Shipping to Germany and Austria: what an online store must sort out first

For an EU online store, Germany is the obvious first foreign market. It is close, it pays in euros and it has far more shoppers than most home markets. But selling into Germany and Austria is more than switching on a new country in your admin. Carriage takes an afternoon. The rest takes weeks.

Here is what to check before the first parcel leaves. Postage rates are covered in the Germany shipping guide and the Austria shipping guide. This article is about everything else.

VAT: when you pay it in the customer’s country

Since 1 July 2021 a common threshold of EUR 10,000 a year excluding VAT applies to sales to consumers in other EU countries. It is counted across all destination countries together and over the current and previous calendar year. Below it you can charge your home VAT; above it you must charge the rate of the customer’s country: 19% in Germany (reduced 7%) and 20% in Austria.

To avoid registering for VAT in every country, there is the One Stop Shop. It is optional, but if you use it you must apply it to all EU destination countries, not just one. Returns are filed quarterly through your home tax authority.

One trap: a store that already sells more than EUR 10,000 a year into other EU countries has passed the threshold whether or not it realises it. So VAT for a first new market is not something to leave until later.

Packaging: the obligation people forget

Both countries have their own packaging rules, and a foreign seller shipping to consumers is not exempt. This has nothing to do with carriage. In both countries the seller pays towards the future recycling of the packaging the goods arrived in.

• Germany. Under the Packaging Act (VerpackG) the seller of packaging sent to consumers must register in the LUCID register and join a take-back system. Registration is free according to the register, but the licence with a system is not, and the price depends on weight and material. Advisers say the EU Packaging Regulation (PPWR) changes something from August 2026. Check the actual impact, as I found no reliable overview as of today.
• Austria. Packaging sent to consumers is licensed with a collection and recovery system. According to advisory sources, foreign sellers act through an authorised representative in Austria since 1 January 2023. Many stores only find out from a reminder letter.

The consequences are real in both countries, from fines to warning letters from competitors. Amounts depend on the type and volume of packaging, so I will not quote any here. Ask two licensing systems for a quote and compare.

Carriage: what to expect from carriers

All major carriers deliver to Germany and Austria, and parcels within the EU need no customs duty or declaration. The difference shows mainly in price and speed. Austria is often in a cheaper zone than Germany for shippers in central Europe. Even so, check the zone and the price for your weight in each carrier’s tariff or contract. An overview of carriers is in parcel carriers in Europe 2026.

More than the price of a single parcel, what matters is the delivery offer. A shopper in Germany expects roughly what local stores provide: tracking, the option to collect a parcel elsewhere and a reasonable delivery time. A parcel that travels for a week without tracking will probably cost you more conversion than a few euros of extra postage.

Payments and returns

Cash on delivery is common in some European markets, but abroad it tends to be pricier and more complicated, see cash on delivery for international shipping. Shoppers in German-speaking countries are usually used to cards, PayPal or buying on invoice. Check exactly what to offer with your payment provider and by looking at competitors in your niche.

Returns are the second headache. A consumer in the EU has a 14-day right to withdraw from a distance purchase, and it pays to decide in advance who covers return postage and where goods go back to. Sending a box back from Hamburg to your home warehouse costs far more than a domestic return. Many stores handle this through a carrier with a local address or set up a return address in the destination country. A process for setting this up is in returns process for online stores.

How to start without needless risk

1. Pick one market. Germany has more customers, Austria is smaller and simpler to start with. Do not launch both at once.
2. Check whether you already exceed the EUR 10,000 threshold and decide on OSS.
3. Sort packaging: registration in Germany, licensing in Austria. Ask at least two systems for quotes and compare prices.
4. Set up delivery, payments and returns for the new country, including texts and terms in the local language.
5. Launch with a limited range, say your ten best sellers, and after the first few dozen orders recalculate margin including postage, returns and licence fees.

More on destinations and carriers is in the Germany guide, the Austria guide and the e-commerce section.

Quick facts

Shipping to Germany and Austria: what an online store must sort out first

schedule Updated 03/11/2026

Summary

Germany and Austria are the natural first cross-border market for many EU online stores: the euro, a large customer base and short transit. Before the first order ships, four things outside carriage need sorting: VAT in the customer's country (once combined B2C sales to other EU countries exceed the EU-wide EUR 10,000 a year threshold excluding VAT; the One Stop Shop is an optional simplification), packaging obligations (both countries require packaging sent to consumers to be licensed, including by foreign sellers), returns, and the payment methods local shoppers expect. VAT rates are 19% in Germany (reduced 7%) and 20% in Austria. The sensible approach is to start with one market and a limited range, then recalculate margin after the first few dozen orders including postage, returns and packaging licence fees. Packaging rules are changing, so check the current position with the relevant registers before launch.

VAT threshold

EUR 10,000 a year excluding VAT, combined across all B2C sales to other EU countries

One Stop Shop (OSS)

optional; if you opt in it covers all EU destination countries and is filed quarterly

VAT rates

Germany 19% (reduced 7%), Austria 20%

Packaging obligations

Germany: registration in the LUCID register and participation in a take-back system; Austria: packaging licensing, since 2023 via an authorised representative according to advisers

Returns

14-day right of withdrawal; decide in advance who pays return postage and where goods go back to

Start small

one market first, not both, and recalculate margin after the first few dozen orders