Guide for UK shops · checked 11 October 2026
The EU €3 parcel duty for UK sellers
Since 1 July 2026, a parcel you send from the UK to a buyer in the EU pays a flat €3 customs duty for each type of product inside, even if it's worth €10. VAT is still due on top. Here's what that means for your EU prices.
Want the answer for your own case? Use the tool, then read on for the details.
Check what my EU parcels payWhat changed
- Before 1 July 2026: parcels to EU consumers worth €150 or less paid no customs duty, only VAT (usually collected at checkout by Etsy, eBay and other marketplaces through IOSS).
- Since 1 July 2026: each parcel of €150 or less pays €3 for every different product type in it. A product type is goods with the same 6-digit tariff code and country of origin. Three identical T-shirts pay €3; a T-shirt and a mug pay €6.
- France brought in its own €2 charge per parcel under €150 from outside the EU on 1 March 2026, and Romania has one of about €5. Ask your carrier whether they still apply alongside the €3.
- Next: from 1 November 2026 the EU adds a €2 handling fee for each product type in a parcel, at any parcel value. How the €2 fee works. The flat €3 is set to run until 1 July 2028.
Does "made in the UK" get me out of it?
Probably not, for now. UK-made goods enter the EU tariff-free under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, but the €3 is a separate flat charge on low-value parcels. Customs specialists say preferential origin may reduce or remove it, but the EU hasn't said how a seller would prove origin on a small parcel, and the UK government says the change isn't linked to the trade agreement. Until there's a clear route, price as if every parcel pays €3 per product type.
Goods you make or buy outside the UK (for example, jewellery findings or blanks from China sold as-is) don't have UK origin anyway, so the €3 applies to them for sure.
Worked examples
| Parcel to an EU buyer | EU duty |
|---|---|
| One £15 art print to Germany | €3 (about 17% of the price) |
| Two prints and a greeting card to Ireland | €6 (prints and cards have different codes) |
| Three pairs of silver earrings to Spain | €3 (same product type) |
| One £20 mug to France | €3, or €5 if France's €2 charge is still applied |
| Order worth more than €150 | No flat €3; normal EU duty rates and import VAT instead |
At the ECB rate of 8 October 2026, €3 is about £2.54.
How to price it in
- Know how your label handles it. With Royal Mail or a courier's prepaid (DDP) service the duty is charged to you. Otherwise your buyer is asked to pay before delivery, usually with a carrier fee on top, and many refuse the parcel.
- Add it to EU shipping or EU prices. On a £15 item, an unplanned €3 is nearly a fifth of your take-home. Raising EU shipping by about £3 covers it for most single-item orders.
- Reward same-item bundles. Multiples of one product share one €3, so "buy 3 earrings" deals cost you nothing extra in duty.
- Describe items consistently on customs forms, using the same code for the same product every time, so identical items are grouped on one line.
Selling to the US as well? US import duty for UK Etsy sellers. More ways to cut it: bundling orders for the EU €3.
Sources: European Commission, Access2Markets, UK government guidance on EU customs reforms, EAS Project, VATCalc on France's €2 levy. Read 11 October 2026.
Want your EU prices worked out for you?
Send your product list or shop link and get a spreadsheet: the 3 euro duty and 2 euro fee per product, VAT on top, whether bundling saves your buyer money, and a suggested EU price. From $30 for 10 products on Fiverr. We're not customs brokers; if you need VAT/IOSS registration, we'll tell you.