Finnish Customs (, ) is the customs service of the Republic of Finland. It is a government agency steered by the Ministry of Finance. The Finnish Customs is a part of the customs system of the European Union and has around 1,900 employees.

History

On February 12, 1812, the founding of The General Customs Directorate of the Grand Duchy of Finland was approved by Alexander I of Russia as the Grand Duke of Finland. By the 1850s, customs duties' share of total tax revenue was over 40 percent. The directorate was renamed the Board of Customs in 1881. The customs service of the Grand Duchy of Finland was autonomous from the customs service of the Russian Empire, and thus the transition to the customs service of an independent Finland in 1917 was smooth.

Customs duties formed the backbone of the Finnish state economy until the 1930s, but the fiscal importance of duties has decreased drastically due to the international reduction or elimination of trade barriers since the 1950s. Finland joined the EU and its Customs Union in 1995, but this caused no significant challenges for Finnish Customs.

Current activities The tasks of Finnish Customs include the facilitation of the trade in goods, the protection of society and the environment, and the collection of customs duties, charges and taxes on import goods. It also compiles the official statistics on international trade.

Directors

Gustaf Hjärne 1812–1816 Claes Jakob Gripenberg 1816–1822 Jacob Snellman 1822–1828 Julius Conrad Antell 1828–1831 Christian Avellan 1831–1841 Berndt Federley 1841–1847 Carl Gustaf Enckell 1848–1849 Frans Olof af Brunér 1849–1855 Johan August von Born 1855–1865 Konstantin Wikman 1865–1881 Herman Peter Höckert 1881–1890 Birger Fridolf Winter 1890–1901 Bernhard Anton Harald Indrenius 1902–1903 Knut Gustaf Nikolai Borgenström 1903–1905 Eugraf Nyman 1905–1907 T. J. Boisman 1907–1910 Axel Fabian af Enehjelm 1910–1915 Pavel Strauch 1915–1917 Wilhelm Gabriel Poppius 1917–1935 Ilmari Killinen 1936–1942 Eljas Kahra 1942–1945 Auno Halonen 1945–1951 Nikolai Saarnio 1951–1968 Jorma Uitto 1968–1988 Jermu Laine 1988–1994 Berndt Olof Johansson 1994–1998 Tapani Erling 1998–2012 Antti Hartikainen 2012 Antti Hartikainen 2012–2013 Leo Nissinen 2013–2019 Hannu Mäkinen 2019–2024 Sami Rakshit 2024–Current

See also Finnish Border Guard

References

External links