200 years of Finnish Customs

The Russian emperor Alexander I approved on February 12th 1812 the regulation for the General Customs Directorate of the Finnish Grand Duchy. In 1885, the name was changed to Board of Customs.  

The Customs of the Grand Duchy was developed mainly for the needs of the country itself and therefore no big changes were necessary when Finland became independent in 1917. The transition from the Russian Grand Duchy to an independent state was smooth, and joining the European Union customs system in the 1990ies was easy.

The customs duties' share of the tax revenue has fluctuated much

The customs duties' share of the total state tax revenue and tax-related revenue was barely one fifth at the end of the 1830ies, but already in the 1850ies it was more than 40 percent of the state tax revenue. Until the 1930ies the customs duties formed the backbone of the Finnish state economy.

After the customs duties went down and were abolished to a large extent from 1950 onwards, the fiscal importance of the customs duties has decreased. Nevertheless, Customs is still an important institution for collecting taxes, since it collects VAT and other taxes from foreign trade.

© Finnish Customs

More information
Finnish Customs(Link to another website.) (Opens New Window)
Customs museum in Suomenlinna(Link to another website.) (Opens New Window)