Ordering online from foreign sites often allows you to make great savings. However, certain unknown additional costs can cause the bill to skyrocket at the time of delivery.
Online shopping has become commonplace and is particularly in full swing during the holiday season. With the Internet, it is easier than ever to order goods from abroad, which often have very attractive prices. But be careful, for goods shipped from countries outside the European Union, additional taxes and fees may apply and quickly increase the bill.
Most of the time, these additional costs are directly integrated into the sales prices by the supplier, and are therefore paid by the customer upon validation of the purchase. However, a somewhat special category of charges may apply at the time of delivery, and thus reserve an unpleasant surprise for the buyer, who did not anticipate them. And as these costs are often unknown to the seller himself, he cannot inform his customer in advance.
For online orders shipped from a country outside the EU, three types of additional costs may apply: Value Added Tax (VAT), customs duties and, finally, “customs fees”. “. If the first two categories are well known to consumers and are often transparently announced during the purchase, the third is, however, more nebulous and can vary greatly depending on the carrier.
Concerning VAT, the rules are quite clear: since July 1, 2021, VAT is applicable on all online sales, from the 1st euro. Most online platforms and merchants that deliver to the EU include VAT in sales prices, notably through the mechanism Import One Stop Shop (IOSS). When finalizing the order, simply ensure that VAT is included to avoid any additional costs on arrival.
When it comes to customs duties, things get a little complicated. If orders with a value less than or equal to €150 are exempt, all those greater than this amount are subject to it. The amount of customs duties then vary depending on the nature and country of origin of the goods. Serious sellers normally know the customs duties applicable to their products depending on the country of destination, and add them to the sales price when ordering.
Finally come the famous “customs fees” and there’s a big mess. Contrary to what their name suggests, these are not taxes applied by the customs services of the country of delivery, but management fees charged by the carrier for completing customs formalities. And as the customs administration very clearly indicates on its site : “Carriers set their prices freely and do not always offer the same services.”
To see things a little more clearly and anticipate any “customs fees” that will have to be paid upon delivery, you must therefore consult the price lists of the different carriers. At La Poste for example, the 2024-2025 price list for management fees tells us that the price depends on the type of shipment (Colissimo or classic letter) and the payment method chosen: €2 or €5 per shipment for online payment, and €8 per shipment for payment by postman or at a point withdrawal.
Another example from DHL. This time, the tariff schedule for customs services applicable on January 1, 2025 is much more extensive: €7 per item for a shipment containing more than 5 goods in the same package, €10 per shipment for the standard export declaration or even €50 per shipment for the “exceptional declaration” which applies to certain “goods excluded from standard customs clearance”. And the list goes on.
As we can see, the scope of these “customs fees” is particularly broad, in addition to being vague, and the price ranges vary considerably from one carrier to another. If you plan to make online purchases on sites that ship their products from countries outside the EU, be particularly vigilant on this point, and carefully consult the sections “management fees, “customs fees” or even “customs services” in the price list of the service provider responsible for delivery.