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Customs clearance of gifts

Gifts must also be cleared

You must clear gifts sent to you that come from outside the EU. At a minimum, customs clearance may mean that you inform Customs of the contents of the item. If the value of the gift is more than EUR 45, you need to pay VAT for it in connection with customs clearance.

If a gift from abroad needs to be cleared, you will receive a notification when the parcel has arrived in Finland. Depending on the contact information we have received from the sender, the notification will be sent by phone, email or paper mail.

Clear the item in Finnish Customs' service. See our instructions for customs clearance of parcels

What is considered a gift?

Finnish Customs' service will ask you if you are about to declare a gift. This is because the rules for the customs clearance and taxation of gifts are somewhat different compared to other goods. In customs clearance, an item is considered a gift if it meets the following conditions:

The gift’s sender and you (the recipient) are both private individuals.
You’re not paying anything for the goods or the postage.
The gift is intended for your or your family’s personal (non-commercial) use.
You don’t get gifts on a regular basis.

Find out these things for customs clearance of gifts

To declare a gift, you need the following information:

Who is the sender of the gift?
What does the item contain?
What is the value of the gift? If the sender has described the contents of the gift in the item information, the description can be found in the information of the item to be cleared in OmaPosti or in the paper letter. If there is no description of the contents, you must ask the sender of the gift about it. For a homemade gift, you can enter a value corresponding with the normal retail price of the gift in the sending country.

Gifts are subject to VAT

If the value of the gift is more than EUR 45, you need to pay VAT and Posti’s handling fee for it in connection with customs clearance. If the gift’s value is EUR 45 or less, you don’t need to pay VAT or Posti’s handling fee. The handling fee covers the costs related to processing and warehousing for the parcel. When you have cleared the item – and paid the VAT and the handling fee, if necessary – Customs “releases” the item, i.e. informs Posti that the transport can continue. We store the parcel for 20 days after the parcel has arrived in Finland. The item must be cleared and the handling fee must be paid within these 20 days.

Where will the parcel be delivered?

Once Customs has released the item for transport, we will deliver it to you. 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. If the gift has been sent as a registered item, you will need an identity document to pick it up. 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.