Finnish Customs is struggling to deal with the flood of low-value products arriving via 
Temu.
Some 28.2 million parcels arrived in Finland from outside the EU in 2024. Just a couple of years earlier, in 2022, the figure was 850,000. This year, more than 50 million parcels are expected to arrive in Finland, a staggering sixtyfold increase from earlier this decade.
The situation is even more dramatic on a European scale. Last year, 4.6 billion parcels entered the bloc, with 1.1 billion of those destined for the Netherlands alone. The flow shows no signs of slowing down.
For Customs officials, the workload is enormous, as every single e-commerce parcel must be processed individually.
Sami Rakshit, who heads Finnish Customs, wants to see the system take a few steps back toward more traditional import practices, as officials are not able to monitor all incoming shipments.
In some cases, the EU is being shortchanged, as a number of Chinese e-commerce platforms are failing to properly remit value-added tax to the EU. While consumers are charged the full tax at purchase, customs inspections have found that the collected VAT is not always passed on to European authorities. Currently, tax compliance largely relies on the goodwill or law-abidingness of the retailer.
“We've noticed that it may not be the case across all platforms. Consumers are charged the full VAT, but it isn't always fully passed on to the EU.”
To rein in the online shopping 'tsunami', as Rakshit called it, he would like to see an end to individual packages getting shipped around the world like this.
Only large shipments imported directly into Customs warehouses can be properly processed for safety and taxes.
“We should try to avoid sending individual parcels directly to consumers around the world, because controlling them is practically impossible.”
According to Green MP Tiina Elo, the current volumes of products shipped by Temu are unsustainable. While restricting this may seem radical, Elo argued that it's the only way forward.
"Chinese shopping platforms fuel a culture of disposable consumption and pose a serious threat to the future of responsibly operating businesses. It's completely unsustainable — not only for the environment and the climate, but also for workers' rights and consumer safety."
This week will see the legislature receive a citizens’ initiative on cracking down on the throwaway economy, after being backed by more than 50,000 Finns who signed the proposal.
The initiative calls for a ban on the marketing and advertising of ultra-fast fashion and low-quality goods, as well as measures, including tax policy, to curb the growth of the trade.
yle.fi/a/74-20186849
Temu.
Some 28.2 million parcels arrived in Finland from outside the EU in 2024. Just a couple of years earlier, in 2022, the figure was 850,000. This year, more than 50 million parcels are expected to arrive in Finland, a staggering sixtyfold increase from earlier this decade.
The situation is even more dramatic on a European scale. Last year, 4.6 billion parcels entered the bloc, with 1.1 billion of those destined for the Netherlands alone. The flow shows no signs of slowing down.
For Customs officials, the workload is enormous, as every single e-commerce parcel must be processed individually.
Sami Rakshit, who heads Finnish Customs, wants to see the system take a few steps back toward more traditional import practices, as officials are not able to monitor all incoming shipments.
In some cases, the EU is being shortchanged, as a number of Chinese e-commerce platforms are failing to properly remit value-added tax to the EU. While consumers are charged the full tax at purchase, customs inspections have found that the collected VAT is not always passed on to European authorities. Currently, tax compliance largely relies on the goodwill or law-abidingness of the retailer.
“We've noticed that it may not be the case across all platforms. Consumers are charged the full VAT, but it isn't always fully passed on to the EU.”
To rein in the online shopping 'tsunami', as Rakshit called it, he would like to see an end to individual packages getting shipped around the world like this.
Only large shipments imported directly into Customs warehouses can be properly processed for safety and taxes.
“We should try to avoid sending individual parcels directly to consumers around the world, because controlling them is practically impossible.”
According to Green MP Tiina Elo, the current volumes of products shipped by Temu are unsustainable. While restricting this may seem radical, Elo argued that it's the only way forward.
"Chinese shopping platforms fuel a culture of disposable consumption and pose a serious threat to the future of responsibly operating businesses. It's completely unsustainable — not only for the environment and the climate, but also for workers' rights and consumer safety."
This week will see the legislature receive a citizens’ initiative on cracking down on the throwaway economy, after being backed by more than 50,000 Finns who signed the proposal.
The initiative calls for a ban on the marketing and advertising of ultra-fast fashion and low-quality goods, as well as measures, including tax policy, to curb the growth of the trade.
yle.fi/a/74-20186849