Import Charges on Delivery: The Hidden Cost of Selling to EU Customers from Abroad

Your customer orders a €120 product from your shop. A week later the courier rings, holds the parcel and asks for €40 before handing it over. The customer did not expect it, does not know what it is for and is not sure whether to pay. Many refuse the parcel. Almost all of them blame you, not customs.

For sellers outside the EU this is one of the most expensive problems they rarely see in their numbers. Since July 2026 it has become more frequent: parcels under €150 now pay customs charges too. This guide shows what an EU buyer actually pays at the door, what EU consumer law says about it and how sellers avoid it.

What the customer pays at the door

When a parcel from outside the EU is not delivered duty paid, the carrier pays the import charges on the customer’s behalf and collects them before delivery:

• Import VAT at the rate of the customer’s country, from 17% to 27%.
• Customs duty: a flat €3 per customs item for parcels up to €150 since July 2026, or the normal tariff above €150 (how the €3 duty works).
• The €2 EU handling fee per customs item, since 1 November 2026, whatever the value.
• The carrier’s clearance or advance fee, which is often the largest surprise.

Real carrier fees

Carrier	Fee for clearing a low-value parcel	Source
Correos (Spain)	€2.99 if the customer pays online before delivery; €6.05 to €16.76 if paid at the post office or the door, depending on the value (up to €150)	Correos tariffs 2026
Deutsche Post (Germany)	€7.50 advance fee (Auslagepauschale) whenever import charges are collected	Deutsche Post
La Poste (France)	€8 when paid on receipt; less when paid online in advance	La Poste
DHL Express, UPS, FedEx	A percentage of the charges advanced, with a minimum fee per shipment	Carrier tariffs

These fees come on top of VAT and duty, and they are charged per parcel. On a small order the fee can be larger than the tax.

A €7 phone case that costs €21.78

The German consumer association Verbraucherzentrale uses this example (source): a €7 phone case ordered from outside the EU, not delivered duty paid.

	Amount
Price of the phone case	€7.00
€3 customs duty	€3.00
€2 EU handling fee	€2.00
19% import VAT on €12	€2.28
Deutsche Post advance fee	€7.50
Total paid by the customer	€21.78

Three times the price of the product. That is the moment when a customer refuses the parcel, opens a dispute or writes a one-star review.

What it costs the seller

• Refused parcels: the goods travel back at your cost, or are abandoned.
• Chargebacks and disputes: customers who feel misled ask their bank or the marketplace for their money back.
• Lost fees: the €2 handling fee is not refunded when goods come back.
• Support work: emails asking what the charge is, whether it is legitimate and who refunds it.
• Reviews and repeat purchases: a customer who paid more at the door rarely orders again.

What EU consumer law says

The Consumer Rights Directive requires online sellers to show the total price including taxes, and any additional charges, before the customer buys (Article 6(1)(e)). Article 6(6) adds the consequence: if the seller did not inform the customer about those charges, the consumer does not have to bear them (Directive 2011/83/EU).

In practice, a seller who sells to EU consumers without warning about import charges takes a legal risk as well as a commercial one. At minimum, say clearly at checkout that VAT and customs charges are not included and will be collected on delivery. Better, include them in the price.

How well-known sellers deal with it

• DJI sells to EU customers through its European company, with VAT included in the price of its official store. Even so, its own forum has threads from buyers who were asked for tax and duties on delivery, for example when ordering from another country’s store (DJI forum). Drones usually cost more than €150, so a drone bought from a seller outside the EU without duties paid is normally charged at the door.
• Kickstarter campaigns: board game publisher Stonemaier Games described a backer charged about $34 on delivery for a $50 pledge. Its fix was to ship EU rewards from a warehouse inside the EU with VAT included in the pledge (Stonemaier).
• Etsy collects VAT on orders up to €150 through IOSS. Above €150 the buyer pays VAT, duty and the carrier’s fee at the door.

Business customers have a different problem

A business that buys from a seller outside the EU is the importer. It pays import VAT at the border and deducts it with the customs import document, not with the seller’s invoice. Two things go wrong:

• Goods shipped under IOSS to a business: there is no import VAT on the customs document, and the VAT on the seller’s invoice cannot be deducted in a normal VAT return. IOSS is for consumers only.
• No usable invoice: an invoice without the right details, or without a VAT number where local VAT should be charged, leaves the business customer unable to deduct the VAT. Business buyers notice, and they stop ordering.

Sellers who hold stock in the EU and are registered for VAT there can issue the invoices business customers expect: with local VAT, or without VAT for an intra-EU sale to a customer with a valid VAT number.

Three ways to avoid charges at the door

1. IOSS for parcels up to €150: VAT is charged at checkout and the parcel clears without charges to the customer. Mind the limits explained in the IOSS €150 limit. hellotax does not offer IOSS.
2. Delivered duty paid (DDP): your carrier pays duty and VAT and bills you. Above €150 this normally means acting as importer, with a VAT registration in the country of import.
3. Stock in the EU: import in bulk, pay duty and import VAT once and ship from an EU warehouse. Your customers get domestic delivery times and no charges at the door; you need a VAT registration where the stock is. See VAT and 3PL warehouses.

How hellotax helps

If your customers are paying at the door, the fix usually starts with VAT. We register your business for VAT in the EU countries where you store goods or import them, file the returns and OSS and keep your invoices compliant for business customers. Book a free consultation.

FAQ

Why do EU customers pay a fee to the courier on top of VAT?

The carrier pays the import charges to customs on the customer’s behalf and charges a fee for advancing the money and handling the clearance.

Do parcels under €150 still pay charges at the door?

Yes, unless the seller uses IOSS or delivers duty paid. Import VAT has applied to all parcels since 2021, and since July 2026 a €3 customs duty per item applies too, plus a €2 handling fee since November.

Can a customer refuse to pay the charges?

The customer can refuse the parcel. Under the Consumer Rights Directive, a consumer who was not told about additional charges before buying does not have to bear them, which often means the seller ends up paying.

Does the customer get the charges back if they return the goods?

Import VAT and duty can sometimes be reclaimed through customs, but it takes time and paperwork. The €2 handling fee is not refunded, and carrier fees normally are not either.

Sources: Correos 2026 tariffs · Deutsche Post · La Poste · Verbraucherzentrale · Consumer Rights Directive. Last checked: November 2026.