Posten Norge's Privacy Statement regarding Customs clearance for parcels and letters
This Privacy Statement explains how Posten processes personal data in its Customs clearance for parcels and letters. In addition to this Privacy Statement, the Posten Group's general Privacy Statement applies, which can be found at https://www.posten.no/en/privacy-policy. The General Privacy Statement explains your rights and how to contact Posten to exercise your rights, if you have any questions or wish to complain about Posten’s processing of your personal data.
Posten Norge AS is responsible for the processing of personal data in connection with Customs clearance for parcels and letters, CRN 984 661 185, Biskop Gunnerus’ Gate 14 A, 0185 Oslo, Norway.
1. What type of information we have, why we have it and how we use the information
In this section, we explain which of your personal data we process, for what purposes the data are used, and the lawful basis for processing your data.
1.1 Purpose for Posten's Customs clearance:
Posten processes personal data in order to perform Customs services in accordance with the authorization granted to Posten by the Norwegian Customs Service for clearance of consignments to and from other countries.
Consignments to and from other countries are required an approval by Customs clearance. When importing to private individuals, goods must be declared through Customs, either using a simplified or full Customs clearance procedure. In order to speed up the release and delivery of imported goods, Posten uses automated Customs clearance if the consignment is supported with adequate documentation and the recipient has not made a reservation against this service.
Simplified Customs clearance is available for goods that are being sent to private individuals and with a value of up to NOK 3,000 (excluding transport and insurance) unless the sender has charged Norwegian duties upfront (VOEC regime).This procedure does not apply to restricted goods such as food, alcohol and tobacco products.
Simplified Customs clearance does not require the same level of detail for goods descriptions and it is not necessary to identify recipients with social security number (11 digits).
Full customs clearance applies to goods coming into Norway with a value exceeding NOK 3,000 or goods for which the authorities require full Customs clearance. These include works of art, antiques, and restricted goods such as alcohol, tobacco products, medicines, dietary supplements and all foods and beverages.
For consignments being sent abroad, Posten is required to perform full Customs clearance when the value of the product exceeds NOK 5,000, when goods are temporarily taken out of Norway and will be returned later, and when returning goods. When full Customs clearance is performed, Posten sends detailed information about the goods that are imported or exported to the Norwegian Customs Service's, the Customs clearance system. Posten calculates VAT, duty or other fees based on the contents of the shipment. Customs Regulations also require the social security number (11 digits) to be stated when full Customs clearance is performed.
If Posten, during Customs clearance of imported or exported goods, does not have the social security number (in its records), Posten will contact the recipient to ask for this information so that the goods/consignment can be Custom cleared. The social security number are encrypted when typed into Posten's database.
What type of Personal data we process for this purpose:
Name and address (recipient and sender), consignment number, social security number (when required), description of the contents of the consignment, value, type of goods, size, and weight. For import consignment, duties are reported to the state (VAT and any customs duties or levies payable).
Lawful basis for processing personal data for the stated purpose:
In order for the processing of personal data to be lawful, we need to identify valid grounds under the GDPR (known as a ‘lawful basis’). The GDPR sets out several lawful bases for processing personal data. The lawful basis for processing your personal data for the stated purpose is “legitimate interest”. We do not process your personal information based on your consent.
The Customs Act stipulates requirements for how a consignment is to be declared. In order for Posten to be able to clear a consignment through Customs on your behalf, we need to process the personal data as required by law. We do this automatically to ensure your consignments are cleared through Customs as quickly and cost-effectively as possible.
It is important for Posten that our processing of personal data does not result in any adverse consequences for our customers. We have therefore created a process allowing customers to make a reservation from Customs clearance made on their behalf. Posten consider this to be a lawful basis for processing personal data by legitimate interest.
1.2 Purpose for Posten’s processing of payment information:
Recipients must pay Posten a Customs clearance fee when importing goods. This applies to both simplified and full customs clearance. The recipient must also pay import charges to the state (VAT and any duties) for consignments that do not qualify for any import duty relief.
What type of personal data we process for this purpose:
Name and address (recipient), tax amount and Customs clearance charge that the recipient must pay, other payment information such as the order number/consignment number and payment status.
Lawful basis for processing personal data for the stated purpose:
Posten needs to process payment information related to your consignment in order to be able to carry out Customs clearance on your behalf. This processing is based on legitimate interest.
1.3 Purpose for processing requests to make a reservation from Posten’s Customs clearance:
If you request to make a reservation from Posten’s Customs clearance services, Posten is required to save this information so that we do not clear goods through Customs for persons who have made a reservation from this service.
What type of personal data we process for this purpose:
Name, address, telephone number and e-mail address
Lawful basis for processing personal data for the stated purpose:
Information about your reservation from Posten’s Customs clearance service is processed by the legitimate interest, as Posten needs to know about your reservation from this service, to avoid future Customs clearance on Your behalf.
2. How we share your personal data
Posten will only share your personal data with third parties if (i) it is necessary for the purposes set out in this Privacy Statement, (ii) we are required to do so in order to comply with any legal or regulatory obligation or Government order, (iii) it is necessary in order for us to safeguard our interests, for example, to defend ourselves against any claims.
We do not share or disclose any of your personal data without your consent, other than for the purposes specified in this Privacy Statement. This does not prevent us from engaging data processors to process personal data on our behalf (in accordance with the terms of a Data Processing Agreement – DPA).
If Posten uses data processors to collect, store or otherwise process personal data on our behalf, we have entered into DPA to maintain information security at all stages of the processing.
In the event that Posten should use a data processor outside the EU/EEA, we have entered into the EU standard contractual clauses, which ensures a legal and responsible transfer of personal data. If goods that you have ordered from abroad or are sending abroad have been Customs cleared by Posten, we have a statutory obligation to disclose personal data about you (related to the shipment) to the Customs authorities at destination.
3. Retention period
Posten is required to retain Customs declarations and basic documentation for a minimum of 5 years. This is a requirement set out in both the Customs Act and Regulations, and in the Bookkeeping Act.
4. Questions & complaints
If you have any questions in relation to our processing of your personal data, please contact our Data Protection Officer at: personvernombud@posten.no
If you mean that our processing of your personal data is not in line with this Privacy Statement or that we in other ways do not comply with the requirements of the privacy legislation, please contact us. You may also address your complaint to the Norwegian Data Protection Authority. The contact details of the Norwegian Data Protection Authority can be found on its website: www.datatilsynet.no/en.