Tax authorities control postal items

2023-07-28 09:53:24

Illustrative photo. Canva

In connection with the Russian attack on Ukraine, the EU has imposed a number of sanctions, including a ban on the import and export of various goods, and the bans also apply to postal and courier shipments, and failure to comply may result in penalties, BNS reports.

Albina Saar, Head of the Customs Department of the Tax and Customs Board, and Eduard Reshetov, Head of the Omniva Parcel Sorting Department, face cases every day when both individuals and companies try to send prohibited goods by mail from Estonia to Russia or Belarus and vice versa, which is prohibited by sanctions.

“For example, from March 1 to June 30 of this year, we opened 1,603 postal parcels for additional checks and found violations of sanctions in 113 cases,” Saar said. “In case of minor violations, the postal parcel is returned to the sender, in case of serious violations, a criminal case is initiated.”

According to Reshetov, popular goods sent to these countries are, for example, all kinds of electronics, parts for cars and motorcycles, as well as branded clothing and accessories that cost more than 300 euros, skating boots and blades, and diving equipment.

“However, if we talk about the import of sanctioned goods, that is, goods sent to Estonia from Russia and Belarus, since the beginning of the imposition of sanctions, people either unknowingly or deliberately mainly tried to send cosmetic products to Estonia – like shampoos, creams and toothpaste, meat, medicines, CDs and vinyl records, mobile phones, and tobacco products, especially e-liquids and e-cigarettes,” said Saar.

The Tax and Customs Board is required to control the movement of postal items and, in cooperation with Omniva, prevent the transport of prohibited goods, including goods subject to sanctions. “If there is something prohibited in the package, we can be sure that we will find it,” said Saar, who said prohibited goods are treated very strictly, especially those packages whose contents can help Russia continue its military activities in Ukraine. .

Before sending a postal parcel to Russia or Belarus, you must make sure that the contents of the parcel do not fall under the category of prohibited goods. This can be checked on the website of the Tax and Customs Board.

It should be noted that in addition to Russia and Belarus, trade with those regions of Ukraine that are not currently under the control of the Ukrainian government are also subject to sanctions. The Omniva website will help with this, where information is posted about the regions of Ukraine where you can send a parcel.

If the package is being sent to Russia or Belarus, the customs form received from Omniva should indicate in as much detail as possible what is inside the package. You can ask an Omniva postal employee for clarification, as if incomplete or incorrect data is provided, the delivery of the parcel to the destination may take longer than expected: all shipments with incorrect descriptions go through additional customs control and are opened.

All parcels arriving in Estonia from outside the EU must be declared, including gifts, regardless of their value. This can be done free of charge in the e-MTA e-service environment of the Estonian Tax and Customs Board.

The customs declaration may also be made on behalf of the person by the postal or courier service provider named on the notice of dispatch, or by any customs authority of the recipient’s choice.

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