In July, there will be a new customs duty for online purchases from outside the EU with a value of up to EUR 150 – this is how Posti instructs its customers

Starting from July 1, there will be a new batch-specific customs duty of EUR 3 for online purchases from outside the EU with a value of up to EUR 150. The change will remove the current lower limit for customs duties, as until now, you have only had to pay customs duties for purchases worth more than EUR 150. The change will apply to items arriving in Finland from the United Kingdom, China, Switzerland and other countries outside the EU, for example.

The new customs duty is based on the EU regulation (EU 2026/382), which addresses the significant increase in the number of online purchases ordered from outside the EU and its consequences for the environment and consumers. All EU member states must comply with the regulation.

The new customs duty is primarily paid by the sending online store

According to the EU guidelines, the sending online store will be primarily responsible for paying the new customs duty. The aim is to ensure that the change is visible to the receiving customers as little as possible.

Due to the exceptionally late schedule of the EU guidelines, the development of the systems and operating procedures of the authorities and other operators, such as Posti, is still partially ongoing. The procedures and instructions related to the new customs duty will be specified further as the deployment progresses.

Posti instructs its customers at www.posti.fi/en/receiving/customs-clearance.
The instructions of Customs can be found at Customs fee upcoming – Customs.

More detailed information on the customs clearance change:

• The new customs duty applies only to online purchases ordered from outside the EU with a value of up to EUR 150.
• The duty is charged per batch. Products which are identical, have the same commodity code and come from the same country of origin are considered to be a single batch. One parcel, i.e. item, may contain several batches.
• If VAT has already been paid for an online purchase at the time of purchase, it is a so-called IOSS purchase. In this case, the sending online store provides Posti with the necessary information electronically and the recipient won’t need to take any action when the item arrives in the country. Posti will handle the customs clearance and the recipient will receive a notification once the item is ready to be delivered.
• The recipient can no longer clear IOSS shipments themselves starting in July. If the seller does not handle the customs clearance or the information is incomplete, the carrier, such as Posti, may have to return the shipment to the seller.
• If the parcel is arriving from an online store without an IOSS identifier, the recipient will declare the item themselves in the online customs clearance service of Customs In this case, the recipient will also pay the VAT on the purchase.

What will not change:

• The recipient will declare purchases worth more than EUR 150 themselves as before. The amount of the customs duty for these items will continue to be determined mainly on the basis of the commodity codes and customs value of the goods.
• The customs duty exemption for gift shipments worth up to EUR 45 sent from consumer to another will remain unchanged.

For further information, please contact: Posti MediaDesk, tel. +358 (0)20 452 3366 (Mon–Fri 9:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.)

Posti is one of the leading delivery and fulfillment companies in Finland, Sweden, and the Baltics. We make our customers’ everyday lives smoother with a wide range of services, which includes parcels, freight, and postal services as well as warehouse, fulfillment, and logistics services. Our goal is to transport completely fossil-free by 2030 and be at zero by 2040. Our net sales in 2025 amounted to EUR 1,447.6 million and we have approximately 13,700 employees. Posti Group’s shares are listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki official list in Finland. www.posti.com