How to declare a gift

1. Notice of arrival from Posti or some other transport company

When your gift has arrived in Finland, you will receive a notice of arrival from Posti or some other transport company. The notice of arrival usually says if your gift needs to be cleared through Customs. The transport company may notify you of the parcel in some other way as well.

Be sure to declare your gift by the date indicated in the notice of arrival. Otherwise, Posti or the carrier in question may return your parcel back to the sender. If you cannot find the date in the notice of arrival, you can contact the transport company and ask for it. Note that your customs clearance will not be done until you pay any possible import duties, and Customs has received the payment.

Posti stores parcels for 20 days after their arrival in Finland. Other transport companies may store parcels for shorter times. Parcels are stored in Posti’s facilities or those of some other transport company. Customs cannot extend the storage time for parcels.

2. How do I declare a gift?

Start your customs clearance when

  • you have received a notice of arrival on the gift that needs to be declared
  • you know the contents of the gift parcel
  • you know the value of the gift.

Declare the gift in the Import Declaration Service for private persons.

Alternatively, you can declare the gift in one of the following ways:

  • When needed, authorise another person to declare your parcel on your behalf.
  • Declare your gift with a form.
  • Buy the customs clearance service from Posti, some other transport company or a forwarding agency. A forwarding agency is a company that can declare the goods on your behalf.
  • Declare your gift at a customs office.

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

The gift is delivered by Posti

Note that you must also pay Posti’s handling fee if Posti transports your gift and you paid import duties or taxes in connection with your declaration. You can pay the Posti handling fee on the Posti website.

If you did not pay any import duties or taxes in connection with the declaration, you do not need to pay Posti’s handling fee.

The gift is delivered by some other transport company

Åland Post, UPS Finland, DHL Express and Fedex usually receive a decision on release from Customs when the customs clearance is complete. If your parcel is transported by some other transport company, they may need a decision on release from you, that is, information on the customs clearance of the package so that it can be handed over to you. Ask the transport company if they need a decision on release. If you declared the gift in the Import Declaration Service for private persons, the decision on release is available in the section My declarations in the service.

Other things to note

Note that you cannot declare all gift consignments in the Import Declaration Service for private persons. In such cases, you can declare your gift in one of the following ways:

  • Buy the customs clearance service from Posti, some other transport company or a forwarding agency. A forwarding agency is a company that can declare the goods on your behalf.
  • Declare your gift with a form.
  • Declare your gift at a customs office.

What gift consignments cannot be declared in the Import Declaration Service for private persons?

The following gift consignments cannot be declared in the Import Declaration Service for private persons:

  • The gift consignment contains goods some of which are worth 45 euros or less, and some worth more than 45 euros.
  • The gift consignment contains goods also for persons who are not your family members.
    • A parent and their underage children are family members. Furthermore, a spouse, a common-law spouses or registered partners as well as their underage children constitute family members.
  • The gift consignment contains products of which some are subject to import duties, and some not. The following products are always subject to import duty:
    • alcohol
    • tobacco products
    • over 50 grams of perfume
    • over 0.25 litres of eau de toilette products
    • over 500 grams of coffee
    • over 200 grams of coffee essence or extract
    • over 100 grams of tea
    • over 40 grams of tea essence or extract

Read more about the gifts subject to import duty.

  1. First read the instructions on filling in the form.
  2. Carefully fill in form 1143.
  3. We recommend that you use the Customs secure email service. Attach the following to your email message:
    • the form you completed
    • the notice on the arrival of your gift
    • an order confirmation on your goods, a receipt or a free-form account detailing the goods and their value.
  4. Send your email message and attachments to the address given in the form you completed.
  5. If we send you a request for additional information, please answer it as soon as possible.
  6. If there are any expenses due to the customs clearance, you should pay the customs invoice. Note that the storage time of your parcel may end before the due date of your customs invoice. In that case, you should change the due date of your invoice to an earlier date in your online bank. Note that it may take a few days before your payment appears on the Customs bank account.

Your customs clearance must be complete before the end of the storage time of your gift parcel

Posti or some other transport company will return your gift parcel to the sender if your customs clearance is not completed by the due date given by Posti or another transport company.

Note that your customs clearance is not complete until you provide additional information if requested, until you pay the customs invoice, and until Customs receives the payment. Posti stores parcels for 20 days after their arrival in Finland. Customs cannot extend the storage time for your parcel.

If you cannot email your form, mail the completed form, the notice of arrival and order confirmation regarding your package, a receipt or a free-form account to the address Lentotulli/Lomaketullaus, PL 512, 00101 Helsinki. Note that your declaration takes a longer time to process compared to an email message.

If a company sends you a free gift from outside the EU or from the EU territory, but from outside its fiscal territory, it must be declared and import duties must be paid for it.

If you declare goods sent free of charge from a company

Ask the company for an estimate of the value of the goods. As the value of the goods, you can also provide the price of corresponding products in the country of dispatch.

If you don’t know what the gift parcel contains, ask the sender before declaring the gift.

Customs cannot check what goods your gift parcel contains. Parcels are stored in Posti’s facilities or those of some other transport company.

If your gift parcel contains a hand-made gift such as knitted socks, ask the sender of your gift for an estimate on the value of the gift. As the value of the gift, you can also provide the price of a corresponding product in the country of dispatch.

Note that Customs may request you to provide an order confirmation, a receipt or a free-form account regarding your gift later on. When needed, you can ask the sender of your gift for these. The said documentation must indicate the goods in question, as well as their value.

Things you should have with you

  • driver’s licence, passport or ID card
  • notice on the arrival of your gift
  • for example an order confirmation, a receipt or a free-form account on your gift, indicating what the goods are and what their value is. When needed, you can ask the sender of your gift for these.