Declaration of postal parcels

A previous document number (MRN) can be found in the parcel arrival notification sent to you by a postal or courier company. For example, in a notification sent by Omniva, you can see the MRN number by clicking on the link in the notification.

If there is no previous document number in the arrival notification, please contact the postal or courier company that sent the notification.

If, upon submitting a declaration, you receive a message that the previous document number is incorrect, please also contact the postal or courier company to specify the number.

The requirement to indicate the address of the sender on the declaration arises from the legislation of the European Union.

If a parcel has arrived via Omniva, tick the checkbox “Customer’s consent” on the first page of the declaration. This way, the data that Omniva has already forwarded to the Estonian Tax and Customs Board can be used and this data (including the sender's address) will be automatically displayed on the declaration.

In other cases, you can find the sender's address on the website where you made the purchase or on the order confirmation, or you can contact the sender of the goods or the postal or courier company. If the sender of the goods is a company, e.g. an online store, then the sender's address does not need to be accurate to the house number.

Commodity code on the basis of which import duties (value added tax, customs duty and excise duty) are calculated must be entered on a declaration.

Commodity code is a 10-digit number which must be entered in the “Type of goods” field of the declaration. To make the declaration process easier, clicking in the field opens a list of goods ordered most often, where you can find the commodity code quickly by the name of goods.

If you cannot find your goods and commodity code in the list of goods ordered most often, click on the orange link "Cannot find a suitable goods type” at the end of the list. You will then be redirected to the Estonian Master Tariff System (EMTS), which contains a complete list of goods.

NB! If you have ticked the “Customer’s consent” checkbox on the first page of the declaration and the goods details are pre-filled on the declaration, you will still have to enter the commodity code yourself, as only the description of the goods, not the commodity code, will be pre-filled.

Guide Finding a commodity code from the Estonian Master Tariff System

A consignment with a total value of goods not exceeding 150 euros is considered to be of low value.

It is possible to declare consignments of low value before the goods arrive. In such cases, upon submission of the declaration, the amount necessary for payment of value added tax and an additional seven per cent of the tax amount to cover changes in the euro exchange rate will be reserved from the customer's prepayment account.

The purpose of the reservation is to ensure the prompt release of small consignments upon arrival in Estonia.

Any amount paid in advance that exceeds the amount of tax liability incurred upon arrival of the consignment and acceptance of the customs declaration will be refunded to the customer.

Goods won or received free of charge on online social networks located outside the European Union must also be declared. It should be taken into account that such goods are not considered gifts and are not subject to tax exemptions applicable to gifts.

The goods must be declared at their actual value, and a document certifying the value of the goods is required for declaration. If the document certifying the value of the goods is not included, it must be requested from the sender of the goods and uploaded when submitting the declaration. Import duties (value added tax, customs duties, excise duties) must be paid on the actual value of the goods.

Officials of the Estonian Tax and Customs Board check the value of the goods declared. If the goods are not declared at their actual value, the value is determined by the officials themselves, taking into account, among other things, what is the brand of the goods.

In order to simplify the payment of value added tax (VAT) on consignments of small value (up to 150 euros), the IOSS special scheme has been established, which allows the payment of VAT on the purchase of goods from a country outside the European Union at the time of purchase.

The consignment must also be declared in this case, but it is usually done by a postal or courier company on your behalf.

However, if you received a notification about the need to declare the parcel, you must submit the declaration yourself and be sure to indicate the seller's IOSS number on the declaration. The IOSS number indicates that VAT has been paid and no additional payment is required upon receipt of the goods. You can find out the IOSS number from the seller of the goods.

NB! If the IOSS number is not indicated on the declaration, VAT is payable. To get a refund of the VAT paid twice, contact the seller of the goods. The declaration cannot be corrected retrospectively and VAT cannot be claimed back from the Estonian Tax and Customs Board.

As of 1 April 2022, the currency code “RUB” can no longer be used when submitting a declaration and the system does not convert it into euros. If the invoice issued to you contains the value of the goods in rubles, then you must recalculate the value to euros yourself.

To find the exchange rate for the ruble, you can use the exchange rate of the previous day published on www.xe.com (the average daily exchange rate).​​​​​

All exchange rates that are not published by the European Central Bank are found similarly.

Upon submitting a declaration, the currency conversion, e.g. a screenshot of the calculation procedure, must be attached to the declaration as an additional document (in Impulss, supporting document type “9900”). The document must contain a reference to the date and exchange rate on the basis of which the conversion was made.

• You can pay taxes in the e-services environment immediately upon submitting a declaration. For more information, please refer to section 7 of the Guide on how to declare a postal parcel.
• If you pay taxes after the declaration has been submitted, follow these steps.

1. Sign in to the e-services environment e-MTA.
2. Select from the menu Customs – Declaration of postal parcels.
3. Select the declaration you want to pay for from the list and open it by clicking on the date.
4. At the bottom of the page that opens, click the button Next.

5. Select the appropriate method of payment:

   a) Pay by bank link

   After choosing this payment method, click the button Pay and you will be redirected to the payment page.

   b) Use the money on my prepayment account

   • If you have money in your prepayment account, the option “Use the money on my prepayment account” will be available.

     Select the option and click the button Pay in the window that opens.

   • If you want to use the money in the prepayment account but it is not enough to pay for the declaration, you can transfer the missing amount from your bank account to the prepayment account.

     To do this, select Dashboard from the menu, click the button “Pay money to prepayment account” or “Pay” and follow the instructions displayed.

     Then select Customs – Declaration of postal parcel from the menu and the declaration from the list again.

• Once the declaration has been submitted and taxes have been paid, the declaration will be released within a few minutes.

If you receive an error message when filling in a declaration, please send an e-mail to [email protected].

Describe after which action and at what date and time the error occurred and, if possible, include a screenshot of the error message and declaration. This way we can help you the fastest.

The submitted parcel declaration can be downloaded in PDF format. Seda saate teha postipaki deklaratsiooni vaates „Esitatud deklaratsioonid“ nimekirjast deklaratsiooni avades ja allalaadimise lingile vajutades.

If you have declared wrong goods or want to change the information declared, it is possible to invalidate or amend a customs declaration. For this, a request for amendment or cancellation of a declaration must be submitted to the Estonian Tax and Customs Board, always accompanied by supporting documents justifying the request.

Ukrainian war refugees can declare postal parcels orally upon arrival if:

• the country of dispatch of the parcel is Ukraine;
• the sender of the parcel is a private individual;
• the recipient of the parcel has a temporary residence permit on the basis of temporary protection;
• the parcel is dispatched after 24 February 2022 and contain the personal belongings of the recipient.

If all these conditions are met, the parcel can be declared orally regardless of its value.

In order to be declared orally, the recipient of the parcel must contact the postal or courier company immediately upon receipt of the notification of arrival of the parcel. In order to facilitate the receipt of the package, please also provide the personal identification code issued to the refugee.

The parcel can also be declared orally if the parcel has been sent in the name of an Estonian person, but the person can prove that the actual recipient of the package is a Ukrainian war refugee.

If not all the conditions for an oral declaration are met, please contact the postal or courier company to clarify any exceptions.

NB! Parcels containing goods ordered or purchased online cannot be declared orally.