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Importing into France

What a parcel to France pays in 2026: the EU's €3 duty and €2 handling fee, French VAT at import, the end of France's small-parcel tax, IOSS and clearance.

Updated · 7 official sources

A parcel sold to a consumer in France follows EU customs rules: a consignment worth up to €150 pays the EU's temporary €3 customs duty per item, every distance sale pays the €2 Union handling fee from 1 November 2026, and French VAT applies at any value. France's own €2 tax on small parcels applied only from 1 March to 30 June 2026 and ended when the EU duty started.

Rules as of 30 October 2026.

What does a parcel to France pay?#

A parcel sold online to a consumer in France pays EU customs duty, the Union handling fee and French import VAT, plus whatever the carrier charges for clearing it. France applies the EU's common tariff and the EU's low-value rules, so the duty side is the same as anywhere in the EU, and the VAT side follows French rates.

Charge When it applies Amount
Temporary customs duty Distance sales in consignments up to €150, 1 July 2026 to 1 July 2028 €3 per item
Customs duty Consignments over €150 The EU tariff rate for the code and origin
Union handling fee Every distance sale, any value, from 1 November 2026 €2 per item
Import VAT (TVA) Every commercial import 20% standard rate, lower rates of 10%, 5.5% and 2.1% for some goods

An item is a group of goods with the same tariff classification and description, so two identical scarves count once and a scarf with a pair of gloves counts twice. French VAT is charged on the goods plus delivery and the duty and fee. The live figures:

Import VAT in France

Country Tax Standard rate Since Official source
France VAT 20% ec.europa.eu

border.bot live data from each country's official publications, updated 2026-10-11

Low-value thresholds for France

Country Duty-free up to Tax-free up to Currency Value counted Official source
France 150 EUR goods eur-lex.europa.eu

border.bot live data from each country's official publications, updated 2026-10-11

France's import rules page has the tariff by chapter, and the France import duty calculator works out a product's duty, VAT and fees.

What happened to France's tax on small parcels?#

France introduced a national tax on small parcels (taxe sur les petits colis) through article 82 of its finance law for 2026, Law No. 2026-103 of 19 February 2026. The tax was €2 per article, counted by six-digit HS code, on low-value consignments under €150 declared on the simplified H7 declaration, and was owed by whoever was liable for the import VAT. It applied from 1 March 2026 and was repealed from 1 July 2026, when the EU's €3 duty per item took effect.

So a parcel imported into France from 1 July 2026 doesn't pay the French tax, and pays the EU duty instead. If you shipped parcels to France between March and June 2026, French customs' note to operators No. 26000035 sets out how that tax was declared and paid, and IOSS-registered sellers could ask French customs for monthly data on the tax taken from their H7 declarations.

How is VAT collected on parcels to France?#

French VAT on a parcel up to €150 is collected either by the seller at checkout through the Import One-Stop Shop (IOSS), or from the buyer on delivery by the carrier or La Poste. Above €150, VAT is collected at import under the standard procedure, by whoever acts as importer.

With IOSS the seller charges French VAT on the full price the buyer pays and declares it on its monthly IOSS return, and the parcel can be cleared in any member state. Without IOSS the parcel must be declared in France, where delivery ends, and the buyer pays before it is handed over. The EU VAT guide covers the routes in detail, including marketplaces, which collect the VAT themselves on these sales.

Who clears a parcel into France, and what data do they need?#

The carrier or customs agent usually lodges the import declaration for a parcel to France, as the seller's indirect representative when IOSS is used. For a consignment up to €150 that is normally the low-value H7 declaration, which needs the six-digit HS code, a plain description, the value per item, transport costs and the seller's and buyer's details.

From 1 November 2026 each item in a distance sale also needs product identifiers, the merchant's ID, the manufacturer's ID and any EAN, as set out in the product identifiers guide. Before the goods arrive, the carrier also files ICS2 safety and security data with the same code and description; see the ICS2 guide.

A seller that only ships parcels through a carrier doesn't need a French EORI number. A business that deals with French customs directly applies for one online through French customs' SOPRANO EORI service, and can't register in France if it already holds an EORI number from another member state.

A worked example#

A customer in Paris orders a sweater for €45 and a pair of jeans for €30, two different HS codes, from a store outside the EU that uses IOSS and charges €7 for delivery. The intrinsic value is €75, under the €150 limit, and the order ships after 1 November 2026.

Line Amount
Goods €75.00
Delivery €7.00
Customs duty: 2 items × €3 €6.00
Union handling fee: 2 items × €2 €4.00
Taxable amount €92.00
French VAT at 20% €18.40
Customer pays at checkout €110.40

The seller reports the €18.40 on its IOSS return, and the carrier pays the €10 of duty and fee at import and bills the seller. The same order without IOSS would carry roughly the same VAT, collected from the buyer at the door with the carrier's fee on top. The EU import guide covers what changes after 2026.

Common questions#

Is the French small-parcel tax still charged?#

No. The €2 per article tax applied to parcels imported into France from 1 March 2026 and was repealed from 1 July 2026, when the EU's temporary €3 customs duty per item started.

What is the VAT rate on imports into France?#

The standard rate is 20%, and some goods take lower rates of 10%, 5.5% or 2.1%, for example certain medicines. Import VAT applies to every commercial parcel, whatever its value.

Does a parcel under €150 to France pay customs duty?#

Yes, since 1 July 2026. A distance sale in a consignment up to €150 pays the EU's temporary customs duty of €3 per item until 1 July 2028, and from 1 November 2026 a €2 handling fee per item as well.

Sources#