Amazon customs charges in Germany: which orders actually pay
The first question for any Amazon order is not 'how much duty' but 'does customs apply at all'. Goods dispatched from Amazon's EU fulfilment centres never cross a customs border — no duty, no import VAT, nothing in this article touches them. The 2026 rules bite only when a marketplace seller ships from outside the EU directly to your German address.
For those genuine imports, the pattern since 1 July 2026 is the familiar one: VAT at 19% collected at checkout under the marketplace's IOSS arrangements, plus a flat €3 customs duty per distinct HS6 tariff line in the consignment. Amazon third-party imports often travel by express courier rather than post, which raises the handling side: courier clearance fees run €5–€20.
The worked example below is such a direct-import order.
Awaiting items
Add a price and your receipt prints here.
Worked example
A seller outside the EU ships a €24.99 toy and a €12.50 plastic kitchen item with free delivery: €37.49 of goods, €0 carriage. Toys and kitchenware are two HS6 headings — 2 tariff lines — so duty of 2 × €3 = €6. The €7.12 of VAT at 19% was charged at checkout.
The courier collects €11–€26 on delivery: €6 of duty plus its clearance handling within €5–€20, the express range. Landed cost of the order: €55.61–€70.61.
Numbers for your own order? Use the calculator above — it applies the same rules to your prices.
Example declaration
- Toy €24.99
- Plastic kitchenware €12.50
- Itemspaid at checkout€37.49
- Shippingpaid at checkout€0.00
- Customs duty€6.00
€3.00 × 2 tariff lines = €6.00
- VAT (19%)paid at checkout€7.12
19% × €37.49 (goods + shipping) = €7.12
- Carrier fee€5.00 – €20.00
Due at delivery: €11.00 – €26.00
Frequently asked questions
- Do Amazon orders in Germany have customs fees now?
- Only direct imports do. Anything fulfilled from an Amazon warehouse inside the EU involves no customs at all. When a marketplace seller ships from outside the EU, the 2026 rules apply: German VAT at 19% at checkout via the marketplace, plus €3 of customs duty per distinct HS6 tariff line, collected by the delivering carrier — often an express courier charging €5–€20 in handling.
- How do I know if my Amazon order will go through customs?
- Check the dispatch information: 'Ships from' a third-party seller abroad means an import; fulfilment by Amazon from an EU centre means none. Delivery estimates measured in weeks rather than days are another import signal. If it is an import of up to €150 in goods, expect the per-line duty of €3 and possibly a courier handling fee on top of your checkout total.
- Is the duty on Amazon imports per parcel in Germany?
- No. The flat duty counts distinct HS6 tariff lines within the consignment: a two-category order — a toy plus a kitchen gadget, for instance — owes €3 twice even in a single box, while a one-category order owes it once however many units it contains. Per-parcel reporting of this rule is simply wrong, and it is why identical-looking Amazon imports can carry different charges.
- What if an Amazon seller ships to Germany without IOSS?
- Marketplace VAT collection is the norm on Amazon, but when a consignment does arrive without IOSS, the flat duty is replaced by the standard EU tariff for the product's HS code under an H7 declaration. German import VAT at 19% is then levied on goods plus shipping plus duty, and the carrier's advancement fee — €0–€8 postal, €5–€20 courier — applies. This route usually costs more overall.
- Why did DHL Express charge me more than the customs duty on an Amazon import?
- The extra is the courier's own clearance handling, not a customs charge. Express operators bill for brokerage and advancement — typically €5–€20 — on top of whatever duty they collect for the state. On a small import the handling can exceed the €3-per-line duty itself. Carriers set these fees themselves; only the duty and VAT amounts come from the customs rules.