EMCS interfaces will be transferred to the Vero API service
EMCS, or the Excise Movement and Control System is an electronic system for exchanging information between EU countries. EMCS is currently used for reporting and controlling movement of products subject to harmonised excise duty (alcohol, alcoholic beverages, tobacco and liquid energy products) under the duty suspension arrangement.
On 13 February 2023, EMCS expanded to cover products on which excise duty has been paid in the country of dispatch. At the same time, the EMCS service transferred to MyTax. As of 13 February 2023, customers will have to report all movements of products subject to harmonised excise duty in EU countries either in MyTax or via the API. The paper-based procedure will be replaced with an electronic one, and the paper-based SAAD document (Simplified Accompanying Administrative Document) will no longer be used as a document for movements.
However, the change does not concern transports within Finland. It is still not required to use EMCS when moving products within Finland. Read more: Changes to the EMCS system
Direct message exchange changes from XML to JSON format
The customer interface of EMCS will be transferred to the Tax Administration’s API service.
The APIs are real-time Rest APIs where the message format is JSON.
EMCS messages and information content requirements are based on the EU Commission’s EMCS specifications. Vero APIs will be in JSON format, no longer in XML.
See the EU Commission’s website for more information about the EMCS and its specifications.
Go live notes
The new EMCS interfaces will be moved to production on 13 February 2023 at 8 am. Before this, API users must get certificates for the production environment. Customs’ interfaces will be closed on Friday 10 February at 3.30 pm. The fallback procedure is used during the service break.
EMCS will be transferred to MyTax – Instructions for the go-live weekend (10–13 February)
The Notification Service API was moved to production on 24 January 2023. We advise you to subscribe to the EMCS notifications in advance. Generation of notifications begins on 13 February 2023.
It is advisable to register the software which uses EMCS interfaces without delay starting 18 January 2023 and build the API key processing into the software already at this stage. The API key will become mandatory alongside the certificate on 1 May 2023.
See for more details about going live with Vero API services
Description of APIs
Message descriptions have been published in the Vero API sandbox and Vero API Portal. The test versions of the APIs in the sandbox do not contain validation of check rules related to message content. Test versions containing validations are available through test endpoints published in the Vero API Portal.
Launch for production takes place on 13 February 2023 at 8 am.
Notification service
The Tax Administration has created a Notification Service API, where the interface user will be notified of any EMCS messages received. Notifications come from a request interface, and each notification contains a key. Using the key, the user can retrieve the actual information content associated with EMCS. Users will have to request notifications from the Tax Administration’s interface because in the first phase, the service sends notifications only in response to requests.
New notifications for EMCS message types will be generated starting 13 February 2023. No notifications concerning events before the implementation of the new interfaces are available, except for IE802 reminder messages.
The descriptions of the Notification Service API were released in the Vero API sandbox at the end of March 2022. The service was taken into production use on 24 January 2023.**
API code sets
You can retrieve the code sets used in EMCS APIs through the API code set interface. You can explore the code set interface in the Vero API sandbox environment. The API codes are found in the category: General > Codes. The codes have been published in the sandbox and Vero API Portal.
API key
Software houses and developers must register their API software in the Tax Administration's API portal as of 18 January 2023. As of 1 May 2023, a software-specific API key will be required in EMCS in addition to a user-specific certificate. In interface calls, the API key is placed in the vero-softwarekey header.
Interfaces of EMCS reports:
IE815 – Submitted Draft of e-AD/e-SAD
IE810 – Cancellation Of an e-AD
IE813 – Change of Destination
IE818 – Accepted or Rejected Report of Receipt/Export
IE819 – Alert or Rejection of an e-AD/e-SAD
IE837 – Explanation on Delay for Delivery
IE871 – Explanation on Reason for Shortage
Planned interfaces for the Notification Service API:
IE801 – e-AD/e-SAD
IE802 – Reminder Message for Excise Movement
IE803 – Notification of Diverted e-AD/e-SAD
IE807 – Interruption of Movement
IE810 – Cancellation Of an e-AD
IE813 – Change of Destination
IE818 – Accepted or Rejected Report of Receipt/Export
IE819 – Alert or Rejection of an e-AD/e-SAD
IE829 – Notification of Accepted Export
IE837 – Explanation on Delay for Delivery
IE880 – Manual Closure Request
IE881 – Manual Closure Response
IE871 – Explanation on Reason for Shortage
Further information:
- The EMCS (in Finnish)
- See the EU Commission’s website for more information about the EMCS and its specifications
- Read more about the EU Commission’s EMCS specifications: Download the latest version of FESS