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Postal parcels into the EU

Postal parcels into the EU since 1 July 2026: the €3 duty per item up to €150, the €2 handling fee, who declares postal items, IOSS or not, and what to change.

Updated · 5 official sources

A parcel sold to a consumer in the EU and sent by post pays €3 in customs duty for each item in it when the consignment is worth €150 or less, plus, from 1 November 2026, a €2 handling fee per item, with import VAT at the buyer's country's rate on top. The duty is owed by whoever declares the parcel, and EU rules now give that role to the seller's side first: the IOSS holder, the user of the special arrangements or an indirect representative, often one appointed by the origin post, and only then the buyer.

Rules as of 30 October 2026.

What does a postal parcel pay to enter the EU?#

A postal parcel sold online to an EU consumer pays customs duty, the Union handling fee and import VAT, plus any fee the delivering post charges. Up to €150 the duty is €3 per item; above €150 it's the normal tariff rate. The handling fee applies to every distance sale from 1 November 2026, and VAT applies at any value.

Charge Applies to Amount
Temporary customs duty Distance sales in consignments with an intrinsic value up to €150, 1 July 2026 to 1 July 2028 €3 per item
Normal customs duty Consignments over €150 The tariff rate for the product's code and origin
Union handling fee Every distance sale of imported goods, at any value, from 1 November 2026 €2 per item, never refunded
Import VAT Every commercial import The VAT rate of the member state of delivery, through IOSS or at import

A distance sale is a sale of goods dispatched by or for the seller from outside the EU to a customer who isn't a VAT-registered business, which covers nearly every online order to a consumer. The intrinsic value is the price of the goods, without transport and insurance shown separately on the invoice. The EU import hub and the EU VAT guide cover the VAT routes and rates.

How are items counted for the €3 duty?#

An item for the €3 duty is one or more goods in a consignment that share the same tariff classification, the same description and, where the declaration asks for it, the same origin. Quantity doesn't matter: three identical mugs are one item. In practice customs systems charge €3 and the handling fee once per declaration line.

The declaration type changes the count. A postal parcel up to €150 can be declared on an H7, which lists six-digit HS codes, or by the post on an H6, which lists eight-digit CN codes. Neither carries origin, so goods sharing a code and description become one line. A full H1 declaration uses 10-digit TARIC codes and origin, so the same parcel can split into more lines and pay more. Customs can't group different codes into one line to save duty while the €3 applies.

Take a parcel posted to a buyer in Germany on 2 November 2026: two identical ceramic mugs at €19 each and a cotton tea towel at €24, with IOSS used at checkout.

Line Amount
Goods (intrinsic value) €62
Customs duty: mugs, one item €3
Customs duty: tea towel, one item €3
Union handling fee: 2 items × €2 €4
EU charges before VAT €10

The seller charged German VAT at checkout through IOSS, so the import itself is VAT-exempt. If the seller passes the €4 handling fee on to the buyer at checkout, the fee is part of the amount on which IOSS VAT is due. Declared on an H1, the same parcel with the two mugs made in different countries would have three lines and pay €9 in duty and €6 in fees. The landed cost calculator adds these lines for any product and EU address.

Who declares a postal parcel in the EU?#

The declarant of a postal parcel in the EU is set by a fixed order until 30 June 2028: first the IOSS holder or its indirect representative, then the user of the special arrangements, then an indirect representative of the importer, and only as a last resort anyone else, such as the buyer. The declarant pays the duty and fee.

Posts work under UPU rules, receive only the data the origin post sends, and can't reach the seller. So EU guidance lets a destination post ask the origin post to appoint an indirect representative in the EU, and customs may accept that representative as declarant for all the origin post's goods, acting for whichever party the order points to.

A seller established outside the EU can't declare in its own name, only through an indirect representative, and both are then debtors. A buyer can be the declarant only in the few member states with a free online declaration service for individuals, and never when IOSS was used; Estonia, for one, stopped individuals declaring IOSS consignments on 1 July 2026.

Should you use IOSS for postal parcels?#

IOSS is the EU's import one-stop shop: the seller charges the destination country's VAT at checkout, files one monthly return, and its IOSS number in the customs data makes the import VAT-exempt. For postal parcels it keeps the buyer out of the clearance: the seller's side declares and pays, and no VAT is due from the buyer at the door.

With IOSS Without IOSS
Import VAT Charged by the seller at checkout Collected by the post from the buyer under the special arrangements, or paid under the standard procedure
€3 duty Always due, whatever the declaration type Due on distance sales up to €150
Trade agreement rates Can't be claimed Can be claimed on a full H1 declaration
Where the parcel is declared In any member state In the member state where delivery ends
IOSS number Must be in the customs declaration and can travel in the origin post's ITMATT message Not used

Goods sold through IOSS can't claim a trade agreement rate, because the €3 duty applies to every IOSS import; without IOSS a preference needs a full H1, which the post's H6 and the H7 don't support.

What "postal consignment" means in EU law now

Since 1 July 2026 the EU uses "goods in a postal consignment" (Article 1(24) of Delegated Regulation 2015/2446) to mean goods in a consignment up to €150 sold in a distance sale, other than IOSS goods and goods benefiting from a preferential rate. The €3 duty applies to IOSS goods and to these "postal consignments", whoever carries them. The old meaning, goods carried by a post, is now written as "goods conveyed under the responsibility of a postal operator" in the rules on entry summary declarations, on the postal customs declaration and on declarations made by other acts.

Which declaration a postal parcel goes on

The H7 is for consignments up to €150 sold in distance sales, and can't be used for goods under prohibitions or restrictions or for excise goods. The H6 is the postal dataset, voluntary for consignments up to €1,000 that aren't restricted or excise goods; Portugal, for one, says only its national post uses it. Everything else goes on a full H1: goods over €150, restricted and excise goods, and claims for a preferential rate without IOSS. From 1 November 2026 every distance-sale line, on any of the three, must carry TARIC document code Y126, which triggers the handling fee.

What changed and when#

EU rules for postal parcels changed in three steps in 2026: the €3 duty and a fixed order of declarants replaced the €150 duty relief on 1 July, the new Union Customs Code entered into force on 20 September with its definition of an item, and the handling fee and product identifiers start on 1 November.

  1. Upcoming

    €3 duty is due to end

    Distance sales then pay the normal tariff rate at any value, unless the Commission proposes an extension. European Commission guidance, 5 October 2026 (opens in a new tab)

  2. Upcoming

    Review of the €3 duty

    The Commission assesses whether the EU Customs Data Hub will be ready by 1 July 2028 and may propose to extend the duty. European Commission guidance, 5 October 2026 (opens in a new tab)

  3. Union handling fee and product identifiers

    €2 per item on every distance sale, set by Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/2152, and product identifiers enforced for consignments up to €150. European Commission, EU customs reform (opens in a new tab)

  4. New customs code enters into force

    Regulation (EU) 2026/2108's definitions of distance sale, consignment and item, and its list of who must declare distance sales, apply from this day. European Commission guidance, 5 October 2026 (opens in a new tab)

  5. €3 duty per item starts

    The €150 duty relief is deleted, the order of declarants for distance sales applies, code C07 is withdrawn, and returned low-value parcels can no longer have their declaration invalidated to recover the duty. European Commission guidance, 5 October 2026 (opens in a new tab)

  6. Council adopts the €3 duty

    Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382 deletes Articles 23 and 24 of the duty relief regulation and sets the temporary duty. European Commission guidance, 5 October 2026 (opens in a new tab)

What should you change before posting to the EU?#

A seller posting parcels to EU consumers needs its codes, its VAT route and its declarant settled before the first parcel leaves, because the €3 duty, the handling fee and IOSS all depend on data the origin post passes on. The list below covers what to have in place now that both charges apply.

The ICS2 data the carrier files before arrival is a separate obligation, covered in the ICS2 guide and the advance data guide. The HS code classifier returns EU codes for any product.

Member state rules#

Common questions#

Does the €3 EU duty apply to parcels sent by post?#

Yes. The €3 duty applies to every distance sale in a consignment worth up to €150, whether a post or a courier carries it, and to every IOSS import. It runs from 1 July 2026 until 1 July 2028.

Who pays the €3 duty on a postal parcel to the EU?#

The declarant pays it, and the declarant is the IOSS holder, the special arrangements user or an indirect representative before it can be the buyer. For postal parcels that is often an indirect representative appointed by the origin post.

Is the €2 EU handling fee charged on parcels over €150?#

Yes. The Union handling fee of €2 per item applies to every distance sale of imported goods from 1 November 2026, whatever the consignment is worth, and it isn't refunded if the goods come back.

Can a buyer in the EU declare a postal parcel themselves?#

Only as a last resort, in member states that offer individuals a free online declaration service, and never for goods sold through IOSS. For postal parcels, customs may instead accept an indirect representative appointed by the origin post.

Sources#