Questions frequently asked by private persons

This is our FAQ page.

You can browse the most popular topics or write your question in the field below.

Ordering goods online

In the dropdown menu under “I wish to declare”, choose “goods I’ve purchased”. When providing the value of the goods, enter the price that would be paid for the goods in a normal purchase transaction. Be prepared to present a document showing the goods item that will be exchanged, what item it will be exchanged for and the value of the goods items exchanged.

Your parcel may be stuck due to Posti’s handling fee. Please visit the Posti website and check.

Declare the consignment in the Import Declaration Service for private persons. The most convenient way to clear it is through online clearance: Customs clearance of a consignment after delivery

No. A private person is not allowed to obtain or receive by mail, as a goods shipment or by any other means from outside Finland tobacco products, electronic cigarettes or nicotine liquids ordered from a trader by means of distance communication.

Read more: Ordering tobacco products online

 

 

More questions about ordering goods online

Import Declaration for private persons

The customs duty is 0 % for goods manufactured in the UK and sent from the UK, if the goods are UK-originating and you have an invoice from the seller containing a specific-form statement on the British origin of the goods. VAT must be paid on all goods delivered from the UK when the value of the goods in a consignment exceeds 22 euros.

If in 2021 you order a suit worth 200 euros from the UK, and the suit was manufactured there and the transport costs amount to 20 euros, the amount of VAT to be levied on the consignment is determined as follows:

  • the customs duty is 0.00 euros (0% x customs value 220 euros) 
  • the VAT is 52.80 euros (24% x (customs value 220 euros + customs duty 0.00 euros))
  • the total price of the suit is 272.80 euros (purchase price + transport costs + VAT).

If the consignment to be declared is transported by Posti, then Posti’s handling fee (2.90 euros) is added to the value on which the VAT is calculated. 

Please note:  How do I get preferential treatment?

Consignments worth more than 22 euros that are manufactured outside the EU and the UK and sent from the UK are subject to VAT. Consignments worth more than 150 euros are subject to a general third country customs duty.  

If in 2021 you order sports shoes worth 200 euros from the UK, and the shoes were manufactured outside the UK (e.g. in India), with transport costs amounting to 20 euros, the amount of customs duty and VAT to be levied on the consignment are determined as follows: 

  • the customs duty is 37.18 euros (16.9% x customs value 220 euros) the VAT is 61.72 euros (24% x (customs value 220 euros + customs duty 37.18 euros))
  • the total price of the footwear is 318.90 euros (purchase price + transport costs + customs duty + VAT)
  • If the footwear is worth no more than 150 euros, you only have to pay VAT on import. If the consignment to be declared is transported by Posti, then Posti’s handling fee (2.90 euros) is added to the price on which the VAT is calculated. 

Here you can read more about customs duties and VAT

If your parcel was lost after customs clearance in Finland, Customs will not refund the import taxes.

If Posti has returned a cleared parcel to the sender abroad, you can apply to Customs for repayment of the import duties. Please note: to complete your refund application (application for a revised decision) you need to print out from Posti’s Item Tracking a verification of the departure of the consignment from the country.

In some cases, you may receive a notice of arrival from Posti about a consignment to be declared, although the value of the consignment is not more than 22 euros. This may be due to the fact that Posti does not know the value of your consignment, for example.  

For the time being, if the amount of VAT is less than 5 euros, you are usually not required to pay it. You must declare the consignment, however, in order to receive it from Posti. It is no longer possible to ask Customs to release such a consignment via e-mail, as it was before. 

From 1 July 2021, all purchases delivered from outside the EU have to be declared and VAT has to be paid for them.

More about the Import Declaration Service

Gift consignments

Declare the consignment in the Import Declaration Service for private persons. The most convenient way to clear it is through online clearance: Customs clearance of a consignment after delivery

Ask the sender for an account of the content and value of the gift consignment.

Read more: Clearing gifts through Customs

For declaring your gift, you need the following:

  • arrival notification from the transport company
  • information on the gift and its value, for example, a free-form account on the value or a receipt on the goods. (If necessary, ask the sender for the account in advance.)
  • Customs may also wish to see other documents.

 

You’ll find instructions on sending parcels abroad on Posti’s website. Posti’s website also has information on prohibited and dangerous items and country-specific bans and restrictions.

Many export restrictions also apply to gift consignments. Such goods include products derived from endangered animals and plants.

Please note that the sender is responsible for finding out what the current export restrictions are, as well as the import restrictions of the country of destination. You can get more information about the restrictions e.g. from the country’s embassy or authorities. Finnish Customs does not provide information about the import restrictions of other countries.

More questions about gift consignments

Travelling

Before you go:

  • Contact the Police and make sure that you have the required licences for transporting firearms and cartridges. Private individuals are required to have a private transfer permit issued in Finland for taking firearms or cartridges from Finland to Estonia. Alternatively, the holder of a European firearms pass may transfer, from Finland to Estonia, a firearm marked in a firearms pass, as well as the necessary quantity of ammunition to be used with the firearm and applicable to hunting. A person transferring a firearm and ammunition must also have a written invitation to participate in a hunting event.
  • You should contact the authorities or embassy of your country of destination and find out the procedures involving licences and declarations.
  • If you have the required licences, you do not need to lodge a declaration with Finnish Customs on transporting personal firearms or cartridges. However, if Customs asks you to present your firearm, cartridges and licence, you must do so.
  • If you are travelling with a hunting dog, you must contact the Finnish Food Safety Authority to make sure that your dog has the required documents and valid vaccinations. You should also find out the requirements posed by the Estonian authorities for taking your dog to Estonia.

 

When you return to Finland:  

  • If you have the required licences, you do not need to lodge a declaration with Finnish Customs on transporting personal firearms or cartridges. However, if Customs asks you to present your firearm, cartridges and licence, you must do so.
  • You do not need to present your dog or any documents concerning your dog to Customs.
  • More information for passengers is available on the Customs website.

Help prevent the spread of African swine fever in Finland

Please note that, as per the Finnish Food Authority's recommendation, travelling to regions such as Estonia where African swine fever is prevalent is not advised. Information on African swine fever for hunters - Finnish Food Authority (in Finnish)

Make sure also to clean and disinfect your equipment, as it may be contaminated by the African swine fever virus. If you are travelling with a hunting dog, you should also clean the dog’s fur and any related equipment. Specific instructions are available on the Finnish Food Authority's website.

Read more about importing hunting trophies (in Finnish) and importing fresh meat on the Finnish Food Authority's website.

 

 

Ask the Finnish Food Authority about the restrictions and regulations regarding the importation of pets.

Clear the pet through Customs when you enter the country. Present documents and the invoice for the pet in connection with the customs clearance. You can bring in the pet without paying duties or taxes as long as the value limit for imports by travellers is not exceeded. The value limit is 430 or 300 euros depending on which transport vehicle you use. If the value limit is exceeded, the amount of VAT payable is 24% of the purchase price plus transport costs and possible insurance costs. Read more about import duties and taxes.

In matters concerning border crossing by private persons, instructions are provided by the Finnish Border Guard. Follow the instructions on the website raja.fi.

If you live in Finland and you arrive in Finland from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) other than by air and your journey has lasted no more than 24 hours, you are not allowed to bring in tobacco products or nicotine liquids.

Exception: You are allowed to bring in tobacco products and nicotine liquids if it is apparent that you obtained them before you left Finland. For instance, text warnings in Finnish and Swedish can be taken as an indication that the product was bought in Finland.

To bring in tobacco products or nicotine liquids you must be aged 18 or over.

Read more: Bringing back tobacco products from travels 

More questions about travelling

Customs control

Customs supervises and controls arriving and departing goods and travellers. Customs supervises the compliance with time limits concerning imports of tobacco products and nicotine liquids in connection with other customs enforcement through control measures aimed the flows of vehicles and travellers in different traffic types.

Section 66 of the Tobacco Act provides for the time limits on imports of tobacco products and nicotine liquids by travellers from non-EEA countries. The time limits are implemented to prevent illegal trade in tobacco products, and to prevent the entry into the Finnish market of tobacco products that are in violation of the Tobacco Products Directive.

Read more: Bringing back tobacco products from travels 

 

To carry out a customs inspection of a person does not require any evidence or suspicion of any offence. The selection is based on a risk assessment or other observation made by Customs.

According to a decision by the Parliamentary Ombudsman, stopping a person and discussing with him or her does not yet constitute a customs inspection.

Read more: Customs control

 

No, they won’t.

The radiation from Customs’ x-ray scanners has no effect on either foodstuffs or film materials.

Read more: Customs control

No. Before the vehicle is scanned, the driver assures Customs in writing that there is no one in the vehicle. Nevertheless, the radiation dose received during a scan is so small as not to pose any danger to humans. A normal medical x-ray examination gives a higher radiation dose to a patient.

Customs does not under any circumstances scan people. Customs can order a person to undergo a bodily search that is performed in the form of an x-ray examination. The x-ray examination of a person is a medical procedure and is always undertaken under the supervision of a doctor.

Read more: Customs control

 

More questions about customs control

Moving to or from Finland

If you are moving from outside the EU to Finland, your permanent residence will have to have been outside the customs and fiscal territory of the EU for a continuous period of at least 12 months, then you can be granted exemption from customs duties and value added tax if the other conditions are met.

If you are moving from outside the EU to another EU country, you will have to clear your removal goods through customs in that country. Then, if you move from that EU country to Finland, your move takes place within the EU and your removal goods will not have to be cleared in Finland.

Read more: Moving to Finland from outside the EU customs and tax territory

You may, if your permanent residence has been outside the customs and fiscal territory of the EU for a continuous period of at least 12 months before moving to Finland, and the other conditions for exemption from customs duties and value added tax are met.

You can bring in your removal goods to Finland free from customs duty and value added tax within 12 months after your move.

Read more: Moving to Finland from outside the EU customs and tax territory

More questions about moving

Restrictions

The new plant health legislation restricts travellers from bringing in plants and plant products from outside the European Union without a phytosanitary certificate.

A phytosanitary certificate is required for:

  • seedlings, potted plants, greenery,
  • scions, stems, tubers, rhizomes and similar propagated materials,
  • seeds for planting,
  • cut flowers and branches as well as
  • fresh fruits, berries, vegetables and root vegetables.

Of fruits, only bananas, dates durians, pineapples and coconuts are exempted from the certificate requirement.

You will still need to check for possible import bans in the Finnish Food Authority’s Guide to Import Bans (in Finnish).

A phytosanitary certificate is not required for mushrooms, and it is therefore still permitted after 1 September 2019 to bring in a maximum of 10 kilogrammes for personal use without testing and radiation controls.

Further information can be found on the Finnish Food Authority’s webpage (in Finnish and Swedish).

Ask the Finnish Food Authority about the restrictions and regulations regarding the importation of pets.

Clear the pet through Customs when you enter the country. Present documents and the invoice for the pet in connection with the customs clearance. You can bring in the pet without paying duties or taxes as long as the value limit for imports by travellers is not exceeded. The value limit is 430 or 300 euros depending on which transport vehicle you use. If the value limit is exceeded, the amount of VAT payable is 24% of the purchase price plus transport costs and possible insurance costs. Read more about import duties and taxes.

Mosquito repellents, e.g. mosquito repellent mats, can only be imported to Finland by registered operators. Mosquito repellent refers to a biocidal substance that repels mosquitos. When you obtain repellents, they need to be authorised by the Safety and Chemicals Agency (Tukes). In other words, there needs to be an authorisation number by Tukes on the packaging of the repellent. 

Private persons can bring in mosquito repellent devices as passenger imports or order them online, as long as mosquito repellent mats without an authorisation number by Tukes are not included.

Learn more about mosquito repellents on the Safety and Chemicals Agency website

Private persons are not allowed to bring fireworks to Finland from outside the EEA. The import of fireworks requires a licence, and the Finnish Safety and Chemicals Agency (Tukes) does not grant licences to private persons. More information

  •  More information: Tukes

More questions about restrictions

                            

Contact us

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

 

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