Customs & Import Charges When Buying from Outside the EU

Why your “cheap” overseas order can cost more at the door

When goods enter the EU from a non-EU country, they have to be cleared through customs. That clearance can add charges that were never shown on the product page: import VAT, sometimes customs duty, and often a fee from the courier for doing the paperwork. A €30 gadget can quietly become a €45 gadget on your doorstep. None of this means overseas shopping is a bad deal — it just means the advertised price is not always the final price, and you need to know what to expect.

The two charges that apply: VAT vs customs duty

There are two separate things people lump together as “customs.” The first is import VAT — the same value added tax you’d pay on a domestic purchase, charged at your own country’s rate. The second is customs duty — a tariff on certain imported goods, which depends on what the item is and where it’s from. They’re calculated differently and kick in at different points, so it’s worth keeping them apart in your head.

VAT is now due on every parcel (the €22 exemption is gone)

Until July 2021 the EU exempted low-value imports under €22 from VAT. That exemption has been abolished. Today VAT is due on commercial goods imported into the EU regardless of value — even a €3 phone case is, in principle, subject to import VAT at your national rate. So the headline saving on a very cheap overseas item is smaller than it looks once VAT is added back in.

The €150 duty threshold — under it vs over it

Customs duty is where the €150 line matters. For consignments with an intrinsic value (the goods themselves, excluding shipping and insurance) of €150 or less, no customs duty is charged — only VAT applies. Once the goods’ value goes above €150, customs duty can apply on top of VAT, at a rate that depends on the product category. This is why it’s often smarter to keep a single order at or under €150, or to split larger purchases, rather than tipping just over the line.

What IOSS means and why prices that show “VAT paid” are better

IOSS — the Import One-Stop Shop — lets non-EU sellers collect EU VAT at checkout on consignments up to €150 and remit it for you. When a seller is IOSS-registered, the VAT is already included in the price you pay, and the parcel should clear customs without a separate VAT demand. That’s the experience you want: a price that’s all-in, with nothing to pay on delivery. Larger platforms (including AliExpress) commonly use IOSS, which is why many of their parcels arrive with no extra bill. If a seller is not in IOSS, VAT is instead collected at the border — usually by the courier.

Courier handling / clearance fees — the hidden third charge

When VAT (or duty) is collected at the border rather than at checkout, the courier or postal operator does the clearance work and charges a handling fee for it. This fee is set by the carrier, not by tax law, and it’s the charge that most often turns a small bargain sour: on a cheap item the handling fee alone can rival the value of the goods. It’s also why an IOSS “VAT-paid” price is genuinely better than an otherwise identical price that leaves VAT to be collected on arrival — you skip the handling fee entirely.

A worked example: a €40 gadget from outside the EU

Say you buy a €40 gadget from a non-EU seller, and your country’s VAT rate is 21%. The value is under €150, so no customs duty applies — only VAT. If the seller is IOSS-registered, you pay roughly €40 plus about €8.40 VAT at checkout, the parcel clears cleanly, and that’s it. If the seller is not in IOSS, that same ~€8.40 VAT is collected at the border, plus a courier handling fee that might be several euros — so the “€40” item can land closer to €50–55. Same goods, very different total, decided entirely by how VAT was handled.

How to avoid surprise charges

Three habits cover most of it. First, prefer items stocked inside the EU — many “overseas” brands have EU warehouses, and those parcels carry no import charges at all. Second, look for sellers that show a VAT-paid / IOSS price so there’s nothing to settle on delivery. Third, watch the €150 line on bigger orders, since crossing it can add duty. When in doubt, treat the advertised price as a starting figure and mentally add VAT before comparing.

When buying inside the EU is simply cheaper overall

For lower-value or fault-prone items, an EU-based listing is often the better deal once you count everything: no import VAT to collect at the door, no courier handling fee, faster delivery, and your full EU consumer rights — the 14-day right of withdrawal and the two-year legal guarantee — with no cross-border return hassle. An overseas price has to beat the EU option by a clear margin to win after charges. This is exactly the comparison Marketiq does for you: it searches across eBay’s EU marketplaces, the Awin network of European retailers and AliExpress in one query, and shows listings from your own country first, so you can take the clean local option or choose an overseas one with your eyes open. Some links are affiliate links — if you buy through them we may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you, and it never changes the price you’re shown.