Dropshipping from China: which VAT and import duties do you pay since July 2026?

In dropshipping you sell a product you never have in stock yourself. Your supplier in China sends it straight to your customer. For VAT you then have two routes. Without the Import scheme, your customer pays the VAT on delivery to the postal company or courier. With the Import scheme, you charge the VAT to the customer yourself and pay it to the Belastingdienst.

Since 1 July 2026, parcels up to € 150 are no longer free of import duty. A fixed duty of € 3 applies per product type in the consignment. From 1 November 2026, Dutch Customs adds a European handling fee of € 2 per product type, also above € 150.

In this article

1. Who pays the VAT when your supplier in China sends the parcel?
2. How does the Import scheme (IOSS) work?
3. What is the € 3 import duty, and what do you pay it on?
4. Is another € 2 added from 1 November 2026?
5. What does a € 40 parcel cost extra now?
6. Why do those few euros matter for your sales?
7. What do you arrange now as a dropshipper?

Who pays the VAT when your supplier in China sends the parcel?

That depends on the route you choose. Without the Import scheme, your sale to the customer is taxed in China, the country where the transport starts. On import into the Netherlands VAT is then due, and the postal or courier company collects it from your customer. That is the position of the Belastingdienst knowledge group on VAT (Belastingdienst, KG:210:2022:5).

The postal or courier company then files the declaration on behalf of the customer and may charge the VAT to the customer. That is called the postal and courier scheme (VAT Act 1968, art. 28u and 28v). For you it means: you do not charge Dutch VAT on that sale, but your customer gets a bill at the door they did not expect. Often the carrier's handling charges come on top.

With the Import scheme it is the other way round. The supply is then taxed in the Netherlands. You charge the VAT to the customer and pay it to the Belastingdienst, and no VAT is due on import any more (Belastingdienst, KG:210:2022:5). So the customer pays nothing more on delivery.

How does the Import scheme (IOSS) work?

With the Import scheme, the Import One Stop Shop (IOSS), you charge the VAT of the customer's country and report it once a month in one go. For that you need an IOSS number, which you apply for at the Dutch Belastingdienst through Mijn Belastingdienst Zakelijk (KVK, VAT rules for e-commerce in the EU).

The scheme only applies to consignments with a value of up to € 150. Shipping and insurance costs on the invoice do not count towards that limit (Belastingdienst, importing and supplying goods). The return must be in by the last day of the month after the month you report on. You keep the records for 10 years, longer than the usual 7 years (Belastingdienst, reporting VAT through the One Stop Shop).

If you miss returns, the Belastingdienst may estimate the VAT. After 3 months in a row without a return you are excluded from the scheme for 2 years (Belastingdienst, reporting VAT through the One Stop Shop). So put the monthly return firmly in your schedule.

If the consignment is worth more than € 150, you cannot use the Import scheme. If the goods are imported in your name, you pay the import VAT in the country of import, and you can reclaim it. You pay the VAT on the supply to the customer in the country the consignment goes to (Belastingdienst, importing and supplying goods).

Do you sell through an online platform that facilitates the sale? For goods from outside the EU up to € 150, the platform then sometimes calculates the VAT, not you. The Belastingdienst calls this the deemed supplier rule (Belastingdienst, selling goods through a platform). Check in your platform terms which role the platform has.

What is the € 3 import duty, and what do you pay it on?

It is a fixed import duty of € 3 per declaration line on e-commerce consignments up to € 150, since 1 July 2026. Before that, such consignments were free of import duty (Dutch Customs, abolition of the import duty exemption for e-commerce). Each product type in the consignment is its own declaration line. So a parcel with one type of product costs € 3, a parcel with three types € 9.

The duty applies regardless of the VAT system, so also if you use the Import scheme. It is temporary: from 1 July 2026 to 1 July 2028 (European Commission, Access2Markets, 30 June 2026). After that, the normal EU customs tariff replaces the € 3, with no exception for e-commerce (Dutch Customs, timeline of new e-commerce rules).

Without the Import scheme, the import duty also counts for the import VAT. Import VAT is charged on the customs value, which includes the import duties and the costs of transport to the place of destination (VAT Act 1968, art. 19). So the customer then also pays VAT on the € 3.

Is another € 2 added from 1 November 2026?

Yes, according to Dutch Customs. Anyone declaring e-commerce goods from outside the EU that go straight to a consumer in the EU pays a European handling fee of € 2 per declaration line from 1 November 2026. That applies to all e-commerce consignments, also if the value is more than € 150 (Dutch Customs, handling fee for e-commerce, updated 22 October 2026).

Dutch Customs gives its own example: a parcel with 2 pairs of trousers, 3 jumpers and 1 pair of shoes has 3 declaration lines, and so costs € 6 in handling fees. The fee is based on Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/2152 of 21 September 2026 (Dutch Customs, handling fee for e-commerce).

Two points matter for an online shop. The fee is not refunded, not even if delivery fails or the customer refuses or returns the parcel. And the fee is not part of the customs value, but Dutch Customs does charge VAT on it. If you use the Import scheme, you charge that VAT to the consumer (Dutch Customs, handling fee for e-commerce).

Also from 1 November 2026, the declaration must contain a product identifier, a code that lets Dutch Customs recognise the product (Dutch Customs, timeline of new e-commerce rules). Your supplier or carrier files the declaration, but needs correct product data from you or your supplier to do so.

What does a € 40 parcel cost extra now?

That mainly depends on the number of product types. The VAT does not change under the new rules, the fixed amounts do. Suppose you sell a € 40 parcel excluding VAT to a customer in the Netherlands, with one product type. This is a worked example, not a market price.

With the Import scheme you charge 21% VAT, which is € 8.40. On top come € 3 import duty and, from 1 November, a € 2 handling fee, plus VAT on that € 2. If there is a second product type in the same parcel, the fixed amounts double. For a cheap € 10 product, € 5 per product type is already half the price.

Who pays the fixed amounts? They are paid by the declarant, usually the postal or courier company. They pass them on, to you or to your customer, depending on the arrangements (Dutch Customs, handling fee for e-commerce). State clearly in your shop beforehand what the customer still has to pay on delivery, or include it in your price.

Why do those few euros matter for your sales?

Because online buyers are very sensitive to tax on the price. Researchers looked at purchases on eBay in the United States. A 1 percentage point rise in a state's sales tax increased online purchases by residents by almost 2%, and reduced their purchases from online shops in their own state by about 3 to 4% (Einav, Knoepfle, Levin & Sundaresan, 2014).

That study is about American tax, not European import duties. It does show that buyers click away when tax makes the price higher than they expect. An unexpected bill at the door therefore works against you, even if the amount is small.

What do you arrange now as a dropshipper?

1. Choose your VAT route. With the Import scheme the customer pays nothing at the door, but you file a return every month.
2. Include € 3 import duty and, from 1 November 2026, a € 2 handling fee per product type in your price or your shipping costs.
3. Agree with your supplier and carrier who pays the fixed amounts, and ask which product data they need for the product identifier.
4. Bear in mind that the handling fee does not come back on a return.
5. Keep the Import scheme records for 10 years.

Also in dropshipping you remain responsible for the product information and the customer's rights, such as the right of withdrawal. Those rules are separate from the VAT and the import duties.

Sources

• Belastingdienst, VAT knowledge group, KG:210:2022:5 Dropshipping, place of supply, last updated 20 March 2025. kennisgroepen.belastingdienst.nl
• Belastingdienst, Importing goods and supplying them to customers in the EU, accessed 28 October 2026. belastingdienst.nl
• Belastingdienst, Reporting VAT through the One Stop Shop, accessed 28 October 2026. belastingdienst.nl
• Belastingdienst, Selling goods through a digital platform, accessed 28 October 2026. belastingdienst.nl
• Dutch Customs, More clarity on abolishing the import duty exemption for e-commerce, 11 June 2026, updated 15 June 2026. douane.nl
• Dutch Customs, Handling fee for e-commerce, updated 22 October 2026. douane.nl
• Dutch Customs, Timeline of new e-commerce rules, accessed 28 October 2026. douane.nl
• European Commission, Access2Markets, EU applies 3 euro customs duty per item to low-value e-commerce consignments, 30 June 2026. trade.ec.europa.eu
• KVK, VAT rules for e-commerce in the EU, accessed 28 October 2026. kvk.nl
• VAT Act 1968 (Wet op de omzetbelasting 1968), articles 19, 28u and 28v, in force from 1 January 2026. wetten.overheid.nl
• Einav, L., Knoepfle, D., Levin, J. & Sundaresan, N. (2014). Sales taxes and internet commerce. American Economic Review, 104(1), 1-26. doi.org