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Declaration of consignments
If you order goods from a foreign online store, you must submit a declaration and pay import duties if the country of dispatch of the goods is a country outside the European Union.
NB: In case of technical problems with the shortcut “Declare a parcel”, please enter the e-services environment e-MTA and select in its menu “Customs” – “Simplified declarations” – “Declaration of postal parcels”.
Prohibited and restricted goods
Before ordering any goods, check which goods may not be sent by post or courier service, which goods are subject to quantitative restrictions and which goods require a special authorisation.
Customs duty calculator
Before ordering goods from a country outside the European Union, you can use the customs duty calculator to calculate the amount of value added tax (VAT) and customs duty applicable to the parcel.
Important to know
- If you order goods from an online store of a country outside the European Union, i.e. third country, you will have to complete a customs declaration and pay customs duty and value added tax and if the consignment contains excise goods (alcohol or tobacco products), you will also have to pay excise duty.
- Consignments ordered from online stores of other European Union countries are in general not subject to taxation (with the exemption of excise goods), but it must be remembered that sending certain type of goods in parcels is prohibited.
- When ordering goods from the internet, please read the terms of sale and delivery of the online store. Find out the country from which the goods will be delivered. Some online stores may be located in Europe, but the goods are actually delivered from outside the European Union.
- If the country of departure is outside the European Union, the consignment must be declared at customs, regardless of the location of the online store. The country of departure of the consignment is important in terms of the need for customs clearance.
- The process does not end with placing an order, therefore, we recommend to keep the ordering documents until receiving the parcel.
Prohibited goods and goods requiring a special permit
Quantitative restrictions or a special authorisation requirement have been established for sending or ordering certain goods to Estonia. Be sure to read the special requirements before shipping or ordering any goods!
When ordering goods through an online store, there is always a certain risk, since the goods must meet the product safety requirements of the European Union and may turn out to be counterfeit or of poor quality. Electronic products intended for Asian market often do not comply with the requirements set by the European Union.
Important to know
- Delivery of tobacco products or related products to Estonia by distance selling (purchase from an online store) is prohibited (§ 31² of the Tobacco Act) and if the prohibition is violated, the Estonian Tax and Customs Board may initiate misdemeanour proceedings.
- Distance selling is trading tobacco products in case the consumer is located in Estonia at the time of ordering the product from the retailer and the retailer is located in another Member State or in a third country.
- Consignments containing tobacco products arriving to Estonia through distance selling are not delivered to the customer and the goods are confiscated and destroyed.
- If you order goods from an online store in a country outside the European Union and pay value added tax (VAT) at the time of purchase, you must indicate the IOSS number provided by the seller on the declaration. Later addition of the IOSS number to the declaration and application for a refund of VAT from the Estonian Tax and Customs Board are not permitted. If you forget to indicate the IOSS number, you must contact the seller of the goods in order to recover the double paid VAT.
Using DDP (delivered duty paid) delivery terms may increase the cost of the goods for the buyer, and import taxes may be added during customs clearance.
When shopping online, consider very carefully whether to agree to DDP delivery terms. If you do agree, bear in mind that you may need to pay tax again in Estonia, even if the seller confirms that taxes are already included in the price of the goods.
It is not advisable to use the DDP delivery term in international trade. This is because it places all obligations on the seller of the goods, but it may be difficult for a seller in a third country to fulfil the obligations arising from the import of goods (special authorisations, payment of taxes, etc.), and the customs regulations of the importing country may not support such an arrangement.
Under DDP, the seller is responsible for organising the transport of the goods and delivering them to the location specified in the contract, as well as for import customs clearance and the payment of all costs associated with import clearance, including import taxes (customs duty, VAT, and excise duty).
This rule imposes the maximum obligation on the seller and, at the same time, results in the highest possible price for the buyer, as the price to be paid includes the value of the goods, delivery fees and import taxes, as well as additional charges for special authorisations and customs clearance fees.
Typically, under DDP terms, it is the seller’s responsibility to find a company or agent in the recipient’s country to handle customs clearance. The seller pays that company/agent for the clearance, as a party from a third country cannot carry out import customs clearance.
The DDP delivery term may lead to numerous questions from the customs authorities in the importing country, and customs may request additional information regarding the value of the goods under EXW terms (the net value of the goods excluding transport costs, taxes paid, agent’s fees, etc.).
The buyer/importer must provide a document proving the purchase of the goods (invoice, contract, payment order), which, in the case of DDP delivery terms, should also include the cost of transport and insurance of the goods paid by the seller to the buyer, as well as the agent’s fee, EU import taxes, VAT, and excise duty in an EU Member State, etc.
To ensure smooth customs clearance and allow customs authorities to correctly account for all charges added by the seller to the price of the goods, all cost components (including taxes payable in the EU) must be clearly distinguishable from the actual EXW value of the goods and itemised separately.
When completing customs clearance, costs incurred in relation to the goods outside the EU customs territory must be added to the EXW value of the goods. This is why it is very important that such costs are shown separately. However, certain costs incurred within the EU (e.g. storage costs) are subject to VAT based on the customs declaration and are liable to VAT in Estonia.
Where customs authorities have questions and it is not clear what the price paid by the buyer includes (for example, whether the buyer also paid the EU import taxes at the time of sale, which are not shown separately in the contract or invoice), customs may require that the total amount paid, on which import taxes are payable, be taken into account when determining the customs value of the goods. In effect, this may mean that the buyer must pay import taxes twice.
Advice for buyers
- Consider very carefully whether to agree to DDP delivery terms, as a contract under DDP terms:
- significantly increases the cost of the goods for you as the buyer, as it includes, for example, the agent’s fee and other hidden charges that you would not have to pay if you, as the buyer, were to handle customs clearance yourself;
- prompts numerous questions from the customs authorities in the importing country.
Advice for sellers
- If possible, do not enter into contracts on DDP terms for international transport of goods. As the seller, you will find it difficult to coordinate the customs clearance process.
- If you nevertheless wish to use the DDP term:
- verify beforehand that the customs regulations of the importing country permit the use of DDP;
- enter into a contract with a company that will handle customs clearance on your (the seller’s) behalf;
in the sales documents, indicate the EXW value of the goods or provide a detailed breakdown of the sales price.
All other costs must also be identified and itemised separately. It is particularly important to distinguish import taxes paid or payable by the buyer from the other charges. This allows the customs authorities in the importing country to verify the accuracy of the declared customs value and the duties and taxes assessed based on it.
Several online stores grant various benefits when purchasing goods, these are named differently, for example:
- trial price – if the goods item is purchased for the first time;
- loyalty credit – in general, a certain percentage of the goods price ordered, and usually it may be found also in the list of use conditions of the online store;
- rewards – bonus points created by sales volume/ advertising work of the buyer (the buyer shares the information with his/her friends on the Internet, the friends purchase the same items from the same online store).
On importation of goods and paying import duties, it is important to make a distinction which benefits may be deducted from the customs value of the goods (taxable goods value) and which not.
The customs value of goods may not be confused with the price of goods!
As concerns the customs value, it is important that the discount is related to the goods to be imported. Besides this, discounts can be considered only when the application and amounts thereof are prescribed by the sales contract.
If a loyalty credit or a trial price may be considered in some respects to be related to a particular item imported, then the so-called “reward” or a compensation/premium is not.
Seega peab allahindluste puhul kontrollima väga hoolikalt, milline on selle allahindluse olemus. Kui allahindlus tuleneb näiteks eelnevalt ostetud kauba maksumusest ja see lahutatakse järgnevalt ostetud kauba maksumusest, siis ei ole tegemist allahindlusega, mis on seotud konkreetse imporditud kaubaga. Tavaliselt nn reward ehk tasu/preemia ja tihti ka loyalty credit seda ei ole.
To sum up, if an online store provides benefits to you, then you may deduct such amounts from the customs value of goods only when you can produce evidence that a beneficial price applied to the particular goods to be imported (a discount) is in question. As evidence the customs authorities accept a service contract wherewith you complied on entering the customer programme of the online store and where there is definitely provided the amount of discount distributed to you. Besides this, the amount of discount must be fixed on the invoice. The points received from distributing the information are not considered as a discount related to the goods imported.
More information about declaring consignments and paying taxes can be found at the page “Declaration of postal parcels”.
Example of declaration
Paul orders electronic equipment from the USA for a total value of 300 euros (incl. shipping) for resale. As the value of ordered electronic equipment exceeds 150 euros, the goods must be declared and customs duty and value added tax have to be paid. Paul declares the ordered goods in the e-services environment e-MTA and pays the customs duty of 5.10 euros (customs duty rate for electronic equipment was 1.7% according to the Estonian Master Tariff System) and the value added tax of 73.22 euros (305.1 x 0.24).
Paul manages to sell the equipment in Estonia for a total price of 420 euros, but since buyers had little interest in these electronic devices, he no longer wishes to engage in further sales of electronic equipment.
Paul received a total income of 41.68 euros (420 – 300– 5.10 – 73.22) from the transaction, which he declares on line 6.3 of the natural person’s income tax return (selling price of 420 euros, from which the acquisition cost and transfer-related expenses of 378.32 euros may be deducted, and the profit is 41.68 euros, on which income tax must be paid).
Goods from another Member State of the European Union can generally be sent to Estonia via a postal and courier service provider without restrictions. With the exemption of alcohol, which is subject to quantitative restrictions.
Prohibited goods and goods requiring a special permit
Special requirements have been established for sending certain goods (e.g. medicinal products etc.) to Estonia or from Estonia to another Member State. Sending certain goods is prohibited.
Important to know
- Delivery of tobacco products or related products to Estonia by distance selling is prohibited (§ 312 of the Tobacco Act), and if the prohibition is violated, the Estonian Tax and Customs Board may initiate misdemeanour proceedings.
- Distance selling is trading tobacco products in case the consumer is located in Estonia at the time of ordering the product from the retailer and the retailer is located in another Member State or in a third country.
- Consignments containing tobacco products arriving to Estonia through distance selling are not delivered to the customer and the goods are confiscated and destroyed.
Excise duty is paid on alcohol received in Estonia through distance sale (e.g. purchase from an e-shop) either by:
- the recipient of the alcohol (natural person), or
- the tax representative if the consignor (distance seller) has appointed one in Estonia.
Before the distance seller dispatches the excise goods to Estonia, the recipient of the alcohol (a natural person) responsible for payment of excise duty must submit a security to the Estonian Tax and Customs Board to guarantee the payment of excise duty (pay the excise duty in advance). To do this, the person must submit the excise duty return of distance sale and pay the calculated excise duty amount to the prepayment account in the e-services environment e-MTA.
In case the distance seller has appointed a tax representative, the tax representative has the obligation to pay excise duty. You can find the data of tax representatives on the page “Tax representatives of non-residents”.
Submitting the return for declaring distance sale
The return can be submitted in the e-services environment e-MTA.
Please find more information in the guide:
In case of questions, do not hesitate to contact us by e-mail [email protected] or phone 676 1477.
Additional information
You can find the details for paying the excise duty calculated with the return and the reference number of your prepayment account on the page “Payment of taxes”.
Last updated: 27.08.2026
