Questions frequently asked by private persons

You can declare the consignment in advance in the Import Declaration Service for private persons if you receive the notification “Your consignment is on its way to Finland” in the service.  However, you cannot pay for the clearance in advance if there is a payment to be made in conjunction with the customs clearance.

When you have successfully sent the declaration to Customs, it will have the status “Declaration received”.

After your consignment has arrived in Finland, the processing of your declaration will continue and Customs will send you instructions by email. Follow the instructions.

Please note: A customs declaration submitted in advance cannot be corrected after it has been sent to Customs.

If your consignment does not arrive in Finland within 30 days after you declared it, the declaration will automatically be invalidated. If this happens, please submit a new declaration when the consignment has arrived.

If you cannot submit an advance declaration in the Import Declaration Service for private persons, the reason may be that the transport company is still processing the consignment. In this case, wait for the consignment to arrive in Finland and for a declaration request by the transport company.

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When you’ve ordered goods from Ukraine, you should declare the consignment in the Import Declaration Service for private persons as follows:

• On page 2, “Consignment details”, you are asked “Does the consignment contain goods subject to restrictions or excise duty?”. Choose ‘Yes’.
• On page 3, “Goods details”, select the tab “Commodity code”. You must provide the commodity code of the goods; that is, you cannot use the goods search. You can ask about the commodity code using the chat provided in the service or by calling the Customs Information Service, or you can find the commodity code yourself in the commodity code service Fintaric.
• Continue filling in the declaration as normal and answer the other questions about your consignment.

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It may happen that you receive a defective item that you do not have to send back to the seller. If the seller sends you a new item or a new component of the item free of charge, please note that the new item or component must be declared.

If you declare the new item or component in the Import Declaration Service for private persons, select that you wish to declare “purchased goods” on the start page. When declaring the value of the new item or component, enter the normal price of the item or component.

After that, you can apply for a correction, i.e. revision of the customs clearance decision, so that you can get a refund of the import taxes that you have paid for the defective item. To complete your application for revision you need the MRN of the original declaration and the MRN of the declaration of the new item.  

Please note that you cannot apply for a revision of the customs clearance decision if you received the original item from EU territory, but the new item or component arrives from outside the EU. The new item or component must be declared and when declaring its value, the normal price of the item or the component must be entered.

Please note that in the Import Declaration Service for private persons, select “goods replaced for free under warranty” only if you sent the defective item back to the seller.  

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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.

• Complete and sign customs declaration form 
  • 1143e – Private person’s declaration of goods imported from outside the customs and fiscal territory of the EU
  • 1143e Completing instructions
  • 1105e – Declaration of goods imported to the Åland Islands from an EU country
  • 1141e – private person’s declaration for sending goods from Åland to mainland Finland
  • 1142e – private person’s declaration for clearing goods from mainland Finland to Åland
    
    Forms can be found here (with completion instructions): Other customs forms. The forms are also available at the customs offices.

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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