General principles for sending goods to a third country
Goods sent by postal or courier service from Estonia to a country outside the European Union generally have to be declared if the value of the goods exceeds 1000 euros or the quantity exceeds 1000 kg or a special authorisation requirement has been established for the goods.
Postal and express parcels must not contain
- narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances
- medicinal products containing narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances
- whole blood or blood components
- anabolic steroids
- tissues or cells used for medical purposes
- advanced therapy medicinal products
- firearms and essential components thereof
- ammunition and components thereof
- tear and nerve gas canisters
- inert explosive devices and ammunition and their copies, including, for example, inert grenades and shells and their copies
- radioactive substances
- toxic substances
- pyrotechnics
Additional information
Medicines and supplements
Shipping of medicinal products from a non-EU country to Estonia or from Estonia to a non-EU country by postal or express parcels may take place only from one private individual to another private individual.
When using postal or courier service, one shipment may contain up to ten unopened retail packages without the authorisation of the State Agency of Medicines. The medicinal products must be in the original packaging of the manufacturer.
Retail package sizes are:
- up to 200 doses for solid pharmaceutical forms
- 500 g for powders for solution
- 50 g for homeopathic granules
- 500 ml for solutions for infusion and oral solutions
- 30 ampoules or vials for injectable formulations
- 200 ml or 200 g for external medicinal products
- 100 g for herbal substances
- up to 200 doses for inhalation medicinal products
- 10 units for medicated plasters
If the quantity of medicinal products shipped exceeds the above-mentioned quantities, an authorisation must be applied from the State Agency of Medicines for all medicinal products in the parcel.
There are no restrictions on the shipment of products not classified as a medicinal product (e.g. food supplements).
Before shipping a product, it is recommended to contact the State Agency of Medicines to determine whether the product is a medicinal product or not.
More information on the website of the State Agency of Medicines, e-mail [email protected] or phone number +372 737 4140.
Returning goods to a country outside the EU
If the value of the return shipment exceeds 1000 euros or the quantity exceeds 1000 kg, the same export customs formalities must be carried out as when sending a parcel to a country outside the EU. More information can be found from the export page.
Goods sent to a third country for repairs, including warranty repairs, must always be declared. Before shipping the goods, we recommend checking the import conditions of the destination country.
- If goods have arrived in Estonia from a country outside the EU and after free circulation it has become apparent that the goods need to be returned (e.g., the size of clothing items did not meet expectations, etc.), it is possible to apply for invalidation of the import declaration and refund of the taxes paid at import (customs duty and VAT).
The request for invalidation must be submitted within 90 days of the date of acceptance of the customs declaration and with the aim of returning the goods to the supplier (article 148 (3) of the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446). - If new goods are sent from a non-EU country to replace the returned goods, these must be declared for release into free circulation and the applicable import duties must be paid.
Tollideklaratsiooni kehtetuks tunnistamise taotluse saab esitada e-teenuste keskkonnas e-MTA.
Invalidating a declaration
- Send the goods back and keep a receipt for returning the goods.
- Submit a request for invalidation of a customs declaration in the e-services environment e-MTA. Select from its menu Customs – Import – Import declarations (Impulss).
- Select the declaration you want to invalidate and open it.
- Under “General”, click the button Invalidate.
- Write down the reason for invalidation in free text.
- Select a legal basis from the drop-down menu.
- Enter the bank account number and the name of the bank account holder (for refund of taxes).
- Attach to the request (upload) a parcel receipt for the return of the goods.
- Click the button Add.
- The added request will be reviewed by an official who will contact you if necessary. In other cases, the taxes will be refunded to you and you will not have to do anything else.
The request for invalidation must be submitted within 90 days of the date of acceptance of the customs declaration and with the aim of returning the goods to the supplier.
When sending goods for repair outside the EU, the outward processing procedure must be used.
Outward processing allows the goods to be returned partially or fully exempt from tax.
Full tax exemption is granted in the case of warranty repairs or replacement of goods under warranty. More information about outward processing.
Retrospective authorisation
If goods have been transported for repair without applying the outward processing procedure (for example, with a passenger, by post without a customs declaration etc.), it is still possible to gain relief from customs duty upon re-importing the goods, if the outward processing procedure is applied retrospectively. For that, a customs declaration for re-importation must be lodged, accompanied by documents proving the exit of the goods.
Customs authority accepts the declaration when convinced that the conditions of the procedure have been met. An export declaration must not be drawn up retrospectively.
Customs authority will notify the applicant in writing of its refusal to apply outward processing retrospectively. If outward processing is not applied, import duties applicable to the goods and other domestic taxes associated with the incurrence of customs debt must be paid upon re-importation of the goods.
Sending goods to Russia
In addition to the prohibited goods listed above, the EU sanctions prohibit taking (including shipping) the following goods and banknotes to Russia:
Luxury goods
- goods with a value of more than 300 euros per item, for example:
- gold coins
- jewellery, watches
- cosmetics, make-up, skin-care products, hair-care products, hair clippers
- alcohol
- men's and women's clothing, footwear
- bags (suitcases, handbags, backpacks, wallets, etc.)
- sports equpiment
- spare parts for cars, tyres
- tableware, kitchenware of porcelain or china
- carpets
- electronic items for domestic use of a value exceeding 750 euros, for example:
- sewing machines, vacuum cleaners, microwaves, cookers, video game consoles
photo cameras, of a value exceeding 1,000 euros per item
NB: Cameras for underwater and aerial photography are prohibited.
- musical instruments, of a value exeeding 1,500 euros per item
- motor cycles, of a value exceeding 5,000 euros per item
- etc.
The list is not complete. If you would like to know whether the goods you are interested in can be taken to Russia or not, please refer to annex XVIII to article 3h of Council Regulation (EU) No 833/2014 to see the full list of prohibited luxury goods (after clicking on the link of the regulation, it takes a little while to load the page).
The restriction on taking luxury goods to Russia does not apply to personal items, e.g. a smartphone, handbag, outerwear in personal use, etc.
Other goods, regardless of value
- live plants, young plants, bulbs
- furniture, wood, plywood, paper, paperboard, wallpaper
- fabrics
- paints, varnishes, chemicals
- items of plastic, e.g. doors, windows, etc.
- various machines, electronic tools
- equipment, e.g. amplifiers, microphones
- building materials, such as connection cables as well
- hoses, gaskets, washers and other seals of rubber
- motor vehicles
- phones and smartphones
- monitors, televisions, radios
- drones and parts thereof
- watercraft
- pipes, wire
- etc
The list is not complete. If you would like to know whether the goods you are interested in can be taken to Russia or not, please refer to annex XXIII to Council Regulation (EU) No 833/2014 to see the full list of goods (after clicking on the link of the regulation, it takes a little while to load the page).
Euro banknotes (EUR) and other banknotes of EU Member States (HRK, RON, BGN, HUF, CZK, PLN, SEK, DKK)
Additional information about the ban on the export of banknotes.
Sending goods to Belarus
If you would like to know whether or not goods of your interest can be sent to Belarus, please refer to Council Regulation (EC) No 765/2006 for the full list of goods.
Sanctions and embargoes
Information on all sanctions and embargoes applicable in the EU can be found from the EU Sanctions Map website. The website gives you an overview of which countries and goods are subject to sanctions or embargoes, as well as the EU legislation in force.
Liability for violation of sanctions
Since 27 April 2025, the Estonian Tax and Customs Board conducts proceedings regarding sanctions offences related to goods.
- Cases concerning goods or banknotes with a value of up to 10,000 euros are considered misdemeanours for which a fine of up to 2,400 euros or detention is prescribed. In the case of a legal person, a fine of up to 400,000 euros.
- Cases where the value of goods or banknotes is 10,000 euros and 1 cent or more are considered criminal offences for which a fine or imprisonment is prescribed as a punishment.
- Repeated violation of sanctions is considered a criminal offence regardless of the value of the quantity of goods or amount of banknotes and is processed pursuant to the procedure provided for in the Code of Criminal Procedure.
- For all offences, it is possible that the goods or the banknotes denominated in any official currency of a Member State are confiscated.
Last updated: 11.09.2026
