Finland

Arriving in Finland from outside the EU: goods up to EUR 430 tax-free by plane or boat, EUR 300 by car, bus or train (the same applies to arrival on a yacht or a recreationally used aircraft); goods must be carried in your own personal luggage and the import must be non-commercial (occasional, for your own or your family's use or as gifts). If the value limit is exceeded, VAT and customs duty are levied on the price of the whole item, not only the excess; the price of a single item cannot be split into a tax-free and a taxable part, nor can it be shared with another person, not even a spouse. Choose the red channel when exceeding the value limits or when bringing restricted goods that must be presented to Customs; green channel = nothing to declare, blue channel = arriving by airplane from an EU country with nothing to declare; choosing the wrong channel can lead to goods being detained or seized, double tax, or suspicion of a customs offence. Traditional tobacco products (cigarettes, cigars) do not count toward the value limit; snus products, e-cigarettes and nicotine liquids are within it; alcohol and fuel have separate quantity restrictions. From EU countries: goods for your own use are free of tax with no value limits, but restrictions remain for example on tobacco and medicines. The Åland Islands, the Canary Islands and other EU areas outside the EU fiscal territory follow the same 430/300 euro rules. Alcohol allowances and conditions: persons under 18 may not bring in any alcoholic beverages; persons under 20 may only bring in mild alcoholic beverages (max 22% by volume); from age 20 also spirits. From outside the EU, tax-free maximum quantities: 16 litres of beer (over 0.5%) AND 4 litres of still wine (red, white and rosé), plus 1 litre of spirits (over 22%, max 80%) OR 2 litres of other alcoholic beverages (max 22%, e.g. sparkling wines, long drinks, ciders, liqueurs, vermouth, bitters, sherry); spirits and sub-22% beverages may be combined proportionally as long as the total is not exceeded (e.g. 0.5 l spirits + 1 l sparkling wine), which does not apply to still wine or beer; the vehicle used on arrival is irrelevant. From inside the EU: tax-exempt when imported for personal use or as a gift and transported personally in the same vehicle; there are no universal quantity limits — the figures 110 litres of beer, 90 litres of wine/ciders/fermentation-made long drinks (sparkling wines max 60 litres), 20 litres of intermediate products (max 22%) and 10 litres of other alcoholic beverages (over 1.2%, max 80%) are guidelines for personal use, categories cannot be substituted for one another, and quantities exceeding them require credible proof of personal use. The Canary Islands, the Åland Islands, the Finland–Sweden ferries passing through Åland and other EU areas outside the EU fiscal territory are exceptions: tax-exempt alcohol only in quantities corresponding to imports from outside the EU (16 l beer, 4 l still wine, 1 l spirits over 22% or 2 l max 22%); when travelling to the Åland Islands the same allowance applies to beverages bought inclusive of tax, and on a ferry journey between mainland Finland and the Åland Islands only, the ferry is not allowed to sell you more than two litres of beer free of tax. Time limits for non-air arrivals from outside the EEA (EU countries plus Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein): if you live in Finland, you may import alcohol only on journeys lasting more than 24 hours (not allowed even against tax on shorter trips); if you live outside the EEA, you may import only when staying in Finland for more than 72 hours (transit journeys exempt); these limits do not apply to arrivals from an EU country or Åland. Imports from Russia: strong alcoholic beverages (over 22%) and mild beverages mixed with alcohol at the manufacturing stage are prohibited, including purchases from tax-free shops; only restricted quantities of other light beverages such as beer and fermented wines and ciders, for personal use or as a gift. Personal use covers your own use, use by your family and gifts; receiving money or any other compensation for the alcohol makes the import commercial. Tobacco allowances and conditions: to bring in tobacco products you must be aged 18 or over. From outside the EU, without paying taxes: 200 cigarettes OR 50 cigars OR 100 cigarillos (max 3 g each) OR 250 grams of roll-your-own, pipe or waterpipe tobacco; products may be combined proportionally as long as the allowed total quantity is not exceeded (e.g. 100 cigarettes + 50 cigarillos); only for your own personal use — not for family members or as a gift. When you pay tax (declare to Customs on arrival), the maximum quantities from outside the EU are: 200 cigarettes AND 50 cigars AND 100 cigarillos AND 250 grams of roll-your-own, pipe or waterpipe tobacco AND 200 dose units of other tobacco products or 250 grams of other loose tobacco products (e.g. cigarette sticks, tobacco capsules) AND 200 units of ready-rolled plus 250 grams of loose herbal smoking products; you may not bring in more even if you pay tax. Arriving from other EU countries, the same quantities are the maximum amounts you may bring in only for your own personal use, transported in the same vehicle in which you arrive, with no increase even against tax; these restrictions apply to products in packets that do not carry health warning images and texts in Finnish and Swedish, so the 200/50/100/250 figures must not be read as a universal hard cap on all EU tobacco imports. Åland has different restrictions (detailed pages not fetched this round). Imports of all cigarettes, cigarillos and cigars from Russia are prohibited. Non-air arrivals from outside the EEA: if you live in Finland and your journey lasted no more than 24 hours, tobacco products, nicotine liquids and snus are not allowed (exception: apparently obtained before leaving Finland); if you live outside the EEA and your stay in Finland is not transit and lasts no more than three days, they are not allowed (exception: apparently for your own use during the stay).