Finland - Customs
Arriving By Yacht:
Customs clearance may be carried out at Coast Guard stations, unless the yacht has goods to be cleared for import or export. In intra-EU traffic, boaters are not required to declare if they do not have taxable goods with them. If the pleasure craft has goods that are taxable in traffic between EU countries, the master of the vessel is obliged to make a prior notification to the customs authority to the nearest customs office in order to agree on the taxation of the goods.
Length of Stay:
For boats built on or after 1 January 1987 and registered in a EU country, evidence has to be produced that VAT has been paid on the boat in one of the EU member states. A boat on which VAT has been paid can be used and docked in Finland without any time limits.
Residents of non-EU countries may leave their boats for the winter at a boatyard providing the boat is to be used the following season. Customs must be notified and it may be necessary to pay a deposit which is refunded when the vessel is in use again. If a vessel is not taken out of the country within one year of arrival, appropriate taxes and fees must be paid. A cheaper alternative is to leave the vessel in a bonded warehouse, for details contact the appropriate port authority in the port of entry.
In general, EU regulations apply concerning temporary importation. See EU VAT page for more information.
Other Items:
- The following items must be declared to Customs and are subject to duties and import restrictions: drugs, firearms and ammunition, endangered species and their products, live animals and plants.
- If alcohol and tobacco products are for personal use and shown to have been purchased in the EU, then there is no limit of the amount which may be brought in.
- The importation of more than 250g of caviar must be accompanied by a CITES import or export permit.
For more information on the customs clearance of recreational craft, please contact the Customs Information Service, tel. +358 295 5201, or visit www.tulli.fi.
Last updated: February 2022
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30MILES project – small ports on the eastern Gulf of Finland are developing fast.
The 30MILES international cooperation project was established to develop small ports on the eastern Gulf of Finland, and six Finnish and six Estonian small ports are participating in it. The objective of the project is to harmonise the level of services, security and convenience of use of the ports. The outcome of the 30MILES project will be a ring of quality small ports every 30 miles apart around the Gulf of Finland.
The deadline for completion of the project is May 2018.
Further information: http://www.merikotka.fi/30miles
Posted on behalf of Sven Hegelund, s/y Njord III
As you know, camping Gaz (butane) is not so easy to get in the Baltic. I am in Turku/Åbo in Finland and the harbourmaster of the yacht harbour on the North side of river Aura managed to get some containers delivered to Turku from Helsinki and is planning to arrange for a small storage to be kept at the harbour or nearby for the benefit of guests at the yacht harbour.
Clearance: when clearing out of Finland to a non-EU country, eg Russia, you must provide at least 4 copies of your crew list to be stamped. If then going from Russia eg to Estonia, get at least 5 copies stamped (4 for Russian border control, 1 for Estonian border control). Finland border control is relaxed about the regulation that after clearing out you must stay within a marked channel, but they emphasise that once in Russian waters you absolutely must stay within or just outside a marked channel.
Alan Wilson, Kiitaja (in 2011)