics” and enter the value of the goods to be declared. Add the goods to the declaration basket, and enter any other required details.
Gifts for magazine subscribers or free magazine samples
A gift sent from outside the EU can only be tax free if you receive it free of charge from another private individual. Goods sent by a company must be declared and import duties and taxes must be paid for them, even though you have not bought the goods. The same is also true for, for example, gifts for magazine subscribers or free magazine samples.
When you declare the goods in the Import Declaration Service for private persons, select that you wish to declare “purchased goods” on the start page. Enter as the goods value the price that would be charged for a similar product, for example, in an online store. You can also ask the sender (consignor) to provide information on the value of the goods.
When your magazine arrives in Åland from mainland Finland or from another EU country
You can submit a declaration and pay the VAT for all magazines included in the subscription period (or for remaining issues of the subscription period) at the same time. You can also declare individual magazines and pay VAT for them separately.
Check the instructions according to whether your magazine arrives from another EU country or from elsewhere in Finland, and whether you are declaring a subscription of magazines or an individual magazine.
When you declare a subscription of several magazines from another EU country to the Åland Islands
In the Import Declaration Service for private persons, select that you wish to declare “an undeclared purchase already delivered to me/a newspaper or magazine subscription”.
On the “Goods details” page and under “Goods description”, enter the name of the newspaper or magazine, the invoice due date and the subscription period for which you are paying VAT.
Under “Price and currency”, enter the price and currency of the subscription period.
Example of the price for the entire subscription period: The subscription period is 1 January–31 December 2023, that is, 12 months. The magazine is delivered once a month. The price of the subscription period is EUR 80. As the price, give the price for the entire subscription period, that is, 80 euros.
Select “10% books, newspapers and magazines” as the VAT rate.
Fill in the missing details and submit the declaration. You can pay the VAT straight away.
When you declare a single magazine from another EU country to the Åland Islands
You can also declare each magazine issue individually and pay the VAT for it. In the Import Declaration Service for private persons, select the “Goods I’ve purchased” option.
On the “Goods details” page and under “Price and currency”, enter the price and currency of the individual magazine issue.
Example of the price of a single magazine: The subscription period is 1 January–31 December 2024, that is, 12 months. The magazine is delivered once a month. The price of the subscription period is EUR 80. Divide the price of the subscription period with the number of magazine issues. The price of an individual magazine issue is EUR 6.67 (80 : 12 = 6.67). Enter 6.67 as the price and EUR as the currency.
Fill in the missing details and submit the declaration. You can pay the VAT straight away.
When you declare a subscription of several magazines to the Åland Islands from elsewhere in Finland
In the Import Declaration Service for private persons, select that you wish to declare “an undeclared purchase already delivered to me/a newspaper or magazine subscription”.
On the “Goods details” page, select “10% books, newspapers and magazines” as the VAT rate.
Under “Total price”, enter the total price of the subscription period.
Example of the price for the entire subscription period: The subscription period is 1 January–31 December 2024, that is, 12 months. The magazine is delivered once a month. The price of the subscription period is EUR 80. As the price, give the price for the entire subscription period, that is, 80 euros.
Under “Additional information”, enter the name of the newspaper or magazine, the invoice due date and the subscription period for which you are paying VAT.
Fill in the missing details and submit the declaration. You can pay the VAT straight away.
When you declare a single magazine to the Åland Islands from elsewhere in Finland
You can also declare each magazine issue individually and pay the VAT for it. In the Import Declaration Service for private persons, select the “Goods I’ve purchased” option.
On the “Goods details” page, select the VAT rate. The VAT rate for books is 10%.
Under “Total price”, enter the total price of the magazine.
Example of the price of a single magazine: The subscription period is 1 January–31 December 2024, that is, 12 months. The magazine is delivered once a month. The price of the subscription period is EUR 80. Divide the price of the subscription period with the number of magazine issues. The price of an individual magazine issue is EUR 6.67 (80 : 12 = 6.67). Enter 6.67 as the price.
Fill in the missing details and submit the declaration. You can pay the VAT straight away.