Setting up €3 EU customs duty collection: Shopify, WooCommerce and EAS API

Applies from 1 July 2026. Practical guidance for EAS merchants. This is not legal advice.

From 1 July 2026, low-value B2C goods imported into the EU may be subject to a flat €3 customs duty per separate product line. This applies to goods sent from outside the EU to EU consumers, including IOSS orders of €150 or less. How you set up collection depends on the integration you use — choose it below.

Before you start: what applies to everyone

The €3 duty is separate from IOSS VAT. IOSS still handles VAT collection and clearance for eligible low-value EU orders, and EAS continues to manage your IOSS VAT reporting and remittance. The €3 duty itself is handled through your delivery setup — your carrier, postal operator, logistics provider, or EAS DDP — not through IOSS.

No VAT on the €3 duty for IOSS orders. The European Commission has clarified that if you use IOSS, VAT is not charged on the €3 duty. This saves around €0.60 per product line compared with the earlier expected calculation. For non-IOSS deliveries, VAT is still charged on the €3 duty (around €0.60 additional VAT per product line at a 20% rate).

The duty is per product line, not per parcel. Different product types in the same order can each trigger a €3 duty:

The exact number depends on the product-line information used at customs clearance, so make sure your product descriptions, HS codes, country of origin, values and weights are correct.

Choose your delivery route first. How you set up collection depends on how the duty reaches the customer:

• Courier (recommended by EAS). Couriers such as DPD and DHL are expected to support the €3 duty across the whole EU — the clearest way to avoid the customer being asked to pay on delivery.
• Postal. Covers selected EU countries only. For unsupported countries, the customer pays the €3 duty on delivery. Ask your postal operator which countries are covered.
• Customer pays on delivery. Use only if no delivery option can handle the duty beforehand. Requires very clear customer wording.
• EAS DDP. Supports all EU countries for the €3 duty. Learn more about EAS DDP.

Shopify

Shopify has announced that Shopify Managed Markets and Shopify's import tax and duty calculation will support the €3 duty automatically. EAS has not yet been able to test this, so the EAS Shopify Guide Tool remains the safest practical route for now. You do not need the more expensive Shopify Managed Markets option — the standard import tax and duty calculation is expected to cover it.

Open the EAS Shopify Guide Tool. Because Shopify has no EAS-managed duty toggle, recovering the €3 from customers is done through pricing or shipping rates.

Step 1 — Estimate how much to add

For IOSS orders, do not add an extra VAT-on-duty amount — VAT is not charged on the €3 duty.

To check your average product lines in Shopify:

1. Go to Shopify admin → Orders.
2. Filter orders shipped to EU countries.
3. Export the orders.
4. In the CSV, line items from the same order appear on separate rows.
5. Count the product-line rows for EU orders.
6. Divide the number of product-line rows by the number of EU orders.

Step 2 — Choose a recovery method and set it up

Option A — Add the cost to EU shipping (simplest):

1. Log in to Shopify admin.
2. Go to Settings → Shipping and delivery.
3. Open the general shipping profile or the relevant custom profile.
4. Find your EU shipping zone.
5. Add a new rate, or edit the existing EU rate.
6. Increase the rate by your estimated duty per average EU order.
7. Use a clear rate name, e.g. "EU delivery, €3 duty handled".
8. Save and test checkout with EU delivery addresses.

Option B — Add the cost to EU product prices (if free/cheap delivery matters):

1. Check your average separate product lines per EU order.
2. Go to Shopify admin → Settings → Markets.
3. Open your EU or Europe market.
4. Go to Products and pricing.
5. Increase fixed EU prices for the products or variants sold to EU customers.
6. Use your estimated duty per average order to decide which prices to adjust.
7. Save and test checkout with EU delivery addresses.

Customer wording — duty handled before delivery: "EU orders are shipped using a delivery service where the €3 duty is handled. VAT is collected at checkout where applicable."

Customer may pay the duty: "VAT is collected at checkout where applicable. From 1 July 2026, EU orders may also be subject to a €3 customs duty collected by the delivery carrier before or at delivery."

Full Shopify guidance document (PDF) →

WooCommerce

What you do in WooCommerce depends on whether your store uses the EAS tax and duty calculation (EAS Full Landed Cost).

A. You use the EAS tax and duty calculation

EAS supports the €3 duty automatically through your WooCommerce calculation — no manual checkout changes, no setup tool, and no manual edits to delivery fees or product prices. You only need to tell EAS how the duty should be calculated by completing the setup form. EAS then applies your choice to your account. If you do not answer, your account stays on the default (do not calculate the €3 duty).

Complete the €3 Duty Setup Form

Worked example — product €100, shipping €20, one €3 duty, IOSS order, 20% VAT (no VAT on the duty):

Steps:

1. Complete the €3 Duty Setup Form and choose the option that matches how the duty should be handled.
2. No further WooCommerce checkout action is needed afterwards.
3. Confirm with your delivery provider how the duty will be handled operationally.
4. Use courier deliveries where possible for the most reliable EU-wide coverage.
5. If you use EAS DDP, choose Option 1.
6. Check your product data — HS codes, country of origin, values and weights.

B. You do not use the EAS tax and duty calculation

EAS cannot automatically add the duty to your checkout, so you set it up manually using the EAS WooCommerce €3 duty setup tool, which helps you decide whether to add the cost to EU delivery fees or EU product prices.

Open the EAS WooCommerce €3 duty setup tool →

1. Open the EAS WooCommerce €3 duty setup tool.
2. Choose whether to add the cost to EU delivery fees or EU product prices.
3. For most WooCommerce stores, adding to EU delivery fees is easiest.
4. If you use product prices, first confirm your pricing plugin supports EU-specific or country-specific pricing.
5. Test checkout using your most important EU destination countries.
6. Check customer-facing delivery wording so customers understand if they may be charged on delivery.

Customer wording — duty included at checkout: "VAT and applicable import charges are calculated at checkout. For EU orders, the €3 duty is handled through the selected delivery service where applicable."

Customer may pay on delivery: "VAT is collected at checkout where applicable. From 1 July 2026, EU orders may also be subject to a €3 customs duty collected by the delivery provider before or at delivery."

Some countries not supported: "EU delivery is currently available only to countries where the €3 duty can be handled reliably. Delivery options may vary by destination country."

Full WooCommerce guidance document (PDF) →

EAS API

This section applies if you use the EAS API integration for IOSS. EAS supports the €3 duty through its API calculation logic, so you do not need to build a separate €3 duty calculation yourself. You only need to tell EAS which calculation method to apply to your account.

Choose your method using the same setup form. After you submit, EAS applies the selected setting to your API account. If you do not answer, your account stays on the default (do not calculate the €3 duty).

Complete the €3 Duty Setup Form

The three calculation methods are the same as the EAS calculation options (IOSS orders shown; VAT is never charged on the €3 duty for IOSS):

Steps:

1. Complete the €3 Duty Setup Form and choose your calculation method.
2. EAS applies the selected setting to your API account — no separate €3 calculation to build on your side.
3. Confirm with your delivery provider how the duty will be handled operationally.
4. Use courier deliveries where possible; if you use EAS DDP, choose Option 1.
5. Check your product data — HS codes, country of origin, values and weights.

Checklist before 1 July 2026

• Confirm with your carrier, postal operator or logistics provider how the €3 duty will be handled.
• Use courier deliveries where possible, especially if you sell across the full EU.
• Shopify: choose your recovery method and check your average product lines per EU order.
• WooCommerce / EAS API (EAS calculation): complete the €3 Duty Setup Form — no further changes needed afterwards.
• WooCommerce (no EAS calculation): use the setup tool and update settings manually.
• Confirm whether the duty is paid by you, handled through EAS DDP, or charged to the customer on delivery.
• Confirm which EU countries are supported if you use postal delivery.
• Update customer-facing delivery wording where the customer may pay on delivery.
• Review product descriptions, HS codes, country of origin, values and weights.
• Test EU checkout after any changes.

Checklist after 1 July 2026

• Review carrier, postal or EAS DDP invoices and confirm the duty is applied as expected (per product line).
• Monitor customer complaints, parcel refusals and delivery failures.
• Check whether your postal operator or carrier changes country coverage.
• Review WooCommerce, plugin, Shopify, API and EAS updates as new options become available.
• Update your checkout or delivery wording if customers are confused.

The EAS role

EAS handles IOSS VAT for eligible orders where you use EAS as your IOSS intermediary. EAS does not collect or remit the €3 customs duty through IOSS — that is handled through your delivery setup. EAS will continue monitoring the situation and update customers as Shopify, carriers, postal operators or EU authorities provide relevant operational changes.

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