All items arriving from outside the EU must be cleared
All goods from outside the EU must be cleared. At a minimum, customs clearance may mean that you inform Customs of the contents of the item. Customs clearance may involve duties, like VAT, customs duty and excise duty, but not necessarily.
VAT must always be paid, but many foreign online stores will charge it in connection with payment.
Customs duty must be paid if the price of the purchase is more than EUR 150 excluding the transportation charge.
Excise duty is only paid on certain products, such as alcohol and tobacco.
These are collectively referred to as import taxes or charges.
Not all products may be ordered to Finland, or a permit may be required. You can find more information on these on the Finnish Customs website, for example in the instructions I am going to order goods from abroad.
If you’re planning to order goods from abroad, you can use the customs duty calculator on the Finnish Customs website to calculate the amount of duties payable.
We will declare some items for you
You do not always have to do or pay anything related to customs clearance. Posti will declare most purchases with a value of less than EUR 150 for which you've already paid the VAT in the online store (so-called IOSS purchases) on your behalf. The online store will provide us with the necessary customs clearance information, and we will forward it to Customs. In these cases, the parcel’s journey does not pause for customs clearance. Instead, the parcel automatically continues its journey to you. Explore OmaPosti. However, if we do not receive all the necessary customs clearance information from the online store, you must clear the item yourself using Finnish Customs' service. When the parcel has arrived in Finland, you will receive a notification from us that you have received an IOSS purchase requiring customs clearance.
If you do not want Posti to declare items on your behalf
Usually, the shipping company will declare an online purchase for which you've already paid the VAT at the time of purchase (so-called IOSS purchases) on your behalf. If you specifically don’t want Posti to clear your IOSS item for you, you can do it yourself. In this case, you must first revoke Posti’s authorization to handle the matter on your behalf and then clear the item yourself on the Finnish Customs' website.
Search for the item with the item ID and revoke Posti’s authorization to clear the item
When the item arrives in Finland, you will receive a notification about an item requiring customs clearance.
When you clear your item yourself
When the recipient has to complete customs clearance themselves, the parcel waits in Posti’s warehouse until the customs clearance has been done. The storage period is 20 days after the parcel has arrived in Finland. The customs clearance must be done during this period. Depending on the contact information we have received from the sender, you will receive a notification from us about the parcel requiring customs clearance either by phone, email or paper mail. See our instructions for customs clearance of parcels.
Usually, Posti's handling fee must also be paid in addition to the customs clearance. It covers the costs incurred by Posti related to processing and warehousing for the parcel. Read about when the handling fee is paid . Linkki sivulle ”Tullaaminen” kohtaan Miksi ja milloin maksan käsittelymaksun? When you have cleared the item and paid the handling fee, Customs “releases” the item, i.e. informs Posti that the transport can continue. Then we deliver the parcel to you.
Where will the parcel be delivered?
The delivery method of the parcel depends on the sender. It can be delivered to a Posti outlet for pickup, to your doorstep or to your mailbox. Some orders from abroad are shipped as registered mail. To pick up registered items, you always need an identity document. If someone else picks up the item, they also need to have a power of attorney from you. If the item contains your phone number, you can see how and where the parcel will be delivered in the OmaPosti application. The application also tells you what is needed to pick up the items that have arrived for pickup and who can pick up the parcel. Start using OmaPosti If the item does not include your phone number or email address, you will receive a notice of arrival in paper form.