Circular Note, 18 November: Restrictions in the Tobacco Act
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs present their compliments to the Diplomatic Missions and Consular Posts accredited to Helsinki and wish to inform about the following restrictions in the Finnish legislation:
The Finnish Customs has published information on their website regarding ordering tobacco products online. Ordering tobacco products online is prohibited for all consumers, including diplomats. The prohibition covers orders made from Finland and abroad. The prohibition is valid in situations where products are ordered online, by email, or by phone.
Pursuant to Section 58 “Ban on distance sales” of the Tobacco Act (549/2016), the cross-border distance sales of tobacco products, electronic cigarettes, nicotine liquids, snus and nicotine pouches are prohibited. Furthermore, an economic operator established in Finland shall not sell or otherwise supply the mentioned products to consumers using means of distance communications as referred to in Chapter 6, section 7(2) of the Consumer Protection Act (38/1978). As there is no exception made for diplomats, this prohibition applies also to them.
As stated above, the prohibition concerns ordering products from Finland and both inside and outside the EU. For instance, this applies to tobacco purchases made by diplomats from the Danish company Peter Justesen. Also, the prohibition concerns tobacco purchases made by diplomats from the Finnish company Shipstores Nyman & Co. Therefore, diplomats are no longer able to order tobacco products online tax exempt. The prohibition does not apply to embassies purchasing tobacco products online for their official use.
More information is available on the website of the Finnish Customs: https://tulli.fi/en/restrictions/ordering-tobacco-products-online
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs avail themselves of this opportunity to renew to the Missions accredited to Helsinki the assurances of their highest consideration.
Helsinki, 18 November 2025
To
Missions accredited to Helsinki