How to Export to Germany in 2026: 19% Import VAT, EORI, LUCID, WEEE

Duty and import VAT: what the German importer pays

Germany applies the EU's common customs tariff, so the duty rate is the same as in every other EU country: find it in TARIC under the 10-digit code, together with any preferential rate for goods with valid proof of origin. Duty is charged on the customs value, normally the price paid plus freight and insurance up to the point where the goods enter the EU (Union Customs Code, Article 71). German Customs (Zoll) then collects import VAT, called Einfuhrumsatzsteuer, at the German VAT rates: 19%, or the reduced 7% that applies to certain consumer goods.

The import VAT base is the customs value plus the duty and other charges due on import, plus incidental costs such as transport and insurance to the first place of destination in Germany where these are not already in the customs value (VAT Directive, Article 86). A company registered for VAT in Germany can deduct the import VAT as input tax (Vorsteuer) if it holds the import documents with customs proof of payment, so for a business buyer importing on DAP or FCA terms the VAT is a cash-flow cost rather than a final one. If you sell DDP and owe the import VAT yourself, your sale to the buyer usually takes place in Germany and you usually need a German VAT registration; take German VAT advice before quoting DDP. Example with an assumed duty rate of 4%:

• Customs value, the price plus freight and insurance to the EU border: EUR 10,000.
• Duty at 4%: EUR 400.
• Transport from the EU port to the buyer's warehouse in Germany, not in the customs value: EUR 200.
• Import VAT base: 10,000 + 400 + 200 = EUR 10,600; import VAT at 19%: EUR 2,014.
• Paid at import: EUR 2,414. A VAT-registered buyer deducts the EUR 2,014 as input tax, so its net cost is the EUR 400 duty.

EORI, the customs declaration and consumer parcels

The German importer, or its customs broker, lodges the import declaration with German Customs using the importer's EORI number. A business outside the EU does not need an EORI just to sell to German buyers: German Customs issues one to a non-EU business only if, for example, it will appear as declarant in customs declarations or act as a carrier, and asks for an informal justification of the need and of why German customs is responsible. EORI numbers are free from the master data office of the Directorate-General of Customs in Dresden. Since 1 October 2026 applications go through the Customs Portal, and the 0870 forms are used only in the contingency procedure, which a business outside the EU may also use if it cannot access the portal. German Customs points out that there is no need to use third-party providers that charge fees (see Triplicate's note on EORI numbers).

Sales to German consumers follow the EU rules. For consignments up to EUR 150, VAT can be collected through IOSS or by the marketplace, and from 1 July 2026 to 1 July 2028 distance sales in these consignments pay a customs duty of EUR 3 per item. Above EUR 150, import VAT is paid at import (see Triplicate's guide to exporting to the EU).

Packaging: LUCID registration and system participation

Germany's Packaging Act (VerpackG) requires producers and initial distributors, including importers and distance sellers, to register with the LUCID Packaging Register of the Zentrale Stelle Verpackungsregister (ZSVR) before packaging filled with goods is placed on the German market for the first time, whatever type of packaging it is. Registration and data reporting are free. The registration cannot be handed to a third party (section 35(1) VerpackG): a producer without a branch in Germany can appoint an authorised representative for its other duties under the Packaging Act, but not for registration.

Packaging for private final consumers, shipping packaging included, must also take part in a packaging system under the producer's LUCID registration number. Since 1 July 2022, electronic marketplaces must check that sellers offering goods in Germany are registered and take part in a system, and must ban the goods from the platform if they do not; fulfilment service providers may only work for companies that are registered in LUCID.

Electrical goods, batteries and coffee

Electrical and electronic equipment falls under the Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act (ElektroG). The producer must register with stiftung ear before placing the equipment on the German market, and a producer without a German establishment must appoint an authorised representative. The registration number, often called the WEEE number, must appear in offers and on invoices, and since 1 July 2023 online marketplaces and fulfilment service providers must check that producers are registered. Producers also have take-back and reporting duties, and breaches can be fined up to EUR 100,000.

Batteries follow separate battery rules, not the ElektroG. Since 18 August 2025, when the producer rules of the EU Battery Regulation took effect, stiftung ear has remained responsible for registering battery producers, every producer must join an organisation for producer responsibility (OfH) or set up its own, and producers without an establishment in Germany must register through an authorised representative based in Germany.

Coffee pays German coffee tax on import from a non-EU country: EUR 2.19 per kilogram for roasted coffee and EUR 4.78 per kilogram for soluble coffee, and goods containing coffee, such as certain confectionery, are covered too. The tax is declared as part of the customs declaration. EU product rules such as the GPSR, CE marking and the cosmetics regulation apply as in the rest of the EU (see Triplicate's guide to exporting to the EU).