Customs services and customs information on receiving a shipment
If you receive a parcel from outside the European Union, i.e. from a third country, you will need to fill in a customs declaration. This should be done for goods ordered from online shops as well as, for example, for gifts received from another private person. If you wish, we can help you make the necessary declaration to be submitted to the Tax and Customs Board. You can declare the goods yourself on the website of the Tax and Customs Board.
TAXES AND FEES
If you are ordering goods from outside the European Union, you will have to pay import taxes and customs clearance fees.
From 1 July 2021, all goods starting from €0 must be declared.
If the value of the shipment is between €0 and €150, the goods are subject to VAT (22%). Taxation is based on the customs value (price of the goods + shipping costs). If the value of the shipment exceeds €150, the shipment must be declared and is subject to import duties (customs duty, VAT, excise duty on excisable goods). Taxation is also based on the customs value.
Gifts from one private person to another are tax-free if the value of the gift does not exceed €45 (gifts starting from €0 must be declared).
Returns from third countries that could not be issued to the recipient in the country of destination are subject to declaration, but no fee is charged. In the case of guarantee repairs or other special types of returns, the customs declaration fee will be added according to the price list.
The price list and My.omniva Customs Guide for private customers can be found here and for business customers, here.
For more information on the shipments that need to be declared, see the website of the Estonian Tax and Customs Board.
From 1 July 2021, all goods starting from €0 must be declared.
If the value of the shipment is between €0 and €150, the goods are subject to VAT (22%). Taxation is based on the customs value (price of the goods + shipping costs). If the value of the shipment exceeds €150, the shipment must be declared and is subject to import duties (customs duty, VAT, excise duty on excisable goods). Taxation is also based on the customs value.
Gifts from one private person to another are tax-free if the value of the gift does not exceed €45 (gifts starting from €0 must be declared).
Returns from third countries that could not be issued to the recipient in the country of destination are subject to declaration, but no fee is charged. In the case of guarantee repairs or other special types of returns, the customs declaration fee will be added according to the price list.
The price list and My.omniva Customs Guide for private customers can be found here and for business customers, here.
For more information on the shipments that need to be declared, see the website of the Estonian Tax and Customs Board.
DECLARATION OF GIFTS
From July 2021, an amendment entered into force in the European Union requiring all parcels arriving from outside the EU to be declared, regardless of whether they are a purchase from an online shop or a gift from another private person. The amendment aims to reduce VAT fraud and create a more level playing field for EU businesses.
Import duties are payable if you receive a parcel sent free of charge by a private person from a third country, but the customs value of the goods exceeds €45. The same applies when exceeding the quantitative limit for alcohol, tobacco products, perfume, eaux de toilette, coffee, or tea.
Pursuant to the amendment to the Value Added Tax Act of 1 June 2022 (clause 17 (1) 10), goods received as a gift the value of which does not exceed €45 or the quantitative limit value of exemption from duty are exempt from VAT. More information can be found on the website of the Tax and Customs Board here
Import duties are payable if you receive a parcel sent free of charge by a private person from a third country, but the customs value of the goods exceeds €45. The same applies when exceeding the quantitative limit for alcohol, tobacco products, perfume, eaux de toilette, coffee, or tea.
Pursuant to the amendment to the Value Added Tax Act of 1 June 2022 (clause 17 (1) 10), goods received as a gift the value of which does not exceed €45 or the quantitative limit value of exemption from duty are exempt from VAT. More information can be found on the website of the Tax and Customs Board here
How do I know if a shipment is a gift?
A parcel sent from one private person to another is considered a gift. Goods ordered from or received free of charge from an online shop are not considered a gift.
- No VAT is payable on gift shipments of up to €45.
- If the value of the gift shipment is more than €150, customs duties must be paid in addition to VAT.
- A flat customs duty rate of 2.5% can be used for gift shipments of €150–700.
- For gift shipments of more than €700, please check the customs duty rate according to the corresponding commodity code for each commodity in the Estonian Master Tariff System.
What should I do if I am the recipient and do not know the content and value of the shipment?
While the value of shipments is usually established based on the accompanying documents (invoice, order confirmation, etc.), no such documents are created for parcels sent from one private person to another. In this case, the value of the shipment is set by the sender.
If the recipient receives a parcel that is missing value or the sender has not been able to estimate the value, then The customs agency recommends sending your communication with the sender, in which the sender confirms that it is a gift or offers a vague content value or something similar.
How can I declare a parcel?
There are two ways to declare a parcel – either by completing the declaration yourself on the website of the Tax and Customs Board or by authorising Omniva to complete the declaration.
If I declare via Omniva, will I be charged an additional fee?
If you have authorised Omniva to make the declaration on your behalf, you will be charged an additional fee according to the price list, which can be found on the website of Omniva.
Activities for declaring the shipments and paying the customs duty
| Omniva declares | You declare | |
| Declaration deadline | 30 days to declare the shipment after it has arrived to Estonia | |
| Declaring price | Automatic e-declaration* €2.39 Import declaration** from €15,25. The price list of Omniva customs services is available here. |
Free of charge |
| Payment of customs duties | Done in minu.omniva.ee environment. | During declaring directly to the Tax and Customs Board |
| Selecting the declarer | Omniva will send you an SMS, e-mail or a written notification on the parcel that needs to be declared. The notification includes a link to the minu.omniva.ee portal where you can view the shipment data, confirm these (change, if necessary), select Omniva to declare your parcel and pay necessary duties and fees. | Omniva will send you an SMS, e-mail or a written notification on the parcel that needs to be declared. The notification includes a link to the minu.omniva.ee portal where you can view the shipment data. You do not need to inform Omniva if you choose to declare the shipment yourself in the e-MTA. |
| Declaring | Omniva declares your shipment. As a business customer, you can authorize Omniva to declare your shipment if you have signed a framework agreement. If the value of the shipment exceeds 150 euros, you must also have a Customs Agency services agreement with Omniva. NB! Authorising Omniva to declare your parcel is irreversible. | You declare the shipment independently on the Tax and Customs Board website. Make sure that the shipment location on the declaration is Omniva and the specific parcel number indicated in our notification is added. In addition you should have a document to confirm the price of the goods (invoice, order confirmation, receipt etc). When making the declaration, the person whose name the parcel arrived to must also be the person indicated in the recipient field. |
| Shipment transport | Depending on the service, we will send you the parcel within 5 business days after the goods are declared to the post office of your location or to home by a courier. | Once the Tax and Customs Board has completed the declaration process (the status of the shipment is ‘Goods released’), the necessary information will be sent to us on the same day. You do not need to inform Omniva separately if the goods have been released. We will forward the shipment to the post office of your location. |
| Receiving the shipment | Omniva will send you a notification about the parcel arriving to the post office or agree a suitable time by telephone if the parcel is delivered by a courier. | |
| Additional information | You can track the parcel movement on the Omniva website. | You can ask the Tax and Customs Board to help you with filling in the customs declaration, tel. 8 800 814 or website www.emta.ee. You can track the parcel movement on the Omniva website. |
*The price is applicable if the entire declaring process, including payment of taxes and service fee, can be done in the minu.omniva.ee environment. All shipments with value up to 150 euros (included) and unrestricted customs codes are applicable for automatic declaring.
** If the goods value exceeds 150 euros or the goods have restrictions (e.g. different VAT rate, excise goods), manual customs declaration preparing service “Customs declaration, 1 item” is applied. 1 item means one customs code (HS code) per declaration.
Simplifications for declaring parcels to Ukrainian war refugees
Based on a decision of the European Commission, the declaration of personal belongings sent to Ukrainian war refugees has been simplified and exemption is granted under the following conditions:
Ukrainian war refugees will be able to declare the parcel orally upon arrival if
- the country of origin of the parcel is Ukraine,
- the sender of the parcel is a private person, and
- the recipient of the package has a temporary residence permit on the basis of temporary protection.
The parcel must be shipped after 24 February 2022 and contain the recipient’s personal belongings.
If all these conditions are met, the parcel may be declared orally, regardless of its value.
To make an oral declaration, the recipient of the parcel must contact Omniva’s customer service by phone at 661 6616 or by email at [email protected].
A parcel can also be declared orally if the parcel has been sent to an Estonian person, but the person can prove that the actual recipient of the parcel is a Ukrainian war refugee.
NB! Parcels containing goods ordered or purchased online cannot be declared orally.