How to declare

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

When your parcel 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 parcel 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 parcel 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 your parcel.

2. How do I declare a parcel?

Start your customs clearance when 

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

Declare your parcel in the Import Declaration Service for private persons.

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

  • When necessary, you can authorise another person to declare your parcel on your behalf.
  • 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.

If you do not have Finnish online banking codes, a mobile certificate, a certificate card or the hightrust.id application, you cannot log in to the Import Declaration Service for private persons. Note that it is also not possible to log in to the Import Declaration Service for private persons with the Finnish Authenticator ID service meant for foreign citizens.

In such cases, you can declare your parcel in one of the following ways:

If you do not have access to a computer or mobile device, you can declare your package in one of the following ways:

  • Authorise another person to declare your parcel on your behalf.
  • Declare your parcel at your nearest customs office with a Customs computer. You will need your online banking ID for logging in to the Import Declaration Service for private persons. If you do not have an online banking ID, you can declare your parcel by filling in a form at a customs office. Note that your form will not be processed at the customs office, and that your customs clearance will not be complete until later.
  • 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.

If you are unable to use electronic services for example due to a disability, you can declare your parcel in one of the following ways:

  • Authorise another person to declare your parcel on your behalf.
  • 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.
  • You can declare your parcel at your nearest customs office with a paper form or a computer. Customs personnel will assist you when needed. Note that if you declare your parcel with a computer, you will need an online banking ID or a mobile certificate. If you use a form for your customs clearance, note that your form will not be processed at the customs office, and that your customs clearance will not be complete until later.

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

The parcel is delivered by Posti

Note that you must also pay Posti’s handling fee if Posti transports your parcel 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 parcel 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 parcel 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 in exceptional situations you can declare goods using a form.

  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. Add the form you completed as an attachment to your email message
    • the form you completed
    • notice of arrival regarding your parcel
    • 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 parcel

Posti or some other transport company will return your 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 are unable to send the form by email, choose one of the following:

  • 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.
  • Visit your nearest customs office. We will forward the form on your behalf. When needed, the customs office will also give you a paper form.

Note that you can declare goods at customs office only in exceptional situations. Check the contact details of your nearest customs office.

Specific goods (e.g. live animals and removal goods)

At a customs office, you can declare the following goods among other items:

  • removal goods
  • live animals
  • goods you bring to Finland personally
  • coffins and urns
  • deceased persons
  • parcel sent to diplomatic personnel.

If you are unable to use the Import Declaration Service for private persons

You can declare other goods at a customs office if you do not have access to a computer or a mobile device, and therefore unable to use the Import Declaration Service for private persons. Make the declaration with the computer at the customs office. You will need your online banking ID for logging in to the Import Declaration Service for private persons.

If you do not have an online banking ID, you can declare your parcel by filling in a form at a customs office. Note that your form will not be processed at the customs office, and that your customs clearance will not be complete until later.

Goods search in the Import Declaration Service for private persons

When you are declaring goods in the Import Declaration Service for private persons, enter the name of the goods you want to declare in the goods search. Select the goods or the closest goods group from the list.

If you can’t find your goods in the goods search or if you aren’t sure which product group your goods belong to, you can send a question about this in the chat in the Import Declaration Service for private persons (Mon–Fri 8 am–4.15 pm), or call the Customs Information Service. The customer service will tell you which product group to select.

Commodity codes in certain situations

You need the commodity code of the goods if

  • there is no suitable product group for the goods you are about to declare in the goods search in the Import Declaration Service for private persons
  • you are using a form for the customs clearance
  • you are submitting an export declaration for the goods
  • you are declaring your goods in the Customs Clearance Service.

You can ask for the commodity code in the chat in the Import Declaration Service for private persons (Mon–Fri 8 am–4.15 pm) or by calling the Customs Information Service.

If you are declaring unusual goods, kindly examine the goods before contacting the customer service. Find out the following details about the goods:

  • what is it made of
  • what is the purpose of use
  • what does it contain (e.g. natural health products)
  • what is the operating principle, if it is a device of some sort.

There may be an occasion where you declare a parcel that contains only part of the goods you ordered. In such a case, the rest of the goods may arrive later on as a subsequent delivery. 

You have declared a parcel and you notice afterwards that some of the goods are missing in the parcel

There may be an occasion where you have already declared a parcel and you notice afterwards that the parcel contains only part of the goods you ordered. In such a case, the manner in which the parcel arriving as a subsequent delivery shall be declared depends on the total value of your purchase.

The total value of your purchase does not exceed 150 euros

When you are notified about the arrival of your subsequent delivery, contact the service for Advice on customs clearance for private customers. If your subsequent delivery arrives in Åland, contact the service for Incomplete customs clearances to Åland. Before you contact us, make sure you have

  • an order confirmation or invoice
  • the MRN number of the declaration you submitted
  • a complaint or for example an email message sent by the sender of your parcel concerning subsequent delivery
  • the arrival ID or other tracking ID of the parcel arriving as a subsequent delivery.

The total value of your purchase exceeds 150 euros

When you are notified about the arrival of your subsequent delivery, do this:

  1. Declare the parcel arriving as a subsequent delivery. Provide only the value of the parcel arriving as a subsequent delivery as the value of the parcel.
  2. Apply for an amendment of the clearance decisionfor your first parcel. In your amendment request, provide the MRN numbers of both customs clearances.

You know before declaring that some of the goods are missing in the parcel

There may be an occasion where you have not yet declared a parcel, but you know that the parcel contains only part of the goods you ordered. In such a case, you must declare the parcel and the parcel arriving as a subsequent delivery separately.

For declaring the goods, you will need the following information:

  • What goods do each parcel contain. If you do not know what goods the parcels contain, ask the sender of your parcel or the transport company about it.
  • What is the value of each parcel.
  • What are the transport costs of the whole purchase.

Please note that Customs is not in a position to verify the parcels’ contents. Parcels are stored in Posti’s facilities or those of some other transport company.

Divide the transport costs of the whole purchase between the different parcels according to the value or mass of the goods.  

Example: How to divide the transport costs according to the value of the goods

You ordered a book (value 20 $), a toy (value 30 $) and a shirt (value 50 $) from an online shop. The total value of the purchase is 100 $. In addition, the transport costs are 30 $.

The first parcel contains a book and a shirt with a total value of 70 $ i.e. 70 % of the total value of the purchase (70 $ / 100 $ = 0,7).  The transport costs of the parcel are thus 0,7 x 30 $ = 21 $.

The parcel arriving as a subsequent delivery contains a toy with a value of 30 $ i.e. 30 % of the total value of the purchase (30 $ / 100 $ = 0,3). The transport costs of the parcel arriving as a subsequent delivery are thus 0,3 x 30 $ = 9 $.

Read more

Sometimes you may order goods from several different online shops. You may not necessarily know the contents of your incoming parcel.

Be sure to check the notice of arrival for the tracking ID of your parcel. Online shop order histories usually show what goods you have ordered are under the same tracking ID. Note that your parcel may be given a new tracking ID during transport.

For example, you can check the goods you are going to receive from a tracking website using the tracking ID, order number or order ID, the sender reference number or the tracking number that the seller gave you. For example, tracking websites include the Posti item tracking serviceLinkki toiselle sivustolle ja Parcelsapp.Linkki toiselle sivustolle

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

Note that Customs may request you to provide an order confirmation, a receipt or a free-form account later on. The said documentation must indicate the goods in question, as well as their value. You should keep the order confirmation, receipt or account for six years.

Note that you cannot declare the following goods, among other items, in the Import Declaration Service for private persons:

You must declare your investment gold, VAT-exempt banknotes and airplane parts with the customs clearance form or in the Customs Clearance Service. For advice in declaring your goods in the Customs Clearance Service, contact our customer service.