Shipping to EU Buyers: EORI, IOSS, Import VAT and the EUR 3 Duty

Who acts as importer, and EORI

On DAP or FCA terms the EU buyer or its broker normally declares the goods and pays duty and VAT. Selling DDP, you take this on, usually through an EU customs representative declaring in its own name on your behalf (indirect representation).

The declarant needs an EORI number. A non-EU business needs its own only if it lodges declarations or entry summary declarations itself or acts as carrier; it then registers in the EU country of its first customs operation, and the number is valid EU-wide.

Check any EORI number with the Commission's EORI validation service before shipping.

Customs value and import VAT

Duty is charged on the customs value: the price paid plus transport, insurance and related costs up to the point where goods enter the EU, in effect a CIF value. Transport after the EU border is excluded.

Import VAT is charged at the rate of the country of import. A VAT-registered business buyer can usually deduct it; a consumer cannot.

The EUR 150 limit below uses intrinsic value: the goods' price without transport and insurance, unless these are included in the price and not shown separately.

IOSS and marketplaces for consumer parcels

IOSS lets you charge EU VAT at checkout on distance sales in consignments of intrinsic value up to EUR 150, through one registration. Import is then VAT-exempt, so the customer pays no VAT at delivery. Excise goods are excluded.

A seller established outside the EU must appoint an EU-established intermediary, who is liable for the VAT, unless it is established in, and ships from, a country with a VAT mutual assistance agreement with the EU.

If a marketplace facilitates the sale, it is the deemed supplier and collects the VAT. Above EUR 150, VAT is paid at import.

EUR 3 duty, handling fee and customs reform

Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382 removed the EUR 150 duty relief. From 1 July 2026 to 1 July 2028, distance sales in consignments up to EUR 150 pay EUR 3 per item under any VAT method. An item is goods sharing a tariff classification: five T-shirts are one item, a T-shirt and a watch are two.

The declarant pays. From 1 November 2026 these declarations must carry product identifiers.

The new Union Customs Code, Regulation (EU) 2026/2108, entered into force in September 2026 and applies in phases. It makes non-EU platforms and sellers responsible for customs formalities and duty. Its Customs Data Hub opens to e-commerce in 2028, when normal duty rates are due to replace the EUR 3, and becomes mandatory for all traders by 2034.

On 21 September 2026 the Commission adopted a delegated act setting a separate handling fee of EUR 2 per item on distance sales of any value, due to start by 1 November 2026. Confirm the start date.

Product rules that stop goods

Goods subject to prohibitions or restrictions cannot use the simplified low-value (H7) declaration and need a full one.

• CE marking for toys, electrical equipment, machinery, PPE and other covered products, with a declaration of conformity and technical file kept 10 years.
• GPSR, since 13 December 2024: an economic operator established in the EU for each product, named with postal and electronic address on the product, packaging, parcel or an accompanying document, plus the manufacturer's details and a type or batch number.
• Online listings must show the manufacturer, EU responsible person, product identification, a picture and warnings.
• Packaging: Germany requires LUCID registration before filled packaging, including shipping boxes, is first placed on its market. Check other destinations for similar schemes.

ICS2 safety data and staying current

Import Control System 2 covers air, sea, road, rail, postal and express shipments. The carrier, or sometimes a forwarder or postal operator, files an entry summary declaration before arrival; for air cargo, some data is due before loading.

Vague or incomplete data leads to information requests, do-not-load messages or penalties.

Rules change often. This is practical guidance, not legal advice; confirm with the customs authority or a licensed customs broker.