Customs and VAT: Importing from China to Europe — 2026 Guide

AliExpress, Temu, and Shein have fundamentally changed how Europeans buy from Chinese manufacturers. These platforms are also the most common source of customs confusion — particularly around VAT, duty thresholds, and what “free shipping” actually means once your parcel reaches EU customs.

What changed in July 2021 — and why it matters

Before 1 July 2021, there was a €22 VAT exemption on EU imports. A €20 order from AliExpress arrived with no additional charges. That exemption no longer exists.

Since July 2021:

• VAT applies from €0. Every import from China — regardless of value — attracts EU import VAT at your country’s standard rate (typically 20–21%).
• IOSS was introduced to simplify collection for e-commerce. Major platforms collect and remit VAT for you at checkout — so the price you see already includes VAT, and no additional charge arrives with the parcel.
• The €150 customs duty exemption survived — until 1 July 2026. Low-value consignments stayed duty-free for another five years; that relief has now been abolished too (see below).

What changed on 1 July 2026 — the €3 flat duty

Since 1 July 2026 the EU no longer exempts consignments worth up to €150 from customs duty. Online purchases from non-EU sellers in these consignments now attract a temporary flat customs duty of €3 per item:

• An item is not a unit. Goods in the same consignment that share the same tariff classification, description and, where applicable, origin count as one item. The European Commission’s examples: five identical T-shirts attract €3; three T-shirts and a watch attract €6. Clothing, toys and electronics are all covered.
• IOSS does not exempt you. The duty applies regardless of how VAT is handled — IOSS, the special arrangements or standard import VAT. If the platform does not collect it at checkout, expect to settle it with the carrier before delivery.
• The €150 refers to the goods. It is the price of the goods, excluding transport and insurance where these are shown separately on the invoice.
• Above €150, nothing changes. Normal duty rates by goods category apply, as before.
• It is temporary. The flat duty is due to apply until 1 July 2028, after which normal duty rates by type of goods will apply to low-value consignments too.

Goods already released for free circulation and shipped from a seller’s EU warehouse are not charged duty again. Separately, a Union handling fee has been proposed for autumn 2026; its amount and start date have not yet been set, and it is a fee rather than a customs duty. For the full background, see the end of the EU’s €150 duty exemption.

IOSS — why you usually don’t see extra charges on AliExpress

IOSS (Import One-Stop Shop) is the EU scheme that allows e-commerce platforms to collect VAT on behalf of the buyer and remit it to EU tax authorities. For buyers, it means:

• The checkout price already includes your country’s VAT
• No further VAT is charged when the parcel arrives (the €3-per-item customs duty is separate, see below)
• The carrier’s label carries an IOSS number — customs can verify VAT has been collected

The three largest Chinese shopping platforms are all IOSS-registered for orders under €150:

Practical implication: on an order from an IOSS-registered platform, your country’s VAT is already part of the checkout price, so it is not charged again on delivery. The €3-per-item customs duty comes on top: if the platform does not include it at checkout, the carrier will ask you to pay it before delivery.

When extra charges DO arrive

You will receive a customs payment request from the carrier in these cases:

Order exceeds €150

IOSS only covers orders under €150. Above €150, standard EU customs clearance applies:

• VAT at your country’s rate on the full customs value (goods + shipping + insurance)
• Customs duty at the applicable rate for the goods category
• Carrier customs handling fee (€15–30)

Shipping does not push an order over €150. The €150 limit refers to the value of the goods, excluding transport and insurance where these are shown separately on the invoice. A €140 item with €15 shipping therefore stays within the limit: it attracts VAT and the €3 flat duty, not the category duty rate. Once the goods themselves are worth more than €150, duty and VAT are calculated on the full customs value, including shipping.

Seller is not IOSS-registered

Smaller Chinese sellers and B2B platforms (Alibaba, DHgate, 1688) are often not IOSS-registered. If the seller’s package has no IOSS number, EU customs will charge VAT at delivery — even for low-value orders — together with any customs duty the seller has not paid.

IOSS number is missing or invalid

Occasionally, IOSS-registered platforms make errors on paperwork — especially for split shipments or orders fulfilled from a non-registered warehouse. If customs cannot verify IOSS, they apply standard VAT rules.

Customs duty rates for Chinese goods

The rates below apply to consignments above €150. Up to €150, the flat €3 per item applies instead until 1 July 2028.

Worked example — clothing from AliExpress

You order €160 of clothing from AliExpress (above the €150 threshold):

• Goods value: €160
• Shipping: €0 (free shipping from seller)
• Customs value: €160
• Customs duty (clothing 12%): €19.20
• VAT (21% on customs value + duty): (€160 + €19.20) × 21% = €37.63
• Carrier handling fee: ~€20
• Total additional charges at delivery: ~€77

Your €160 purchase effectively costs €237. At this point, compare to EU-based clothing retailers — the price advantage may largely disappear.

Is it actually cheaper to buy from China?

For orders up to €150 from IOSS-registered platforms: the VAT is already included in the price, but since 1 July 2026 you also need to add €3 of customs duty for each item, meaning each different type of goods in the consignment. On a €20 order of three different small articles, that is €9 — almost half the order value — while a single €100 purchase attracts €3. Chinese platforms can still be cheaper for electronics accessories and generic goods, but the flat duty hits cheap, varied baskets hardest. Splitting an order into several parcels no longer helps: five identical T-shirts in one consignment attract €3, but €15 if sent as five consignments.

For orders over €150: add 20–21% VAT, 0–17% duty, and €15–30 carrier fee to get the true landed cost. For clothing, the duty alone adds 12% — making the effective price premium over EU competitors smaller than it appears.

The electronics exception is significant: laptops, phones, and audio equipment carry 0% EU import duty from China. For high-value electronics, Chinese pricing can represent genuine savings even after VAT.

Anti-dumping duties — a note for buyers

In addition to standard customs duty, the EU applies anti-dumping duties (ADD) on certain Chinese product categories where Chinese exporters have been found to sell below fair market price. Categories with significant anti-dumping duties include:

• Steel and aluminium products
• Solar panels (certain types)
• Ceramic tiles
• Certain types of bicycle components

For typical consumer goods (electronics, clothing, accessories), anti-dumping duties rarely apply. Check the EU TARIC database if you are importing specialised goods.

Prohibited and restricted items from China

Regardless of customs rules, some items cannot be imported from China into the EU:

• Counterfeit branded goods — any product using a trademark without authorisation (fake Nike, fake Louis Vuitton, etc.) will be seized by customs and destroyed. The buyer may face a fine.
• Certain electronic devices — items not meeting EU CE marking requirements may be stopped at customs. This includes some radio transmitters, high-powered laser pointers, and non-compliant chargers.
• Certain food and supplements — Chinese herbal products, supplements, and foods must comply with EU food safety regulation.
• Weapons and weapon replicas — airsoft guns, certain knives, and replica weapons have category-dependent import restrictions.

Summary

For AliExpress, Temu, and Shein orders up to €150: VAT is included in the price (IOSS), and since 1 July 2026 a flat customs duty of €3 per item applies on top, regardless of IOSS, until 1 July 2028. For orders above €150 or non-IOSS sellers: VAT (20–21%) applies on the full customs value, duty applies by category (clothing 12%, electronics 0%), plus carrier handling fee (€15–30). The break-even calculation only makes sense after adding all charges. For electronics, China remains price-competitive even after VAT. For clothing above €150, the duty + VAT erodes the price advantage significantly.