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Customs clearance for ecommerce parcels

What happens to an ecommerce parcel at the border, step by step: advance data, risk checks, low-value entries in the US, EU and UK, duty, holds and delays.

Updated · 20 official sources

Customs clearance is the process in which customs accept a declaration for a parcel, check it against their risk rules, collect any duty and tax, and release it. For an ecommerce parcel the carrier or its broker usually files, using data sent before the parcel leaves the origin country, so most of the work happens before it lands.

Rules as of 30 October 2026.

What happens to a parcel at the border?#

A parcel clears customs in six steps: advance data, risk assessment, the declaration, payment, any checks, and release. The order is the same in the US, the EU and the UK, and most screening runs on data sent before the parcel is loaded, so the data you give the carrier matters more than the paper on the box.

  1. Advance data: the carrier sends cargo data before arrival. In the US, Air Cargo Advance Screening data is due before loading (19 CFR 122.48b); in the EU, an entry summary declaration goes into ICS2, with a minimum set before loading for air; in Great Britain, the carrier files one through Safety and Security GB.
  2. Risk assessment: customs score the data. CBP's selectivity criteria send an entry to general examination, document review or intensive examination (19 CFR 143.32(o)); EU customs can reject an incomplete declaration or send a referral, up to telling the carrier not to load the cargo.
  3. Declaration: the carrier, a broker or the seller declares the goods for import, on one of the entry types below.
  4. Payment: duty, tax and fees are paid or secured. For a US informal entry, estimated duties are deposited when the entry is accepted (19 CFR 143.28).
  5. Checks: customs may examine the documents, ask for more, examine the goods or take samples (Union Customs Code, Article 188).
  6. Release: when the conditions are met, customs release the goods (Article 194) and the carrier delivers them.

Which entry does a low-value parcel use in the US?#

Every commercial parcel into the US now needs a customs entry, because the $800 de minimis exemption is suspended for every mode, and CBP's regulations have made the suspension indefinite since 24 June 2026 (19 CFR 10.151(b) and 145.31(b)). Courier parcels worth $2,500 or less usually go on an informal entry, and mail uses CBP's postal informal entry.

Route Entry Who files What to know
Courier or express, $2,500 or less Informal entry (type 11) The owner or purchaser, or a licensed broker they designate (19 CFR 143.26(a)) Merchandise processing fee of $2.77 for an automated informal entry from 1 October 2026
Any route, over $2,500, or when CBP requires it Formal entry (type 01) The importer of record or its licensed broker Merchandise processing fee of 0.3464%, at least $34.58 and at most $670.86, from 1 October 2026
Mail, $2,500 or less Postal informal entry A party with the right to make entry, with a bond The 10-digit HTS code, origin, value and duty owed per item, with data and payment due by the 7th of the month after arrival (19 CFR 145.12(b))
Mail under another agency's rules, paying HTSUS chapter 98 or 99 duties (which include Section 201, 232 and 301), or claiming chapter 98 or trade agreement duty-free treatment From 20 January 2027, a formal entry (19 CFR 145.12(a)(2)(v) and (vi)); for the agency and Section 201, 232 or 301 shipments, CBP's Entry Type 13 filed in ACE is the informal route. Nothing changes before then, and Type 13 is optional The importer of record or its broker Date moved from 22 October 2026 (CBP, 14 October 2026; 91 FR 66638)

Genuine gifts worth $100 or less still pass free (19 CFR 10.152). The US entry process guide and our post on the US de minimis suspension go further.

De minimis thresholds in large ecommerce markets

Country Duty-free up to Tax-free up to Currency Value counted Official source
United States USD goods federalregister.gov
United Kingdom 135 GBP customs value gov.uk
Germany 150 EUR goods eur-lex.europa.eu
France 150 EUR goods eur-lex.europa.eu
Italy 150 EUR goods eur-lex.europa.eu
Spain 150 EUR goods eur-lex.europa.eu
Netherlands 150 EUR goods eur-lex.europa.eu
Canada 20 20 CAD customs value cbsa-asfc.gc.ca
Australia 1,000 AUD customs value abf.gov.au
Japan 10,000 JPY customs value customs.go.jp

border.bot live data from each country's official publications, updated 2026-10-14

How does a low-value parcel clear in the EU?#

A parcel worth up to €150 sold to an EU consumer is usually declared on the H7 reduced data set, and since 1 July 2026 it pays customs duty: a temporary €3 per item until 1 July 2028, in place of the old €150 relief. Import VAT is due on every parcel, through IOSS at checkout or at import.

An item is goods sharing the same tariff classification, description and, where declared, origin; in practice the €3 is charged per declaration line, whatever the quantity. It applies whether or not VAT goes through IOSS, except that non-IOSS goods declared with a trade preference pay the preferential rate (Regulation (EU) 2026/382; European Commission guidance of 5 October 2026). From 1 November 2026, each item also needs a product identifier in the declaration.

Which declaration, who lodges it and where
  • H7 may be used only for distance sales in consignments up to €150, and not for goods under prohibitions and restrictions or for excise goods. A postal operator can use H6 for goods up to €1,000. Everything else, including non-IOSS goods claiming a trade preference, goes on the full H1.
  • Until 30 June 2028, the declarant is the IOSS holder or its indirect representative, failing that the special arrangements user, then the importer's indirect representative, and only then anyone else.
  • With IOSS, the declaration can be lodged in any member state; without it, in the member state where the transport ends.

More on the duty is in our post on the EU's €3 customs duty, and the safety and security filing is in the EU ICS2 guide.

How does a low-value parcel clear in the UK?#

In Great Britain, goods worth £135 or less sold directly to a consumer have UK VAT charged by the seller at checkout, and non-excise goods at that value pay no customs duty. Above £135, import VAT and any duty are charged at the border, and the carrier collects them from the recipient before it delivers the parcel.

The £135 limit applies to the whole consignment, not to each item, and gifts worth £39 or less sent by someone else don't pay VAT. The carrier bills the recipient and normally holds the parcel for about three weeks before returning it. The UK plans to end the duty relief for low-value imports by October 2028 at the latest.

Who pays the duty, and when?#

Who pays the duty depends on the delivery terms you sell on. Under DDP the seller pays duty and tax, usually through the carrier, and the customer pays nothing at the door. Under DAP the customer pays the carrier before or at delivery. Either way the carrier often pays customs first and bills the payer later, adding a fee.

UPS, for one, often pays duties upfront and bills them back to the exporter or importer depending on the mode and the Incoterms. See the DDP guide for the trade-offs and choosing a carrier for the fees.

Worked example: a €50 parcel to France#

A customer in Lyon orders two identical cotton T-shirts at €18 each and a ceramic mug at €14 from a seller outside the EU that is registered for IOSS. The consignment's intrinsic value is €50, so it can go on an H7 declaration.

Charge How it's worked out Amount
Import VAT Charged at checkout at the French rate under IOSS, not again at import Collected by the seller
€3 customs duty 2 items, because the T-shirts share one classification and description: 2 × €3 €6.00
Union handling fee, if it applies from 1 November 2026 2 items × €2 €4.00
Customs charges €6.00, or €10.00 with the handling fee

Shipped as two separate parcels, the order would be two consignments, with items counted per parcel.

Why are parcels held, and for how long?#

Parcels are held when customs can't match a parcel to a complete, credible declaration, or when another rule stops its release. No customs authority promises a clearance time, so a hold lasts as long as the missing facts take to arrive, and the rules only fix the deadlines while it waits.

  • Vague descriptions: CBP's air cargo rules don't accept "general cargo", "FAK" or "said to contain" (19 CFR 122.48a).
  • Values that look low: customs can ask for supporting documents (commercial invoices).
  • Missing codes: US mail entries need the 10-digit HTS code for every item (19 CFR 145.12(b)).
  • Other agencies: regulated goods need that agency's data, and EU goods under prohibitions and restrictions can't use H7.
  • Unpaid duty: US goods not entered within 15 calendar days of arrival go to a general order warehouse at the consignee's risk and expense (19 CFR 141.5 and 127.1). UK carriers normally hold a parcel with unpaid charges for about three weeks.

How do you avoid customs delays?#

Customs delays are avoided before the parcel ships, by giving the carrier complete and consistent data for every item and settling who pays. Clearance runs on that data, often before the parcel is loaded, and a parcel whose invoice, booking and advance data agree is the one that doesn't wait in a queue for a question.

Common questions#

Can customs clearance happen before a parcel arrives?#

The screening does: US and EU systems assess cargo data before the plane is loaded. An entry can also be filed before arrival, and CBP's October 2026 proposal would make arrival the deadline for informal entries.

Who files the customs entry for an ecommerce parcel?#

Usually the carrier or its broker. In the US, a shipment worth $2,500 or less is entered by the owner or purchaser or a broker they designate (19 CFR 143.26); in the EU, the IOSS holder comes first.

Do I pay the EU's €3 duty per parcel or per item?#

Per item, meaning goods that share one tariff classification and description: five identical T-shirts count once, and a T-shirt and a mug count twice (Regulation (EU) 2026/382).

Sources#