Finland
Importing a car into Finland
From the single market, bringing a car into Finland is informal but not free of tax: car tax falls due on first registration, assessed on the car's Finnish value and its CO₂ output. Before the first drive in the country there is also a notification that costs nothing and delays everything when it is missing.
- Registration authority
- Liikenne- ja viestintävirasto Traficom
- Customs
- Tulli
- Technical inspection
- Katsastus
- Last reviewed
Where the car comes from decides the effort
From an EU state
From an EU state there is no customs declaration, and no import VAT on a used car. Car tax still applies, because it hangs on registration rather than on the border. If the car counts as new for tax, Finnish VAT is declared as well; for private buyers that happens alongside the car tax at Verohallinto.
From a third country
From Switzerland or Liechtenstein it is an import declared to Tulli, with duty and import VAT. Car tax comes after that and on top of it. Without European type approval, the registration inspection decides whether the car can be entered at all — a technical question, not a fiscal one.
The process, in order
The order is not arbitrary. Pull a step forward and you usually end up repeating it.
01File the käyttöönottoilmoitus before first use
Before the car is used in Finland, its introduction into use is notified to Verohallinto. The notification is free and allows use for a limited period before the car tax is assessed. Without it the use is not covered, and that cannot be repaired afterwards.
Handled by: Verohallinto
02Submit the car tax declaration
The car tax declaration goes to Verohallinto. What counts is the car's general retail value in Finland and its CO₂ output; the authority then assesses the tax. The foreign purchase price is an indication, not the basis of assessment.
Handled by: Verohallinto
03Registration inspection
The car is presented at an inspection station for the registration inspection. The technical data is established and the papers checked. With a COC it is a comparison; without one, individual figures have to be evidenced, and that is where an import gets stuck.
Handled by: Katsastusasema (inspection station)
04Take out liikennevakuutus
Motor third-party insurance is a precondition of registration. It has to be in the future keeper's name and effective from the day of registration; many insurers handle the registration itself at the same time.
05Registration and plates
With the car tax paid, the inspection passed and insurance in place, the car is entered in the register and gets plates. From that entry, the annual vehicle tax runs against the keeper.
Handled by: Traficom, or an authorised agent acting for it
06Deregister in the country of sale
Deregistration and returning the plates happen where the car was registered, and are documented. Otherwise tax and insurance obligations keep running there.
What gets added
Without amounts, and deliberately so: official rates change, and a stale figure is worse than none. What is here is the basis of assessment — enough to calculate with, once the current rate is known.
- Autovero (car tax)
- Assessed on: The largest single item. Assessed on the car's general retail value in Finland; the rate applied is determined by CO₂ output. Verohallinto assesses it, and the current rate is stated there.
- Does not apply: It is not levied where the car is used only temporarily in Finland under the conditions set for that — for instance by a keeper resident abroad.
- VAT
- Assessed on: On imports from outside the single market, on customs value plus duty; within the EU only for a fiscally new car. It is declared to Verohallinto.
- Does not apply: Does not apply to a used car from an EU state.
- Customs duty
- Assessed on: Only on import from outside the single market, on the customs value. Tulli states the rate.
- Registration inspection
- Assessed on: The inspection station's price, by vehicle category and scope. Missing evidence means additional tests and costs accordingly more.
- Ajoneuvovero (annual vehicle tax)
- Assessed on: Recurring. The base component is assessed on CO₂ output; for cars running on anything other than petrol a component by gross mass is added — on a diesel, the reason the sum looks different than it did in the country of sale.
- Liikennevakuutus
- Assessed on: The insurer's premium, by car, keeper and claims history.
The papers
Miss one of these and the appointment is wasted.
- Foreign registration document, parts I and II or the equivalent.
- Certificate of conformity (COC) — it carries the CO₂ figure the car tax turns on.
- Purchase contract or invoice.
- Confirmation of the käyttöönottoilmoitus and, once issued, the car tax assessment.
- The keeper's Finnish personal identity code (henkilötunnus) and address, or a Y-tunnus for a company.
- Proof of liikennevakuutus from the day of registration.
Where the sum tips
- The forgotten käyttöönottoilmoitus. It is free, takes minutes, and is what makes using the car before the tax assessment permissible at all. The period before it cannot be covered retrospectively.
- Treating the purchase price as the basis. Car tax is assessed on the Finnish retail value, not on the foreign price. A cheaply bought car is therefore not taxed any lower.
- The missing CO₂ figure. If the papers do not carry it, it has to be evidenced — the COC is the short route, an expert report the long one. For older cars without manufacturer data a substitute rule applies, and it rarely works out cheaper.
- The tyres. Finland requires winter tyres, tied to a defined period and to road conditions; studded tyres have a period of their own. A car arriving from southern Europe regularly turns up without a suitable set.
How long it takes
As an order of magnitude: the notification the same day, then weeks for the car tax assessment, and a few days for inspection and registration after that. Without a COC, or with a contested value, rather two to three months.
The technical inspection
Katsastus
The recurring technical test is the katsastus. Before an imported car is entered, the rekisteröintikatsastus — the registration inspection — comes first; it establishes what will stand in the register and no foreign test replaces it. After that the car runs on the Finnish inspection interval, which depends on age and vehicle category.
Common questions
How is the car tax calculated?
From two figures: the car's general retail value in Finland and its CO₂ output, which determines the rate applied. Verohallinto combines them and issues the assessment. Anyone wanting to do the sums before buying asks there for an indication — the rate changes, the basis of assessment does not.
May I drive before the tax is assessed?
With the käyttöönottoilmoitus and within the period it allows, yes; otherwise no. That is exactly why the notification is made before the first drive rather than after.
Do I get the car tax back if I export the car again?
For cars deregistered and permanently taken abroad there is the vientipalautus, the export refund. It comes with conditions and is set by Verohallinto; what is refunded follows the value at the time of export, not the amount originally paid.
Is the inspection from the country of origin recognised?
Not for the entry — the rekisteröintikatsastus stands on its own. For the recurring interval afterwards, the Finnish due date applies, derived from first registration and vehicle category.
This overview is not a substitute for information from the competent authority. Rates, fees and deadlines change; the office that registers the car is always the binding source.