What do AliExpress orders cost at French customs?
French AliExpress shoppers mostly buy through marketplace checkout, where IOSS handles VAT at 20% — so the visible novelty since 1 July 2026 is the customs duty: a flat €3 for each distinct HS6 tariff line the parcel contains, requested by La Poste before your Colissimo delivery is released.
Two habits shape French AliExpress bills. First, gadget-plus-gadget orders often still span two tariff lines — earphones and a watch, say, are different HS headings despite both being 'electronics'. Second, the platform's direct-seller storefronts occasionally ship without IOSS, flipping the parcel onto the standard-tariff-plus-import-VAT route where the carrier's advancement fee is all but certain.
Priced by our engine, a typical two-gadget French order comes out as follows; the same basket from a non-IOSS storefront would clear on an entirely different set of numbers.
Awaiting items
Add a price and your receipt prints here.
Worked example
Earphones at €23.90 and a €15.50 wrist-watch with €1.50 shipping: €39.40 in goods and €1.50 carriage. Watches and earphones occupy different HS6 headings, so the order spans 2 tariff lines and owes 2 × €3 = €6 in duty. The €8.18 of VAT at 20% was already charged at checkout.
Before handing over the parcel, La Poste collects €6–€14 — duty plus any handling within €0–€8 — making the true doorstep price €55.08–€63.08.
Numbers for your own order? Use the calculator above — it applies the same rules to your prices.
Example declaration
- Earphones €23.90
- Wrist-watch €15.50
- Itemspaid at checkout€39.40
- Shippingpaid at checkout€1.50
- Customs duty€6.00
€3.00 × 2 tariff lines = €6.00
- VAT (20%)paid at checkout€8.18
20% × €40.90 (goods + shipping) = €8.18
- Carrier fee€0.00 – €8.00
Due at delivery: €6.00 – €14.00
Frequently asked questions
- Combien de frais de douane pour un colis AliExpress en France?
- For a marketplace order with IOSS checkout — the norm — French VAT at 20% is paid when you order, and customs adds €3 per distinct HS6 tariff line in the parcel: one gadget type costs €3, two types cost double. La Poste collects the duty at delivery, possibly with a handling fee in the €0–€8 range. Above €150 of goods, ordinary tariffs apply instead.
- Why did two AliExpress parcels to France get different duty amounts?
- Almost certainly different tariff-line counts. The flat duty binds to distinct HS6 lines, not to parcels: a box of three identical phone holders is one line (€3 once), while a box with a holder, earphones and a watch is three lines (€3 three times). Same parcel size, same order value, different category spread — different duty.
- Do AliExpress direct sellers charge French VAT at checkout?
- Not always — that is AliExpress's known edge case. Marketplace-fulfilled orders use IOSS and include VAT at 20% in the price. Some direct-seller storefronts ship outside that system: no VAT at checkout, no flat duty either. Instead the parcel pays the standard EU tariff for its HS code, import VAT at the border on goods plus shipping plus duty, and La Poste's advancement fee, typically €0–€8.
- Are cheap electronics from AliExpress duty-free without IOSS?
- Often free of tariff, not free of charges. Many phone accessories and earphones fall under zero-percent EU tariff headings, so a non-IOSS parcel of them owes no duty — but French import VAT at 20% still applies on goods plus shipping, and the carrier's advancement fee (€0–€8 postal, €5–€20 express) still lands. 'Zero tariff' never means 'nothing to pay' on this route.
- Is the per-line duty on AliExpress parcels a permanent French tax?
- Neither permanent nor French — it is an EU-wide transitional customs duty in force until July 1, 2028. After that date, low-value imports move to the EU's regular per-product tariff schedule via the Customs Data Hub. It is also distinct from the proposed EU handling fee on small parcels, which remains undecided in both amount and start date.