EU import duty rates: customs fees and import fees, and where the rate comes from

Customs fees and import fees are not one charge. On a parcel into the EU they are the customs duty, the import VAT and, sometimes, a carrier’s clearance fee. Only the duty comes from the EU tariff, and its rate depends on three things: what the goods are, where they were made and what they are worth.

The duty rate comes from the Common Customs Tariff

Import duty is based on the Common Customs Tariff (UCC Art. 56(1)Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Union Customs CodeArticle 56, paragraph 1Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). The Commission names three factors for any duty: the tariff, the value of the goods and their origin. The result is normally a percentage of the customs value (Commission, Calculation of customs duties).

The tariff is the Combined Nomenclature (CN) plus the measures attached to each code: the conventional or autonomous duty, preferential measures, duty reductions and suspensions (UCC Art. 56(2)Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Union Customs CodeArticle 56, paragraph 2Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). The CN is printed in Annex I to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87. The Commission republishes it in full every year by 31 October, and it applies from 1 January (CN Regulation Art. 12(1)Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87, the Combined Nomenclature and the Common Customs Tariff (consolidated text of 1 January 2026)Article 12, paragraph 1Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). The text for 2026 is Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1926, which replaced Annex I from 1 January 2026 (Art. 1(2) and Art. 2).

Column 3 of Annex I holds the standard rate, which Annex I calls the conventional duty. It applies to goods from any third country, “unless the context requires otherwise”. It does not apply where a special autonomous duty or a preferential duty applies, and where an autonomous duty is lower, the autonomous duty applies (Annex I, Part One, Section I, B, points 1 and 2). TARIC shows the standard rate as the “third country duty”.

These are the rates in column 3 of Annex I, Part Two, read for 2026. “Free” means no duty. Percentage rates are ad valorem, a share of the customs value; a few goods carry an amount instead, such as euro per hectolitre for drinks with alcohol (Annex I, Part One, Section I, B, points 4 and 7). What a TARIC line adds to the standard rate, and how to read it, is on TARIC code.

A preferential rate replaces the standard rate only for goods of the right origin

The standard rate is for goods with no better treatment. A trade agreement or a preference scheme can lower it for goods made in one country. The preferential rate applies instead of the standard one when the goods meet the conditions and the declarant applies for it (UCC Art. 56(3)Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Union Customs CodeArticle 56, paragraph 3Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). The goods must follow the origin rules of that agreement or scheme (UCC Art. 64(1)Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Union Customs CodeArticle 64, paragraph 1Click opens the article on EUR-Lex., Art. 64(2)Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Union Customs CodeArticle 64, paragraph 2Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.).

One code, five origins. The Commission’s TARIC consultation showed these lines for 6109 10 00 10, cotton T-shirts, on 5 October 2026:

Each 0 % line holds only for goods that meet the origin rules of its measure and carry the proof of origin; TARIC lists a condition code on the US line. For the US line, the legal base is Regulation (EU) 2026/1455, and it decides origin by the non-preferential rules, not by preferential ones, until preferential rules are adopted (Art. 6). Without the origin and the proof, the standard 12 % applies instead. T-shirts made in China and resold from the UK or the US still enter at the China rate, because the preference follows where the goods were made, not where the seller is. What each agreement asks for is on certificate of origin.

Where goods are made in more than one country, the non-preferential rule is the country of their last, substantial, economically justified processing (UCC Art. 60(2)Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Union Customs CodeArticle 60, paragraph 2Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.).

An anti-dumping duty is charged on top of the customs duty

An anti-dumping duty may be imposed on a dumped product that causes injury in the EU (Regulation (EU) 2016/1036, Art. 1(1)). It is imposed by regulation, for goods from named countries. It is collected “independently of the customs duties, taxes and other charges normally imposed on imports” (Regulation (EU) 2016/1036, Art. 14(1)). So it adds to the rate in the tables above. It does not replace it.

Steel fasteners from China show the size. The standard rate on 7318 15 58 is 3.7 %. The regulation lists that code (Regulation (EU) 2022/191, Art. 1(1)). Its anti-dumping duty on screws from China runs from 22.1 % to 48.8 % for the named producers, and is 86.5 % for all other companies. It is charged on the net, free-at-Union-frontier price, before duty (Regulation (EU) 2022/191, Art. 1(2)). A producer’s own rate needs an invoice declaration that names the producer and its code. Without it, the rate for all other companies applies (Regulation (EU) 2022/191, Art. 1(3)).

A definitive anti-dumping measure expires after five years, unless a review keeps it in force (Regulation (EU) 2016/1036, Art. 11(2)). Read the end date on the TARIC line for your origin; TARIC code shows how.

The customs value is the price plus transport and insurance to the EU border

The customs value starts from the price actually paid or payable for the goods when they are sold for export to the EU (UCC Art. 70(1)Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Union Customs CodeArticle 70, paragraph 1Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). Customs adds, where the buyer bears them and the price does not already include them, commissions other than buying commissions, containers and packing. It also adds the transport and insurance of the goods, with loading and handling, up to the place where the goods enter the EU (UCC Art. 71(1)Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Union Customs CodeArticle 71, paragraph 1Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). The article lists more additions, such as royalties and materials the buyer supplies free for the production.

Customs leaves out the transport after entry into the EU and the import duties and other charges payable in the EU (UCC Art. 72Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Union Customs CodeArticle 72Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). The result is a price delivered to the border. It is roughly what traders call the CIF value: cost, insurance and freight. The Incoterm on your invoice does not set it.

Import VAT is charged on top of the duty

The importation of goods is subject to VAT (VAT Directive Art. 2(1)(d)Directive 2006/112/EC, the VAT Directive (consolidated text of 14 April 2025)Article 2, paragraph 1, point (d)Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). The taxable amount is the customs value, plus the duties and other charges due by reason of the importation, plus commission, packing, transport and insurance costs up to the first place of destination in the country of import (VAT Directive Art. 85Directive 2006/112/EC, the VAT Directive (consolidated text of 14 April 2025)Article 85Click opens the article on EUR-Lex., Art. 86(1)Directive 2006/112/EC, the VAT Directive (consolidated text of 14 April 2025)Article 86, paragraph 1Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). That is why the duty raises the VAT too.

Each EU country sets its own standard rate, at least 15 % (VAT Directive Art. 97Directive 2006/112/EC, the VAT Directive (consolidated text of 14 April 2025)Article 97Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.), and designates who owes the import VAT (Art. 201Directive 2006/112/EC, the VAT Directive (consolidated text of 14 April 2025)Article 201Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). TARIC holds no VAT rate (Commission, EU Customs Tariff (TARIC)). The rate of each country is in the table on EU VAT for online sellers. A taxable person deducts the import VAT it paid, in so far as it uses the goods for its taxed transactions (VAT Directive Art. 168(e)Directive 2006/112/EC, the VAT Directive (consolidated text of 14 April 2025)Article 168, point (e)Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). For parcels of EUR 150 or less, the import one-stop shop moves the VAT to the checkout; how is on IOSS.

The EUR 150 duty relief ended on 1 July 2026

Until 30 June 2026 a consignment of goods with an intrinsic value of EUR 150 or less, sent direct from a third country to a consignee in the EU, entered the EU free of duty. Alcoholic products, perfumes and toilet waters, and tobacco or tobacco products were excluded from that relief (Regulation (EC) No 1186/2009, Art. 23 and Art. 24). Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382 deleted that relief from 1 July 2026 (Art. 1, Art. 4). For a transition, “from 1 July 2026 until 1 July 2028, a customs duty of EUR 3 per item in a consignment the intrinsic value of which does not exceed a total of EUR 150 shall apply” where the import is VAT-exempt under IOSS, or the goods are in a postal consignment (Art. 2).

“Goods in postal consignment” means goods in a consignment of EUR 150 or less sold in distance sales, other than IOSS-exempt goods and goods that benefit from a preference (Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446, Art. 1(24)). In short, the EUR 3 applies to distance sales to consumers of EUR 150 or less, with or without IOSS, unless the parcel goes without IOSS and claims a tariff preference. An item is all the goods in a consignment that share one tariff classification, description and, where declared, origin (Art. 1(61)). The Commission says the declarant pays it, and that goods with a preference declared in a full (H1) declaration, without IOSS, are excluded (Commission, Guidance on the temporary flat fee). Who owes it, how the carrier recovers it and what to change in your pricing are on EU de minimis; who the declarant is, and what DDP changes, is on DDP shipping to Europe.

Any other consignment of EUR 150 or less pays the tariff rate. An example is a sale to a VAT-registered business that buys for taxed use, which is not a distance sale (VAT Directive Art. 14(4), point 2Directive 2006/112/EC, the VAT Directive (consolidated text of 14 April 2025)Article 14, paragraph 4Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). The relief is gone and the flat duty does not reach it. Recital 6 of Regulation (EU) 2026/382 says the Common Customs Tariff “should continue to apply to all other operators not registered for the IOSS scheme”.

After 1 July 2028 the normal customs duties apply, says the Commission, once the EU Customs Data Hub is operational (Commission, EU Customs Reform). The regulation leaves room for a change: by 1 December 2027 the Commission assesses whether a central EU IT system to levy duties on distance sales will work by 1 July 2028, and if not, it may propose to extend the EUR 3 duty (Art. 3(2)).

A Union handling fee on small parcels is the next charge

Regulation (EU) 2026/2108 makes customs collect a Union handling fee, “of a fixed amount per item”, for handling the release of goods sold in distance sales. It corresponds to the approximate cost of that work, including checking the data, risk analysis, infrastructure and controls, and it is not refundable (Regulation (EU) 2026/2108, Art. 20(2), 20(3) and 20(6)). The debtor of the customs debt pays it, at least once a month (Art. 20(5)). It is a fee, not a customs duty.

It applies from 10 days after the delegated act that sets the amount enters into force (Art. 287(4)). The regulation asks the Commission for that act by 29 September 2026 (Art. 286(1)(a)). The Commission adopted it on 21 September 2026: EUR 2 per item. It is not yet in force and not yet published in the Official Journal. As the first act setting the fee, it can enter into force only if neither the European Parliament nor the Council objects within 30 days of notification, or earlier if both say they will not object. It enters into force on the day it is published in the Official Journal (Commission Delegated Regulation C(2026)6694, Art. 1, Art. 2; Regulation (EU) 2026/2108, Art. 282(7)). The Commission says the fee will be introduced by 1 November 2026 (Commission, EU Customs Reform).

This fee is not the clearance fee a carrier charges. Where a seller does not use IOSS, the carrier or postal operator that declares the goods for the customer may charge its own clearance fee, and customers used to a VAT-inclusive price may refuse the parcel (Commission, Explanatory Notes on VAT e-commerce rules, questions 3 and 9). No EU act sets a carrier’s fee.

From 1 July 2028, IOSS users and importers for distance sales give their customs data through the EU Customs Data Hub (Regulation (EU) 2026/2108, Art. 285(2)).

The UK has its own tariff, the UK Global Tariff

The UK Global Tariff replaced the EU’s Common External Tariff on 1 January 2021 (GOV.UK). It is a separate tariff, so a UK rate is not the EU rate. On 5 October 2026 the UK Integrated Online Tariff showed a third country duty of 12.00 % for T-shirts, code 6109100010, the same as the EU standard rate, and 0.00 % for 7318155890, where the EU standard rate is 3.7 %.

Goods that you ship from the UK into the EU enter at the EU rate, with the UK preference for goods made in the UK; see certificate of origin. Goods shipped into Great Britain follow the UK tariff, not the EU one.

The duty is owed whether or not you work it out

The declarant is the debtor of the import duty. Under indirect representation, the person on whose behalf the declaration is made is a debtor too (UCC Art. 77(3)Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Union Customs CodeArticle 77, paragraph 3Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). Customs apply the measures linked to the right tariff line, whatever code was declared (UCC Art. 57(3)Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Union Customs CodeArticle 57, paragraph 3Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). A wrong code does not lower the duty. What it costs is on Commodity code. Who acts as the importer is on importer of record.

If you ship without working out the charges, your customer meets them at the door. Without IOSS, the customer in the EU gets the parcel only after the VAT is paid, and the company that declares the goods may charge a clearance fee too. Customers used to a VAT-inclusive price may refuse the parcel (Explanatory Notes, questions 3 and 9).

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