Customs duty 3 € and a new fee 2 €: This is how charges for shipments from China will be calculated from November. Note: the number of parcels doesn’t matter!

Two weeks ago we wrote that in addition to the three-euro customs duty on parcels from China, a new 2 € handling fee will be added from November 1st. Now we know how retailers will charge it in practice. Banggood, as our partner, sent us the details and it follows from them that for some orders you’ll pay more than you’d expect, but for others you can actually save.

How the fee is calculated: 5 € for each type of goods

For a parcel from China up to €150, you pay customs duty of 3 € and from November also a handling fee of 2 €, so together 5 €. However, this amount is not applied to the whole parcel—it’s calculated for each type of goods that customs distinguishes based on the classification code, the so-called HS code. According to the European Commission, one item of goods with the same classification, description, and origin counts as one item—so five identical cables are one item. But a charger, a case, and headphones in one parcel are three items with different classification and will cost you 15 €, to which VAT on the fee may be added. So what matters is the customs classification, not the number of pieces in the parcel.

For more expensive goods over €150, instead of a 3 € customs duty you pay the standard customs duty based on the type of goods (for phones it’s zero), but the 2 € handling fee still applies, because unlike customs duty it has no price limit and no “end date” when it stops. The Commission, in the guidance for customs authorities, also points out that the fee belongs in the VAT base, so VAT may also be charged on it. The fee is not refunded even if you send the goods back.

Banggood currently charges a flat fee of 6 € per parcel

To let the shop calculate the fee precisely, it has to automatically recognize the HS code for each product. Banggood is still finishing this system, and that’s why until then it charges a temporary flat fee of 6 € per parcel regardless of how many different products are in it. This is Banggood’s own transitional solution, which they informed us about as a partner—not an EU rule—so other retailers may calculate differently. When Banggood switches it on, it will move to the exact calculation according to the EU rules, i.e., 5 € for each type of goods.

Why 6 € and not 5 €? Besides customs duty 3 € and the fee 2 €, you also need to factor in VAT, because the fee is, according to the European Commission, part of the taxable base. With the Slovak rate of 23 %, from the fee 2 € you get 2,46 € and one type of goods actually comes out to 5,46 €. Banggood has rounded this amount in a lump sum to 6 € for the whole parcel.

For one product you’ll pay one extra euro during the transition period compared to what you’d pay under the official formula, but with two different products you’ll already save 4 €, and with three you’ll save up to 9 €. So if you’re planning to buy several small items from a China warehouse on Banggood, it’s worth putting them into one order before the shop moves to the exact calculation.

Why Banggood is charging the fee already now

Customs duty and the fee are already charged by Banggood for today’s orders, even though the handling fee starts being charged only on 1. November. The reason is practical: the parcel from China usually takes two to three weeks to arrive, so what you order today will go through customs processing in the EU only after the first November. It depends on the day when the customs officers accept the customs declaration, not the day you paid.

The advantage is that you pay the fee already in your cart, and the parcel will be delivered to you in DDP mode (Delivered Duty Paid) with customs duty and charges prepaid. When it arrives, you won’t have to pay anything extra to the courier or the post office, and you don’t need to handle customs clearance. Customs duty and the fee are newly paid for every shipment from China, but whether the shop covers them in advance in the cart as Banggood does, or whether you pay them another way, depends on the seller. AliExpress—today, on 21 October—we checked it, and in the cart it charges only customs duty 3 €, with the handling fee not yet included. Since customs duty is collected in advance, in our opinion adding the fee is only a matter of a few days.

Doesn’t apply to goods from EU warehouses

Customs duty and the handling fee are not paid for goods that the seller has already imported into Europe and sends to you from a warehouse in Poland, Czechia, Germany, or Spain. Such goods were cleared in bulk when imported, so you only pay the price in the cart. Plus, you typically receive them within a week, and any possible claim is easier.

That is why we recommend checking first on every purchase whether the product is also available in a European warehouse. On DealPlanet, we’ve prepared a separate overview for you of offers from EU warehouses as well as cheap gadgets from EU warehouses under €50, where you don’t have to deal with any new fees at all. If you shop on AliExpress, also check out our guide on how to look for products from EU warehouses.

November is the month of the biggest discounts

For us and for you, November is the most important month of the year. The clearance sale 11. 11. follows, then Black Friday, and shops at that time offer the best coupons and the lowest prices. The new fees don’t change anything—it just makes it even more important to choose well, and that’s exactly what we do for you every day. We pick the best offers, give priority to EU warehouses, and for items from China we’ll tell you how much you’ll really pay.

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