A handling fee will be introduced for goods outside the EU fiscal territory that have a value of more than 22 euros, the government-owned Posti Group Oy says in a statement. The fee is 2.90 euros per shipment and will come into effect on January 31, 2020.
As international e-commerce grows, the fee will cover the costs associated with the handling, notification procedures and warehousing of items.
“The costs associated with international e-commerce will now be covered by the corresponding operations. This helps ensure equal opportunities in trade as well as the competitiveness of Finnish online stores,” says Sami Finne, the vice President of international e-commerce at Posti.
The recipient of the shipment requiring customs clearance will receive either a printed notice of arrival or electronic notice of arrival. This includes instructions on how to pay the fee with a debit card.
The item’s taxes and processing fee must be paid within 20 days of the arrival date. After the fees have been paid, Posti will deliver the item to the recipient without delay. Items that are not cleared will be returned to the sender.