How to Export to Finland in 2026: 25.5% VAT, 13.5% Food, Import VAT, EORI

Duty and import VAT: rates and base

Finland applies the EU's common customs tariff, so find the duty rate in TARIC under the 10-digit code, with any preferential rate for goods with valid proof of origin. Duty is charged on the customs value, normally the price paid plus freight and insurance up to the point where the goods enter the EU (Union Customs Code, Article 71). The import VAT base is the customs value plus duties plus transport costs to the destination in Finland.

Import VAT follows the Finnish rates. The general rate, 25.5% since 1 September 2024, applies to most goods, including clothing, alcohol, tobacco, building supplies and new vehicles. The reduced rate, 13.5% since 1 January 2026, covers groceries, pharmaceuticals, books, sanitary products and baby diapers, and 10% applies to newspapers and magazines. Example with an assumed duty rate of 4%:

• Customs value, the price plus freight and insurance to the EU border: EUR 10,000.
• Duty at 4%: EUR 400.
• Transport from the point of entry to the destination in Finland, not in the customs value: EUR 200.
• Import VAT base: 10,000 + 400 + 200 = EUR 10,600; import VAT at 25.5%: EUR 2,703.
• A VAT-registered importer reports the EUR 2,703 in its periodic VAT return and deducts it there; an unregistered importer pays it to Finnish Customs.

Who pays the import VAT: the Tax Administration or Finnish Customs

Since 1 January 2018, import VAT is reported to the Finnish Tax Administration when the importer is VAT-registered at the time the import declaration is approved and imports the goods for a business purpose. It goes in the periodic VAT return, where the importer also deducts it as input VAT, so there is no cash outlay at the border. Private individuals and companies with no VAT registration pay the VAT on imports to Finnish Customs.

For an exporter, this means a VAT-registered Finnish buyer importing on DAP or FCA terms pays no import VAT at the border. If you sell DDP and act as importer yourself without a Finnish VAT registration, you pay it to Finnish Customs; take Finnish VAT advice first (see Triplicate's note on postponed import VAT in Europe).

EORI, the Åland Islands and consumer parcels

A company established in Finland applies for its EORI number in Finnish Customs' EORI Number Registration Service, and the number is FI followed by its Business ID, for example FI1234567-8. Customs recommends applying at least two working days before the first customs declaration. A company established outside the EU applies with form 730, Application – EORI registration, completed in Latin characters and sent to Finnish Customs by secure e-mail; a seller outside the EU usually needs none if the Finnish buyer or its customs agent declares the goods (see Triplicate's note on EORI numbers).

The Åland Islands have a tax border with mainland Finland, so goods moving between them follow separate VAT rules; check them before quoting for Åland. Sales to consumers in mainland Finland follow the EU rules: for consignments up to EUR 150, VAT can be collected through IOSS or by the marketplace, and from 1 July 2026 to 1 July 2028 distance sales in these consignments pay a customs duty of EUR 3 per item (see Triplicate's guide to exporting to the EU).