Customs country by country: rates, zones and delivery times
Vom pocabase-Team · Veröffentlicht am 8. September 2026 · 5 Min. Lesezeit
Dieser Guide wird auf Englisch angezeigt, bis die Übersetzung fertig ist.
Import rules rarely come down to "you have to pay customs". What applies depends first on the delivery country, and in practice there are only three regimes: inside the European Union, in Europe outside the Union, and in the rest of the world. This guide gives the reading by destination: the tax rate that applies, the delivery zone, and what still has to be checked locally. For the general mechanism, the EUR 150 threshold, the IOSS scheme and carrier fees, the guide on customs and shipping covers the Union-wide rule.
Three regimes, not thirty
The first regime covers European Union countries. Tax is due at the delivery country's rate, whatever the seller's country, and customs duties only appear above EUR 150 of intrinsic value. The second covers Europe outside the Union: Switzerland, Norway and the United Kingdom apply their own taxes and their own thresholds, with slightly longer delivery times.
The third covers the rest of the world: United States, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Japan. There, no European tax is charged by the seller, the sale being an export, but the import duties and taxes set by local rules remain payable by the recipient. Placing your country in one of these three groups is enough to know which questions to ask.
- European Union: tax at the delivery country rate, duties above EUR 150.
- Europe outside the Union: national rules, longer delivery.
- Rest of the world: no European tax, local taxes on the recipient.
Inside the Union: the delivery country's rate
Under the distance-selling regime the destination decides. The standard rates applied on the markets we deliver to are: Luxembourg 17%, Germany 19%, Romania 19%, France 20%, Austria 20%, Slovakia 20%, Bulgaria 20%, Belgium 21%, Netherlands 21%, Spain 21%, Czechia 21%, Latvia 21%, Lithuania 21%.
The rest of the scale climbs sharply: Italy 22%, Slovenia 22%, Portugal 23%, Poland 23%, Ireland 23%, Greece 24%, Estonia 24%, Croatia 25%, Denmark 25%, Sweden 25%, Finland 25.5%, Hungary 27%. Monaco follows the French rate. Between Luxembourg and Hungary the gap is over ten points: barely visible on a single album, it counts across a year of orders.
Europe outside the Union: Switzerland, Norway, United Kingdom
These three countries are outside the Union's tax territory. A European seller invoices them as an export sale, without European tax, and the parcel enters under national rules. Each has its own system: import tax, relief thresholds, collection obligations for foreign sellers. Amounts and thresholds change, and this guide states none of them.
What is stable: the parcel is declared on entry, local tax is due, and the carrier often adds a flat handling fee when it advances that tax. On delivery time, allow 12 to 25 working days from Korea, slightly more than to the Union. Check the rule in force with your own administration before a large order.
Rest of the world: the tax is local
For the United States, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand and Japan, a sale from the Union is an export exempt from European VAT. The price paid therefore contains no European tax, which does not mean the parcel arrives free of charge: local import duties and taxes are payable by the recipient.
Relief thresholds, rates and procedures belong to each country and evolve. We do not put numbers on them: a wrong figure costs more than no figure. On delivery time, allow 15 to 30 working days from Korea, entry into the country often being the longest stage. A grouped order draws more attention at import than a single-item parcel.
- Sale exempt from European tax: it is an export.
- Local taxes and thresholds: check with your country's administration.
- Indicative delivery: 15 to 30 working days from Korea.
What pocabase applies, destination by destination
For a delivery inside the Union, the listed price is tax-inclusive at the delivery country's rate, with shipping and estimated import charges covered: the amount paid at checkout is the final amount, and nothing is claimed at the door. The invoice states the distance-selling regime and the rate applied.
For a delivery outside the Union, the sale is exempt from European tax and the invoice says so explicitly, noting that import duties and taxes remain payable by the recipient. That is the only difference in treatment, and it comes from regulation, not from a commercial policy.
Four questions before ordering
First: which of the three regimes does my delivery address fall under? The address decides, not the country of the card or of the account. Second: was tax collected at checkout? If so, nothing is due on arrival; if not, the carrier will claim it along with its fees.
Third: does the value of the goods, transport excluded, exceed the threshold that applies in my country? Inside the Union that threshold is EUR 150 for customs duties. Fourth: what delivery time should I expect — 10 to 20 working days to the Union, 12 to 25 to Switzerland, Norway and the United Kingdom, 15 to 30 to the rest of the world, always counted from dispatch and not from the order.
Häufige Fragen
Which VAT rate applies to my order?
The delivery country's rate, under the EU distance-selling regime. It ranges from 17% in Luxembourg to 27% in Hungary, with 20% in France, 19% in Germany, 21% in Spain, 22% in Italy and 23% in Poland. The seller's country does not enter the calculation.
Do Switzerland, Norway and the UK follow EU rules?
No. They sit outside the Union's tax territory: the sale is exempt from European tax and the parcel enters under national rules, with their own thresholds and rates. Delivery from Korea takes slightly longer, in the region of 12 to 25 working days.
Why do you not give rates outside the European Union?
Because they change and belong to each national regulation. Publishing a wrong figure would cost the reader more than giving none. The general rule is enough to decide: the parcel is declared on entry and local tax is payable by the recipient.
What delivery time should I expect by destination?
From Korea, allow 10 to 20 working days to France and the Union, 12 to 25 to Switzerland, Norway and the United Kingdom, 15 to 30 to the rest of the world. These run from dispatch, customs clearance included, not from the order.
Is a grouped order treated differently?
Yes. The parcel is assessed as a whole: items are added together against the EUR 150 threshold inside the Union, and a higher value draws more attention at import everywhere else. Transport per item falls, but the risk of duties rises.