Goods under EUR 22 are currently duty-free
Until July 2021 it is still possible to import goods duty-free from China if the total amount of goods does not exceed EUR 22. Shipments with a value of more than EUR 22 are subject to customs clearance. Depending on the product, customs duties and an import sales tax will be charged. If the clearance is done by the post office or another service provider, additional fees will apply to the recipient. On the customs page you will find all the information on currently applicable information for low-value shipments.
From July 2021, duty must be paid from EUR 0.01 – what’s next?
If you do dropshipping via China, for example, and import goods into the EU, you will have to carry out (or have) customs clearance from July 2021 onwards from the very first cent. It is still unclear whether the “small amounts” regulation will remain in place or whether it will be overturned. The fact is that your customers will probably not be spared the trip to the customs office at the place of receipt or at least the customs clearance by parcel service providers will make a fee due when the goods are handed over. This does not make a particularly good impression on the retailer, because the customer ultimately ordered from a German/European shop so as not to have to deal with customs and the like.
What alternatives do I have?
The simplest conceivable alternative is probably to use European wholesalers for the purchase of goods. Purchasing goods from European wholesalers not only has the advantage that you no longer have to deal with customs, but you also do not become an importer and thus save a lot of money for CE tests etc., which you have to prove for certain products. For this reason, we decided right from the start to exclusively connect German and other European wholesalers.
If you want to read more information about the topic, we recommend you this post on chinahandys.net.
