"It's from Europe, so there won't be any charges" is one of the most common reasons people get an unexpected bill. Here is what the UK-EU trade agreement actually covers, and where it does not reach.
Before Brexit, goods moved between the UK and the EU without customs involvement at all. Since 1 January 2021, a parcel from an EU country goes through UK customs the same as a parcel from anywhere else in the world. There is no special lane for the EU. What the UK and the EU agreed instead is a trade deal, the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, that can reduce the duty owed on qualifying goods to zero. It does not remove customs involvement, and it does not touch import VAT at all.
Customs duty on goods that genuinely originate in the EU is 0% under the agreement. The word doing the work there is originate. It means where the goods were made, not where the shop is based or where the parcel was posted from.
A jumper made in Portugal and sold by a Portuguese retailer originates in the EU, so 0% duty applies. A jumper made in Bangladesh, imported into a French warehouse, and sold by a French retailer does not originate in the EU. It is Bangladeshi for customs purposes, and the standard rate for clothing applies regardless of the fact that you bought it from an EU website and it was posted from an EU address.
To claim the 0% rate, the seller normally needs to provide a statement of origin on the commercial invoice or shipping paperwork. If that statement is not there, the rate applied defaults to the standard rate for the goods, whether or not they would have qualified. Small EU sellers, especially individuals selling on marketplaces rather than registered businesses, often do not include this, simply because they are not aware it is expected.
The 0% duty rate under the trade agreement has nothing to do with VAT. Import VAT at 20% applies to goods from the EU on exactly the same basis as goods from anywhere else: it is due on consignments valued above £135, calculated on the goods plus shipping plus any duty. A genuinely EU-made product with 0% duty can still land you with a VAT bill if the order is over £135 and the seller has not already collected UK VAT at checkout.
For consignments of £135 or less, overseas sellers, EU or otherwise, are generally expected to register for UK VAT and charge it at the point of sale. Large retailers with established UK operations mostly do this correctly, which is why a small order from a well-known EU brand's website often turns up with nothing owing at the door: the VAT was already folded into the price you paid.
Where this breaks down. Smaller EU sellers, individual sellers on marketplaces, and shops that have not registered for UK VAT do not collect it at checkout. The parcel then arrives exactly as any unregistered overseas seller's parcel would: VAT (and possibly duty, if origin cannot be proven) collected by the courier on delivery, plus the courier's own handling fee on top.
A £90 pair of shoes bought from a large Italian retailer's UK-facing website: under £135, VAT collected at checkout, nothing to pay on delivery.
A £90 pair of shoes bought from an individual seller on a German marketplace, shipped as a personal parcel with no UK VAT registration behind it: the seller has not charged UK VAT, so it falls to the courier to collect it on arrival, along with their handling fee. Same country, same price, different bill, because what matters is whether the seller is set up to collect UK VAT, not which side of the Channel they trade from.
Buying a used item from a private individual in the EU, through a site like a classifieds marketplace, does not exempt it from charges. The trade agreement's 0% duty rate is about where goods were manufactured, not about who currently owns them. A private seller is also unlikely to be VAT registered in the UK, so VAT above £135 will usually be collected by the courier rather than included in the sale price.
A change coming: the UK Government has confirmed that the £135 customs duty relief will end by October 2028 (announced 23 June 2026). Nothing changes yet, and this page reflects today's rules. See the government's reforming customs rules for low value imports page.
Related guides: Buying from China · Buying from the USA · Courier fees compared · Reclaiming import VAT · How to find the duty rate
Yes. Since 1 January 2021 a parcel from the EU goes through UK customs like any other. Import VAT of 20% applies on the same basis as for other countries. Customs duty is 0% if the goods were made in the EU and the seller supplies a statement of origin. Otherwise the standard rate applies.
The usual reasons are that the order was over £135, the seller did not charge UK VAT at checkout, or the goods were not made in the EU or the seller gave no proof of origin, so duty was charged at the standard rate. The courier may also add a handling fee.
There is no customs duty. The seller is generally expected to charge UK VAT at checkout. If it did not, the courier collects the VAT on delivery.
Source: Tax and customs for goods sent from abroad on GOV.UK.
Our calculator applies the 0% trade agreement rate for EU countries of origin, alongside the £135 threshold and current VAT rules.