Import from China to the EU: customs duty, VAT and the 2026 rules

In short: when you import from China to the EU through Bulgaria, you pay customs duty at the rate for the product's tariff code, and 20% import VAT on the customs value plus the duty and transport to Bulgaria. Since Jul 1, 2026, parcels up to €150 are no longer exempt: goods sold directly to an EU customer pay €3 duty per item. As the importer, you are also responsible for product safety.

This guide is for online stores that buy stock from China for a warehouse in Bulgaria or sell with direct shipping from a Chinese supplier, including foreign founders with a Bulgarian company. Written by the team behind CloudCart, the Bulgarian ecommerce platform, it draws on the European Commission's customs guidance, the Bulgarian Customs Agency, the Bulgarian VAT Act and EUR-Lex. It is not customs or tax advice: confirm each shipment with a customs broker and your accountant.

What changed for parcels up to €150 on Jul 1, 2026?

On Jul 1, 2026 the EU abolished the customs duty exemption for parcels worth up to €150 and introduced a temporary duty of €3 per item on goods sold at a distance to customers in the EU. The legal basis is Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382 of Feb 11, 2026. Under the European Commission's guidance on the €3 duty (version of Oct 5, 2026), the duty applies until Jul 1, 2028. After that, goods sold at a distance pay the normal duty rate for their type, whatever their value.

An item is a group of goods in a parcel with the same tariff code, the same description and, where it is declared, the same origin. In practice it is charged per declaration line, whatever the number of units:

• 5 identical T-shirts in one parcel: one item, €3 duty.
• 1 T-shirt and 1 watch: two tariff codes, €6 duty.
• 3 similar women's suits in different fabrics: three 10-digit TARIC codes and €9 in a full declaration (H1), but possibly one 6-digit HS code and €3 in a simplified one (H6/H7).

Three changes in 2026 work together:

• Jul 1, 2026: €3 duty per item on parcels up to €150 sold at a distance, under every VAT scheme (IOSS, the special arrangements or the standard procedure).
• Nov 1, 2026: product identifiers (PID) become mandatory in the customs declaration for the same parcels. A PID is, for example, the barcode (GTIN/EAN), the manufacturer's code or the seller's own product code.
• The €2 Union handling fee: the Commission's guidance expects it to apply from Nov 1, 2026, for every item in a distance sale, including parcels over €150. It is permanent and carries VAT. Ask your courier or broker whether it is already collected.

Importing stock or shipping direct from China: which rule applies?

The rule depends on who buys the goods at the moment of import: your company, for its warehouse, or your customer, with delivery straight from China. The €3 duty covers distance sales, where the goods are in China when the sale is made and the seller ships them to a customer in the EU. A batch for your own warehouse is a business import and pays the normal rate for its tariff code.

Situation	Customs duty	Import VAT	Who declares
Your company imports a batch for its warehouse in Bulgaria	The TARIC rate for the product and origin, on the customs value	20%, deductible as input VAT if you are VAT-registered	You, or a customs broker on your behalf
A customer orders in your store, the supplier ships from China, parcel up to €150, with IOSS	€3 per item	Charged in the price at checkout, declared monthly under IOSS	You as the seller, or your representative
The same, without IOSS	€3 per item	20% at import, usually paid by the customer to the courier	The seller or a representative (the courier)
Distance sale, parcel over €150	The TARIC rate	20% at import	The seller or a representative

Direct shipping from China to a customer in Bulgaria is a distance sale even when the store is Bulgarian. That is why dropshipping with a Chinese supplier (see what dropshipping is and how it works in Bulgaria) pays €3 per item, and each parcel to a customer carries its own customs declaration. Under the Commission's guidance, customs can split a grouped import that hides separate sales to consumers back into individual parcels and charge €3 per item on each.

The 20% in the table is the Bulgarian rate, because the goods are cleared through customs in Bulgaria. Goods cleared in another EU country pay that country's import VAT rate.

How to calculate customs duty and import VAT: the formula and an example

Customs duty is calculated on the customs value, and import VAT on the customs value plus the duty and the costs up to the first destination in Bulgaria. The customs value is the price of the goods plus the costs of shipping them to the EU border. The duty rate depends on the tariff code and the origin, and you can look it up in the Bulgarian Customs Agency's duty and tariff code lookup (in Bulgarian), which leads to TARIC. Under Art. 55 of the Bulgarian VAT Act (in Bulgarian), the taxable amount on import is the customs value plus duties and costs such as commission, packaging, transport and insurance to the first destination in the country. The rate is 20% (Art. 66(2)).

1. Find the tariff code. In the Customs Agency lookup, choose the section, chapter and closest description. The last screen shows the duty, legal basis and any licences needed.
2. Add up the customs value. The price on the supplier's invoice plus transport and insurance to the EU border.
3. Calculate the duty. Customs value × the TARIC rate. For a distance sale up to €150: €3 × the number of tariff codes in the parcel.
4. Calculate the VAT base. Customs value + duty + costs to the first destination in Bulgaria.
5. Calculate the VAT. The base × 20%.
6. Work out the cost per unit. All amounts divided by the number of units. If you are VAT-registered, import VAT is deductible (Art. 69(1)(2) of the VAT Act), so your cost per unit is the amount without it.

An example for a batch of stock. The 4% rate is an illustration only; check the real rate for your product in TARIC.

Line	Amount
200 desk lamps on the supplier's invoice	€1,200
Transport and insurance to the EU border	€200
Customs value	€1,400
Duty at an illustrative 4% rate	€56
Transport from the border to the warehouse in Bulgaria	€60
VAT base (€1,400 + €56 + €60)	€1,516
Import VAT at 20%	€303.20
Cost per unit without VAT (€1,516 / 200)	€7.58
Cost per unit with VAT, if you are not VAT-registered	€9.10

The invoice price is €6 per unit, and the real landed cost is €7.58. That 26% gap is why a margin calculated from the supplier's price disappears. Add the customs broker's fee on top. Setting a selling price on top of the landed cost is covered in the guide to pricing and margin in an online store.

An example for a distance sale. A customer orders a T-shirt and a watch for €40, and the supplier ships them from China. Duty: €6 (two tariff codes). VAT: 20% of the sale price, charged at checkout if you use IOSS, or paid by the customer at import if you do not. If the €2 handling fee per item is already collected, add another €4 plus VAT on it.

IOSS: when is VAT paid at checkout?

IOSS (Import One Stop Shop) is the scheme under which the seller charges VAT at the moment of sale on goods shipped from outside the EU in parcels up to €150. The VAT is declared and paid in a monthly IOSS return, and the import itself is exempt from VAT. The customer pays the final price in your store and pays no VAT on delivery. The scheme is part of the European Commission's One Stop Shop system, has applied since Jul 1, 2021 and does not cover excise goods.

The €3 duty is still due under IOSS, which settles only the VAT. A seller from outside the EU can use IOSS only through an intermediary established in the EU. A Bulgarian store can register itself with the NRA (Bulgaria's National Revenue Agency). Registration, deadlines and the difference between OSS and IOSS are explained in the guide to OSS and VAT on EU sales, and the domestic VAT number in the guide to VAT registration in Bulgaria.

IOSS makes sense for direct shipping from China in parcels under €150. A customer asked to pay VAT and a courier fee on delivery may refuse the parcel, and the return cost stays with the store. If you import batches for a warehouse, IOSS does not concern you: VAT is paid at import and deducted.

AliExpress, Alibaba and dropshipping from China: what the new duty means

For a store that resells goods from AliExpress or orders batches on Alibaba, the new duty changes the numbers in two ways. Cheap items cost €3 more per tariff code, over half the price of a €5 product, and an order with several different products pays duty for each code.

• Products under €10 shipped direct lose the most: duty and VAT can exceed the margin.
• Packs of one product type (5 identical phone cases) pay €3 for the whole item and absorb the new duty more easily.
• A batch for a warehouse in Bulgaria pays the TARIC rate, but delivery starts in Bulgaria: fast, with cash on delivery and no customs surprises.
• A supplier with an EU warehouse ships goods already imported, so the parcel skips customs.

Compare the cost per unit of both options first. The models are compared in the guide to ecommerce business models.

CE marking: which goods from China need it?

CE marking shows that the manufacturer has assessed the product and declares that it meets EU requirements for safety, health and environmental protection. It is mandatory only for products where EU harmonised rules require it. On all other products, CE marking must not be used.

According to the CE marking page on Your Europe, the EU's official guide for businesses, CE marking is required, among others, for:

• toys;
• electrical and electronic equipment;
• drones and pyrotechnics;
• certain batteries, machinery, gas appliances and pressure equipment;
• personal protective equipment;
• medical devices and measuring instruments.

The declaration of conformity and technical documentation are kept for at least 10 years after the product is placed on the market. Ask the supplier for the declaration of conformity in English or Bulgarian before your first order.

GPSR: the importer's responsibility for product safety

If you import goods from China and sell them in the EU, you are the importer under Regulation (EU) 2023/988 on general product safety (GPSR) and you are responsible for their safety. The regulation has applied since Dec 13, 2024 and covers non-food consumer products. The text is on EUR-Lex in English, and all the obligations of online sellers are in the guide to GPSR and product safety for online sellers. The importer's obligations under Art. 11:

1. Check the product before selling it. It meets the general safety requirement, and the manufacturer has drawn up the technical documentation and marked its details and the product identification.
2. Add your details. Your name or trade mark, postal and email address on the product, or, where that is not possible, on the packaging or in an accompanying document.
3. Provide instructions in Bulgarian. Clear instructions and safety information in a language your customers understand.
4. Keep the documentation for 10 years. A copy of the technical documentation, available to the market surveillance authorities.
5. Act on risk. If the product is dangerous, stop selling it and inform the manufacturer and the authorities through the Safety Business Gateway.

Under Art. 16, a product needs an economic operator established in the EU who is responsible for it, and for imports from China that is usually you. Under Art. 19, every offer in an online store shows four things clearly and visibly: the manufacturer's name and addresses; the name and addresses of the responsible person in the EU, if the manufacturer is outside the EU; a picture, the type and an identifier of the product; and the warnings and safety information in the customer's language.

In CloudCart the manufacturer is set on each product from Products → Vendors: you enter the name and a description with the addresses, and the storefront builds a page for that manufacturer. Safety warnings go into the product description, and the barcode and product code are fields on every variant, so the Art. 19 details and the customs identifier come from one place.

Checklist before your first order from China

1. Choose the model: a batch for a warehouse in Bulgaria, or direct shipping from China to the customer.
2. Find the tariff code and duty rate of each product in TARIC.
3. Work out the cost per unit with transport, duty, VAT and the broker's fee.
4. Ask the supplier for the documents: invoice, declaration of conformity, CE where required, manufacturer's details.
5. Decide on IOSS if parcels to customers ship from China and are under €150.
6. Complete the GPSR offer details: manufacturer, responsible person, identifier, warnings in Bulgarian.
7. Prepare for returns. Customers have 14 days to withdraw, and a return to China is expensive (see returns and consumer rights).

How to keep your landed cost and catalog in order in CloudCart

In CloudCart the supplier's price is stored with the product. The Suppliers app (Apps → Suppliers) shows the linked suppliers in the product editor, and for each supplier and variant you record the supplier's cost and their product code. If the supplier provides a CSV or XML file, products come in through an import or through a scheduled XML sync of prices and stock (see importing products from CSV and XML and catalog management).

If you have connected your store to an AI assistant such as Claude Code or ChatGPT Codex with a PAT token, one sentence like "Show me the products without a vendor and without a barcode" gives you the list to complete before you sell under Art. 19 of the GPSR. Delivery to customers from your warehouse in Bulgaria runs through Econt, Speedy and BOX NOW (the main Bulgarian couriers and parcel-locker network) and the other couriers built into checkout (shipping in CloudCart). Plan prices: pricing page. Setup questions: support@cloudcart.com.

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