Australia to EU customs: the €3 duty, the €2 fee, import duty and VAT (2026)
Selling opal jewellery, merino knitwear, swimwear, skincare, ceramics or art from Australia to buyers in Germany, France, the Netherlands, Ireland or anywhere else in the EU, or buying them? Since 1 July 2026 orders of €150 or less pay a flat €3 customs duty per item when VAT is collected at checkout (IOSS) or the parcel goes by post, and from 1 November 2026 a €2 EU handling fee per item is added on every online order. Above €150, goods made in Australia pay the normal EU duty, because the EU–Australia trade agreement concluded in March 2026 is not in force yet: 12% on wool jumpers, T-shirts and swimwear, 5.5% on stoneware, 2.5% on silver and gold jewellery, 0% on loose opals, skincare, candles and paintings. Import VAT is due either way. Every rule below has an official source and date.
Calculate your own order for Australia → EU
The rules in 60 seconds
The EU's €150 customs-duty exemption for low-value consignments was abolished on 1 July 2026 (Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382). Goods in consignments of €150 or less are now subject to customs duty.
From 1 July 2026 until 1 July 2028, a flat customs duty of €3 per item applies to consignments of €150 or less that are declared under IOSS or sent as postal consignments. Normal tariff rates are expected to apply once the EU customs data hub is ready.
From 1 November 2026 a Union handling fee of €2 per item (per declaration line, i.e. per distinct tariff line) applies to goods sold in distance sales (B2C e-commerce) to EU consumers from outside the EU, at any value, including over €150. It is in addition to the €3 duty, is not part of the customs value, is paid by the declarant (seller/IOSS holder, carrier or representative), has VAT charged on it, cannot be refunded (even on returns), and does not apply to private gifts. The amount is final: Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/2152 was published in the Official Journal (L series) on 21 October 2026. The €2 handling fee explained
An 'item' means each different tariff sub-heading in the parcel. Example: 1 silk blouse + 2 wool blouses = 2 items = €6. Identical goods can be grouped on one declaration line. How items are counted, with examples
Orders of €150 or less
For consignments of €150 or less, VAT can be charged at checkout through the Import One-Stop Shop (IOSS), at the buyer's country rate. Marketplaces handle this for sales made through them. Non-EU sellers registering for IOSS themselves generally need an EU-established intermediary. Do I need an IOSS number?
Without IOSS, import VAT is collected from the buyer on delivery. The postal operator or courier usually adds its own clearance fee.
Consignments of €150 or less that are neither IOSS nor postal (e.g. courier, buyer pays VAT on import) are outside the €3 regime. Since the duty exemption is gone, they appear to pay the normal tariff rate. Check with your courier.
Each consignment is counted separately. Orders shipped separately to the same buyer are separate consignments even if they arrive on the same day, and one order sent in two parcels is two consignments. Orders of two different consumers must always be declared separately.
For the €150 limit, the value is the price of the goods themselves, without transport and insurance (unless they are included in the price and not shown separately on the invoice) and without other taxes and charges.
Example: one opal pendant in silver for €40.00 (free shipping), to a buyer in Germany, shipped on or after 1 November 2026. Its normal EU duty rate is 2.5%. VAT is 19% in Germany. Carrier clearance fees are not included because they vary; see each row in the calculator.
| How it is sold and shipped | EU duty | VAT | €2 handling fee | Buyer pays at the door | Try it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bought on a marketplace or shop that collects EU VAT at checkout (IOSS), sent by post | €3.00 | €7.60 | €2.00 | €5.00 | Open in calculator |
| Shop with its own IOSS number, duties prepaid (DDP), sent by courier | €3.00 | €7.98 | €2.00 | €0.00 | Open in calculator |
| Shop without IOSS, sent by post (buyer pays on delivery) | €3.00 | €8.55 | €2.00 | €13.55 | Open in calculator |
| Shop without IOSS, sent by courier (buyer pays on delivery) | €1.00 | €8.17 | €2.00 | €11.17 | Open in calculator |
With IOSS the VAT is paid at checkout. The €3 duty and the €2 fee are owed by the declarant, but if the shop does not prepay them the carrier may ask the buyer for them: that is the €5.00 in the first row. For cheap jewellery the flat €3 is more than the 2.5% rate would be. A parcel with a pendant, a bottle of tea tree oil and a T-shirt is 3 items: €9.00 duty plus €6.00 in fees. The courier row uses the normal 2.5% rate, because courier parcels outside IOSS are outside the €3 regime; this point is only partly confirmed (see above). Read more about how the EU counts "items" and the €2 handling fee.
Orders above €150
Above €150, IOSS cannot be used. Import VAT and customs duty (normal tariff rate) are due at import, paid by the buyer (DDU) or prepaid by the seller (DDP via a courier).
Goods made in Australia pay the normal EU duty: TARIC lists no preference for Australia on any product we checked. Examples: 12% on wool jumpers, cotton T-shirts and women's swimwear, 5.5% on stoneware, 3% on leather wallets, 2.5% on silver and gold jewellery, 2% on shelled macadamias, and 0% on worked opal, skincare, essential oils such as tea tree oil, candles, paintings and books. Import VAT is due as well.
EU standard VAT rates range from 17% (Luxembourg) to 27% (Hungary), e.g. Germany 19%, France 20%, Italy 22%, Spain 21%, Netherlands 21%, Ireland 23%. Reduced rates apply to some goods (e.g. books).
Example: one item worth €200.00 made in Australia, sent by courier to Germany on or after 1 November 2026, buyer pays on delivery (DDU). VAT is 19% on the price plus duty, and the €2 fee is added per item. Carrier fees are extra.
Codes and rates from TARIC, the EU's official tariff database (European Commission, DG TAXUD, checked 4 Nov 2026, origin Australia, reference date 4 November 2026). Duty and VAT are worked out on the item price only; customs charges them on the value including transport to the EU border. Your product may have a different code and rate (for example men's jumpers, opal doublets or prints): check it in our HS code lookup links.
Is there an EU–Australia trade deal?
The EU and Australia concluded negotiations on a free trade agreement on 24 March 2026, but it is not in force: it still has to be legally revised, signed (expected in late 2026 or early 2027) and approved by the European Parliament and Australia's Parliament, which Australia expects to take up to another year after signature. Until it applies, Australian origin gives no lower EU duty, and Australia has no EU GSP preference.
Goods made in countries with an EU agreement in force can pay 0% above €150 (see Korea → EU, Japan → EU, Vietnam → EU or New Zealand → EU); goods made in Australia cannot today. When the EU–Australia agreement is signed and applies, we will update this page and the change log. Shipping to the UK instead? There a UK–Australia agreement already gives 0% duty: see Australia → UK.
Gifts from family and friends in Australia
EU gift relief: a gift sent from a private individual outside the EU to a private individual in the EU pays no customs duty or VAT if its value is €45 or less (goods only, not postage), it is correctly declared, it is for personal or family use, the recipient has not paid for it and it is occasional, such as a birthday or anniversary present. If several items exceed €45, duty relief covers as many items as fit within €45 (an item's value cannot be split), but VAT is charged on the whole parcel. Alcohol, tobacco, perfume and toilet water are not exempt from VAT or excise. Customs gift allowances by country
For sellers in Australia shipping to EU buyers
From 1 November 2026, product identifiers (PIDs) must be declared to EU customs for every item sold to consumers in distance sales (B2C online orders) in consignments worth up to €150. Declaring them has been voluntary since 1 July 2026; enforcement starts on 1 November. B2B shipments are in principle not concerned. Read our PID guide
Etsy's international shipping help page lists DHL and TNT Australia (FedEx) as commonly used DDP carriers for sellers in Australia, and SendNow by Asendia and ShipStation as recommended third-party shipping services.
- On Etsy, eBay and other marketplaces, EU VAT on orders of €150 or less is collected by the marketplace. On your own website you need your own IOSS number (through an EU intermediary) or your buyer pays VAT and a carrier fee on delivery: see do I need an IOSS number? and DDP vs DAP.
- Count the different tariff lines in each parcel: each one pays €3 (IOSS or post) and, from 1 November 2026, €2. Build them into your EU shipping price.
- Put the HS code, a precise description ("sterling silver pendant with opal", "merino wool jumper, knitted"), the value and "Country of origin: Australia" on every customs form: see how to fill in CN22 and CN23. More on jewellery import duty and art import duty.
Since 1 July 2026, the declaration for goods sold at a distance in consignments of €150 or less can no longer be invalidated just because the goods were returned after release. So the €3 duty is not refunded through that route. The general refund grounds (for example defective goods or goods not matching the contract, Article 116 of the Union Customs Code) still apply.
The €3 duty and the €2 fee are not refunded when an order is returned; see international returns and duty refunds. Shipping from Australia to the UK? See Australia → UK customs charges and 0% FTA duty. To the US? See Australia → US: the 12.5% Section 301 duty. Goods made in Thailand? See Thailand → EU. Selling from New Zealand (0% under the EU–New Zealand FTA)? See New Zealand → EU. We record every rule change in the change log.
This page is general information, not legal, tax or customs advice. The Commission's guidance is explanatory and not legally binding; the legal texts take precedence. Tariff rates and carriers' and marketplaces' terms change; check TARIC and their current pages. See the disclaimer.
Sources for this page
- Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382 (abolition of €150 duty relief; €3 per item), EUR-Lex. Accessed 20 Oct 2026. Partly verified
- EU Customs Reform, European Commission – Taxation and Customs Union. Accessed 20 Oct 2026. Partly verified
- Council gives final green light to new customs duty rules for small parcels (11 Feb 2026), Council of the EU. Accessed 20 Oct 2026. Partly verified
- Union Handling Fee (UHF) – 1 November 2026 (published 30 Sep 2026), Revenue (Irish Tax and Customs). Accessed 22 Oct 2026. Verified
- Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/2152 of 21 September 2026 establishing the amount of the Union handling fee (OJ L, 21 Oct 2026), Official Journal of the European Union (EUR-Lex). Accessed 23 Oct 2026. Verified
- Handling fee for e-commerce (last update 22 Oct 2026), Dutch Customs (Douane). Accessed 3 Nov 2026. Verified
- Commission sets Union handling fee at EUR 2 per item (2 Oct 2026), CLECAT (industry association, secondary). Accessed 20 Oct 2026. Verified
- Questions & answers – EUR 3 customs duty guidance (30 Jun 2026), European Commission. Accessed 20 Oct 2026. Verified
- The temporary EUR 3 customs duty and the Union handling fee: Guidance for Member States and Trade (version of 5 Oct 2026), sections 5.1–5.4 and 6.2 (consignment, item, postal consignments, preferential origin), European Commission, DG Taxation and Customs Union. Accessed 22 Oct 2026. Verified
- Customs formalities for low value consignments (IOSS), European Commission – Taxation and Customs Union. Accessed 20 Oct 2026. Verified
- VAT One Stop Shop: overview of the OSS schemes, deemed supplier and intermediary (import scheme), European Commission. Accessed 26 Oct 2026. Verified
- Commission welcomes Council agreement on removing the €150 threshold for the VAT Import One-Stop Shop (9 Nov 2026), European Commission, Taxation and Customs Union. Accessed 10 Nov 2026. Verified
- TARIC consultation: measures for origin Australia (AU), reference date 4 November 2026, European Commission, DG TAXUD. Accessed 4 Nov 2026. Verified
- The EU-Australia trade agreement, European Commission. Accessed 4 Nov 2026. Verified
- A-EU FTA Next Steps, Australian Government, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Accessed 4 Nov 2026. Verified
- VAT rules and rates (Your Europe) / VAT rates in Member States, European Union. Accessed 20 Oct 2026. Partly verified
- Rules for duty relief on gift consignments (published 28 May 2026), Revenue (Irish Tax and Customs). Accessed 29 Oct 2026. Verified
- Duty relief (Council Regulation (EC) No 1186/2009), European Commission – Taxation and Customs Union. Accessed 29 Oct 2026. Verified
- The temporary EUR 3 customs duty and the Union handling fee: Guidance for Member States and Trade (version of 5 Oct 2026), section 8 Product identifiers, European Commission, DG Taxation and Customs Union. Accessed 21 Oct 2026. Verified
- Guidance and legal text on temporary flat fee on low-value imports (8 Jun 2026, updated 20 Jul 2026), European Commission, DG Taxation and Customs Union. Accessed 22 Oct 2026. Verified
- Product identifiers for e-commerce imports mandatory from 1 November 2026 (news, 3 Nov 2026), European Commission, DG Taxation and Customs Union. Accessed 4 Nov 2026. Verified
- Information for Managing International Shipments, Etsy Help. Accessed 10 Nov 2026. Verified
- Joint press release following trilateral EU-Australia Leaders meeting (21 September 2026), European Council / Council of the EU. Accessed 4 Nov 2026. Partly verified
Rules change often: the latest change we tracked was on 10 Nov 2026 (US: the 178 China Section 301 product exclusions are extended to 9 January 2027). Alerts send one short email, with the source, only when a rule changes on a route you pick.