Ordering or sending alcohol or tobacco to yourself from abroad – how to file and pay excise duties

When you order alcoholic beverages or tobacco products from another EU country and organise their transport to Finland in the capacity of a private individual, you yourself are responsible for paying the excise duties.

Also, when you send yourself alcoholic beverages or tobacco products from abroad to Finland, you must pay excise duties on them to the Tax Administration. You can import alcoholic beverages and tobacco products free of tax only if they are for your personal use and you carry them to Finland yourself. In other words, sending does not fulfil the conditions for tax-free traveller imports. Read more:

Bringing alcohol and tobacco with you from trips

Advance notice and guarantee

You must submit an advance notice of the consignment to the Tax Administration and pay a guarantee amount corresponding to the excise duties before you send the products to Finland. To submit an advance notice of alcoholic beverages and tobacco products, you need information about the quality of the products, i.e. the product group and product volume.

Excise duties on alcoholic beverages and tobacco products

Excise duty on alcohol is paid in accordance with the excise duty table for alcohol. See also the calculator for excise duty on alcohol.

Excise duty on tobacco is paid in accordance with the excise duty table for tobacco.

A package containing alcohol and alcoholic beverages or soft drinks is also subject to the excise duty on beverage containers. The excise duty on beverage containers is €0.51 per litre of beverage ready for consumption.

Excise duty number for transport

When you order or send yourself alcohol or tobacco from abroad and arrange the transport yourself, you must provide the transport company or carrier with an excise duty number issued by the Tax Administration. The excise duty number identifies the consignment. If you send the products by post, mark the excise duty number on the postal package. The excise duty number must be presented to Customs or the Tax Administration during the transport upon request. If you are assigned multiple excise duty numbers, give them all to the carrier or mark them all on the postal package.

After you have paid the guarantee for the consignment to the Tax Administration, you can find the excise duty number under Advance notices in MyTax.

Example: You are on holiday in France and visit a local vineyard. You buy two cases of wine and plan to send them by post to yourself in Finland. Before sending the products, go to MyTax and submit advance notices of alcohol and of beverage containers and pay a guarantee corresponding to the amount of excise duty on alcohol. Mark the excise duty numbers indicated in MyTax on the postal package. Pay the excise duties when you receive the products.

Instructions for filing and payment

1. File an advance notice and deposit a guarantee

You must submit an advance notice of your order or consignment and pay a guarantee corresponding to the excise duty on alcohol and on tobacco before the products are sent to Finland. Excise duties must be paid even if the products have been taxed in another EU country.

Also remember to submit an advance notice of excise duty on beverage containers. However, you do not need to pay a guarantee for the excise duty on beverage containers.

You can submit the advance notice and pay the guarantee in MyTax. You can see the guarantee amount, the account number and the excise duty number in MyTax. You can use the advance notice as a template for the tax return.

2. Give the excise duty number to the carrier or mark it on the package

After paying the guarantee, you can find the excise duty number issued for the consignment under Advance notices in MyTax. Give the excise duty number to the transport company or carrier responsible for the transport. If you send the products to yourself, mark the number on the postal package. If you are assigned multiple excise duty numbers, give them all to the carrier or mark them all on the postal package.

3. After you have received the products, file and pay the excise duties

Submit an excise duty return and pay the excise duties in MyTax no later than on the 12^th day of the month following the month when you receive the products. If the due date is a Saturday, Sunday or a public holiday, you can pay the excise duties on the next business day.

Example: If you receive the products you ordered or sent to Finland on 3 February, you must file and pay the excise duties by 12 March. If you receive the products on 30 May, you must file and pay the excise duties by 12 June.

If the guarantee you have paid does not cover the excise duties you file, you must pay the missing amount. You can check the excise duty amount in MyTax. If the guarantee amount you have paid is bigger than the excise duties payable, we will refund the excess amount to you.

Also remember to file and pay excise duty on beverage containers.

How to file an excise duty return on alcohol in MyTax

Go to MyTax

If you cannot use MyTax, you can submit tax returns on paper.

File an excise duty return on alcohol (available in Finnish and Swedish, link to Finnish)

File an excise duty return on beverage containers (available in Finnish and Swedish, link to Finnish)

File an excise duty return on tobacco (available in Finnish and Swedish, link to Finnish)

Appeals

Traveller imports of alcohol (Customs)

Traveller imports of tobacco (Customs)

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