What data is declared in Intrastat?

In the statistical declaration, the arrivals of goods from Member States into Finland as well as dispatches from Finland to Member States are declared. A condition for statistical data to be included in the compilation is that the goods physically cross the Finnish border. An exception to this rule are seagoing vessels and aircraft (unladen weight over 2000 kg) and goods delivered to and from offshore installations.

There are also exceptions in declaring sea products and spacecraft. On this same page, there is more information under the header Points to consider.

Goods to be included in the statistics are both goods manufactured within the EU as well as goods originating in a third country that have been customs cleared and released into free circulation in the EU, and that have gained Community status (T2 goods).

It is not relevant for the compilation of statistics whether payment transactions are involved in the deliveries or not. As an example, goods supplied free of charge are declared in the statistical declaration if they otherwise fulfil the conditions set on data to be included.

If goods are sent to another EU country from Finland, but the invoice is addressed to a country outside the EU, this dispatch should also be included in the statistical declaration for dispatches (example 5). Correspondingly, if goods are delivered to Finland from another EU country and the invoice has been sent from a country outside the EU, this should be included in the statistical declaration for arrivals (example 4).

Goods sold to another EU country but sent from Finland to a country outside the EU are not included in the Intrastat declaration for dispatches (example 6). An export declaration is submitted for these goods in Finland. Goods bought from another EU country but delivered to Finland from a country outside the EU are not included in the Intrastat declaration for arrivals (example 7). An import declaration is submitted for these goods in Finland.

The statistical declaration on internal trade is a monthly report which has to be submitted even if there have been no arrivals or dispatches to report during the calendar month in question. In such cases a so called nil return, a declaration without a single commodity code, shall be submitted. If the company has been given reporting unit codes (INT) the possible nil return must be submitted separately for each unit.

The information and more detailed definitions provided in the Intrastat declaration are on the page Information about the declaration.

The Estonian company EE buys goods from the Polish company PL. PL sends the invoice to EE, but the goods are delivered directly from Poland to FI in Finland.

The Finnish company FI submits an Intrastat declaration for this goods delivery, because the goods arrive in Finland physically.

The Finnish company FI buys goods from the Estonian company EE. EE sends the invoice to FI, but the goods are delivered directly from Estonia to Poland.

The Finnish company FI does not submit an Intrastat declaration for this goods delivery, because the goods do not arrive in Finland physically.

A Finnish company FI buys goods from a Lithuanian company LV. LV invoices FI. The goods are delivered to FI from Estonia. The country of consignment is EE (Estonia) though the invoice comes from the Lithuanian company.

The Finnish company (FI) buys goods from the Swiss company (CH), but the goods are delivered from Germany to Finland.

FI includes these deliveries of goods in its Intrastat declaration, although the invoice has been sent from a country outside the EU.

The Finnish company (FI) sells goods to the Norwegian company (NO). The goods are delivered from Finland to Sweden.

FI includes these deliveries of goods in its Intrastat declaration, although the invoice is addressed to a country outside the EU.

The Finnish company (FI) sells goods to the Danish company (DK), but the goods are delivered from Finland to Japan.

FI does not include these goods in its Intrastat declaration, because the goods are delivered from Finland to a country outside the EU and an export declaration is submitted for them in Finland.

The Finnish company FI buys goods from the Swedish company SE. SE sends the invoice to FI, but the goods are delivered directly from Norway to Finland, where they are cleared.

The Finnish company FI does not submit an Intrastat declaration for this goods delivery, because the goods are cleared in Finland, and the statistical data are retrieved from the customs clearance system for external trade.

To be considered in Intrastat reporting

Goods supplied free of charge, with the intention of presenting goods which are the subject of a commercial transaction, are excluded from statistics. Various advertising materials (for example brochures and leaflets) and commercial samples are such goods.

Example 1
A Finnish company (FI) sends brochures advertising products produced by FI to a Swedish company (SE). The consignment also contains samples of these products. The brochures and samples are supplied free of charge and they will not be returned to Finland. Later, FI sells products it has produced to SE.
FI does not declare the brochures or samples with an Intrastat declaration, whereas the goods sold to SE are declared normally.

Example 2
A Finnish company (FI) has bought from a German company (DE) 10 000 copies of a catalogue presenting products produced by FI. DE sends an invoice for the catalogues to FI.
FI declares the catalogues with an Intrastat declaration.

Goods whose value on the same invoice during the same statistical month is less than 1000 euros can be placed under commodity code 9950 00 00. For code 9950 00 00, the country of dispatch (arrivals), country of destination (dispatches), VAT number of the trading partner (dispatches) and the invoicing value must be reported as mandatory information.

For declarations submitted via the Intrastat Declaration service, however, transaction code 11 and mode of transport 1 should be entered. Also enter either the real weight or 0 in the section net mass. The sections for country of origin and supplementary units are to be left blank.

Deliveries of goods from Finland to international organizations are declared in Intrastat (dispatches). In such cases, the country of destination must be specified as QV (Countries and territories not specified within the framework of intra-Union trade).

For example: Goods are sent from Finland to a NATO base location in Germany. The transaction is declared as dispatch from Finland to Germany and the code for country of destination is QV in the Intrastat declaration.

Trade with international organizations within a Member State’s territory is not declared if the goods move within Finland’s borders and do not physically cross the Finnish borders.

Certain goods delivered to vessels and aircraft of another Member State (other than Finland) are included in the foreign trade statistics. These goods include products for the crew and passengers, and for the operation of the engines, machines and other equipment of vessels or aircraft, such as foodstuffs as well as fuels and lubricants.

Please note: Goods delivered to vessels and aircraft, however, will not be declared using the Intrastat declaration. The statistical data on these goods will be retrieved through a separate procedure. Read more: https://arkisto.tulli.fi/en/businesses/export/ship-supply-procedure.

Distance selling is the sale of goods transported to private individuals or their assimilated buyers. When the purchaser of the goods is a trader registered for VAT purposes, there is no distance sale of the goods. In this case, the sale of goods transported to another EU country is usually an intra-Community sale and a purchase from another EU country is an intra-Community acquisition.

Example 1: A private consumer in Sweden purchases goods from an online store of a Finnish company (FI. FI sells and delivers the goods from a distribution centre in Finland directly to the private consumer in Sweden. The transaction code is 12, and the trading partner’s VAT number is QN999999999999.

The obligation of a company engaged in distance selling to provide information on internal sales within the EU is defined according to the same general principles that apply to others subject to the obligation to provide information, i.e. when the threshold value set for the respective calendar year is exceeded.

If a company registers in the OSS system in another member state and the company's business ID is terminated in Finland (the company no longer has a Finnish business ID), the company must contact Customs Statistics at intrastat@tulli.fi in order to terminate the Intrastat reporting obligation.

VAT special scheme (One Stop Shop)

  • Under special schemes, the seller can pay VAT on the sale of goods and services to consumers throughout the EU through a single EU country.
  • A seller who does not use special schemes will be registered for VAT in those EU countries where it has sales to consumers.
  • Special VAT systems are in place in all EU countries. As VAT obligations can be managed centrally in one EU country, the use of a special scheme will reduce the administrative burden for businesses trading cross-border.

Read more from the Finnish Tax Administration´s website VAT special scheme (One Stop Shop) - vero.fi.

The arrivals and dispatches of electric energy are included in the internal trade statistics, but the statistical data is not submitted using the Intrastat declaration. The statistical data will be collected through a separate procedure.

Goods delivered indirectly via another Community country should also be declared for  internal trade statistics. When third country goods released into free circulation in Finland are delivered to another Member State, where the dispatch transport ends, the delivery should be declared with an Intrastat dispatches declaration, and the declaration should be submitted in Finland.

Correspondingly, the following are declared with an Intrastat arrivals declaration submitted in Finland:

  • goods dispatched from another Member State to Finland, placed under the export procedure here and delivered to a third country.
  • goods cleared for free circulation in another Member State with the dispatch transport ending in Finland.

Goods ordered or sold and also delivered to the customer over the Internet are considered services. These deliveries need not be declared in an Intrastat declaration.

Goods ordered and sold over the Internet but delivered to the customer in a "traditional" way, for example via mail, are to be declared in an Intrastat declaration, if the conditions for the compilation of statistics are otherwise met.

There are two different CN8 codes for natural gas:
2711 11 00 "Natural gas, liquefied"
2711 21 00 "Natural gas, in a gaseous state"

Natural gas can be imported from EU countries and exported to EU countries. Liquefied natural gas is transported by ship or by road. Natural gas in the gaseous state runs through the Balticconnector pipeline.

Imports and exports of natural gas are reported in Intrastat. Companies trading in gas on the gas exchange are also required to submit Intrastat. The prerequisite for reporting is the physical transmission and invoicing of natural gas.

If a company buys natural gas from a natural gas exchange (virtual trading venue), the purchase and sale of gas is reported according to invoicing and the physical transmission of the gas.

For example, company FI buys natural gas from the natural gas exchange and receives an invoice from a Latvian company. FI reports the natural gas with an import declaration. The country of dispatch is LV and the country of origin is LV.

Other types of gas are also reported according to the same principle (e.g. biogas).

Partial deliveries refer to consignments of goods to be allocated to one commodity code, mostly comprehensive machine and appliances deliveries delivered and possibly also invoiced in several stages, for example due to reasons connected to transportation technology.

Partial deliveries are declared all at once, regardless of when they are invoiced, that is, when all partial deliveries of the goods in question have been received or sent.

The all-in price of the goods shall be indicated as the value. The transaction code is 11.

The statistical declaration should also include sea products, which means fishery products, minerals, and other products which have not yet been unloaded ashore by sea going vessels.

Upon arrival, these products are to be declared if they are brought to a Finnish harbour, or if Finnish ships acquire such products from other Member States’ ships.

Upon dispatch, these products are to be declared if they are unloaded in a harbour located in another Member State and the goods are unloaded from a Finnish ship, or if another Member State’s ship acquires the products from a Finnish ship.

A vessel shall be deemed to belong to the Member State where the company that exercises the economic ownership of the vessel is established. Economic ownership means the right to claim the benefits associated with the use of a vessel in the course of an economic activity by accepting the associated risks.

Spacecraft

Spacecraft refers to satellites and other goods that can be launched outside the earth's atmosphere, as well as parts of these goods. Spacecraft are declared at the time of launching and when the economic ownership changes. Economic ownership means the right to claim the benefits associated with the use of a spacecraft in the course of an economic activity by virtue of accepting the associated risks.

The spacecraft in question are classified in chapter 88 of the Combined Nomenclature. The possible CN8 codes are 8802 60 11 and 8802 60 19.

A spacecraft for which economic ownership has been transferred and which is launched is declared for Intrastat as a dispatch in the Member State of construction of the finished spacecraft, and as an arrival in the Member State where the new owner is established. Upon arrival, the country of consignment is the Member State where the finished spacecraft was constructed. Upon dispatch, the country of destination is the Member State where the new owner is established.

Spacecraft are declared in the statistical period in which the economic ownership is transferred.

The statistical value must be the ex-works value (EXW) of the spacecraft for both dispatch and arrival. The value does not include the transportation and insurance costs incurred when sending the spacecraft to the launch bases and further into orbit.

All deliveries of goods related to the construction of the spacecraft are declared according to general principles when the goods physically cross the Finnish border.

The transfer of economic ownership of satellites already in orbit is not declared.

Launch vehicles

Launch vehicles, or launchers, are declared according to general principles when the goods physically cross the Finnish border.

The sending of a launcher into space is not declared. Satellite launchers (CN 8802 60 90, such as the Soyuz, Vega or Ariane rocket) are treated as means of transportation. For this reason, sending a launcher into space is considered a service and is not counted as a dispatch in the launching country.

However, all deliveries of goods related to the construction of the launcher are declared normally.