Tax representatives in excise taxation
A tax representative is a person residing in Finland or a company established in Finland that a distance seller has designated and the Tax Administration accepted as the distance seller’s representative in Finland. Acting on the distance seller’s behalf, the tax representative files and pays excise duties on the products that the distance seller sells to recipients in Finland.
Distance sellers are liable to pay tax. If a distance seller has a tax representative, the representative is liable to pay tax instead of the distance seller.
The tax representative must give their excise duty number to the seller. The number is used to identify the transport, and it must be presented to Finnish Customs or to the Finnish Tax Administration when requested.
Tax representatives need the Tax Administration’s authorisation for their activities.
How to request an authorisation
An application for an authorisation is filed in MyTax The processing of the application usually takes several months.
The authorisation is subject to a fee.
Request an authorisation in MyTax
List of fees charged for certain Tax Administration services (available in Finnish and Swedish, link to Finnish)
General conditions for an authorisation
The Tax Administration grants an authorisation if the applicant has attended to their tax-related obligations without negligence and has paid a guarantee related to the authorisation. The authorisation must be valid during the company’s activities subject to excise taxation.
No authorisation is granted if the applicant
- has a ban on business operations
- is a corporate entity or partnership whose director has a ban on business operations
- has substantially neglected or – based on their previous negligence – can be expected to neglect their accounting or taxation obligations
- is bankrupt.
The applicant must be an adult and their competency may not be limited.
If the application concerns alcohol products, the applicant also has to contact the National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health (Valvira) in order to obtain the licences required by alcohol legislation.
Conditions for granting a tax representative’s authorisation
A tax representative’s authorisation can be granted to a person that a distance seller selling excise products in another EU Member State has designated to act as its representative and that the Tax Administration has accepted as a tax representative. The tax representative is liable for excise duty on the products that the distance seller sells to Finland.
The authorisation can be granted only to a person living in Finland or to a company or self-employed individual operating in Finland.
Further information
List of fees charged for certain Tax Administration services (available in Finnish and Swedish, link to Finnish)
Key terms: