We ship from Ukraine, which is outside the European Union, so every parcel passes through customs on arrival. On 1 July 2026 the EU changed these rules completely, and what you pay now depends on which country you are in. This page explains exactly what we collect at checkout and what your own postal service will collect from you.
What changed on 1 July 2026
Until then, orders under 150 EUR entered the EU duty free. That exemption has been abolished. Every commercial parcel now carries a fixed customs duty of 3 EUR per declared item line, plus your national VAT, plus a processing fee charged by your postal operator.
Ukrposhta has introduced a system called PDDP (Postal Delivery Duty Paid) that lets us pay some or all of this in advance, so you do not have to. The catch is that not every EU postal service can accept those prepayments yet, and that is why customers in different countries have different experiences.
New from 1 November 2026: EU handling fee
From 1 November 2026 the EU adds a second fixed charge on top of the 3 EUR customs duty: a Union handling fee of 2 EUR per declared item line. It pays for customs checks on online orders sent from outside the EU, and it is separate from the processing and service fees your postal operator charges.
Items that share the same customs code count as one line, exactly as for the 3 EUR duty. The handling fee applies to orders of any value.
What counts is the date your parcel clears EU customs, not the date you ordered. A parcel posted in late October that arrives in November can already be charged the new fee.
Official source: Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/2152, published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 22 October 2026. It sets the fee under Article 20 of the new Union Customs Code, Regulation (EU) 2026/2108.
Where your country stands
Group 1: we prepay everything. You pay nothing on delivery.
Denmark, Germany, Malta, Spain.
We pay your national VAT, the customs duty and the processing fee at the moment of posting. Your parcel is delivered with nothing to settle.
Group 2: we prepay the duty and processing fee. You pay VAT on delivery.
Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Sweden.
The postal services in these countries can accept the customs duty and handling charge in advance, but not VAT. So we pay those two, and your postal service will invoice you for your national VAT, usually with a processing fee of their own on top.
Group 3: nothing can be prepaid. You pay everything on delivery.
Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovenia.
The postal operators in these countries cannot accept PDDP payments at all. Your parcel is cleared the traditional way, and your postal service collects the duty, the VAT and their own service fee from you before delivery.
What we charge at checkout
Your receipt shows one customs-related line: EU import duty and handling (prepaid).
For Group 1 countries this also includes your VAT. For Group 2 it is the duty and handling only. For Group 3 there is no such charge at all.
The handling fee per parcel, in EUR:
| Country | Fee | Country | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Austria | 2.00 | Italy | 2.00 |
| Belgium | 2.00 | Luxembourg | 5.00 |
| Cyprus | 3.50 | Malta | 2.00 |
| Denmark | 2.50 | Netherlands | 2.00 |
| Estonia | 2.00 | Portugal | 4.00 |
| Finland | 2.00 | Slovakia | 2.00 |
| France | 2.00 | Spain | 1.50 |
| Germany | 1.50 | Sweden | 2.00 |
On top of that, the EU charges 3 EUR of customs duty per declared item line in the parcel.
What your postal service will charge you
Group 1: nothing.
Group 2: your national VAT on the declared value, plus your postal operator’s own processing fee.
Group 3: the 3 EUR duty, the 2 EUR EU handling fee from 1 November 2026, your national VAT, and a service fee. Known service fees:
| Country | Service fee |
|---|---|
| Bulgaria | 1.99 EUR |
| Croatia | 2.46 EUR |
| Czechia | 14.50 EUR |
| Greece | 2.50 to 15.00 EUR |
| Hungary | 2.27 to 9.60 EUR online, higher on delivery |
| Ireland | 6.95 EUR |
| Latvia | 1.28 EUR |
| Lithuania | 6.99 EUR |
| Poland | 4.70 EUR |
| Slovenia | 6.50 EUR online, 9.00 EUR on delivery |
Romania has not published a figure. These are set by the postal operators and can change.
Common questions
I was charged again on delivery. Did I pay twice?
No. If you are in a Group 2 or Group 3 country, what we collected at checkout was the prepaid duty and handling charge, and what your postal service charged you is your national VAT plus their own fee. They are different charges going to different places, and nothing your postal service collects is passed to us.
Why can you cover it for Germany but not for my country?
Because it depends entirely on what each national postal operator is technically able to accept. Where the system allows full prepayment, we use it. Where it does not, we have no way to pay your VAT from Ukraine, however much we would prefer to. As more countries come online we will start covering them.
How much will the VAT be?
Your country’s standard rate, applied to the declared value of the goods and often to the shipping cost as well. Across the EU that currently runs from around 17 to 27 percent.
Can you declare a lower value so I pay less?
No. We declare the true value paid. Under-declaring is customs fraud, and it also voids any compensation claim if the parcel is lost or damaged in transit.
Does this apply to STL files?
No. Digital downloads are not physical goods and never cross a border, so there are no customs charges of any kind.
Can I get paperwork for my customs office?
Yes. Send us your order number and we will email you the invoice. If you paid through PayPal, your PayPal receipt shows the exact amount in your own currency, which most customs offices prefer.