What changed
€150 cap on the EU IOSS removed; platforms deemed suppliers at any value
When
Council general approach November 9, 2026; applies from July 1, 2028
Who it affects
Non-EU brands and marketplaces selling imported goods to EU consumers
What to do
Map EU orders over €150 and plan VAT-inclusive pricing

Key takeaways

  • From July 1, 2028, IOSS covers imported EU orders of any value and platforms owe the VAT on all sales they facilitate.
  • Orders over €150 shipped from outside the EU change most: VAT moves from the doorstep into the checkout price.
  • On our €400 example, holding the price costs about €64 per order in Germany, so plan pricing now.

How the EU ends the €150 import threshold

  1. VAT applies to all imports; IOSS covers up to €150

  2. €3 duty per item on parcels up to €150

  3. €2 handling fee per item starts

  4. Council agrees to drop the €150 IOSS cap

  5. IOSS at any value; platforms owe VAT on all sales

What the EU agreed on November 9

The Economic and Financial Affairs Council reached a general approach on a VAT directive that removes the €150 limit on the IOSS, according to a Commission news item and a RegFollower summary of the Council press release. The IOSS lets a seller or platform register in one EU country and report VAT on imported sales to consumers across the bloc. Until now it only covered consignments up to €150.

The Commission says this completes the package that ends the €150 de minimis threshold for ecommerce, after the customs duty exemption for low-value parcels was removed under the customs reform. The IOSS has collected more than €21 billion in VAT since it started, per the Commission.

  • IOSS can be used for goods of any value, through one registration
  • IOSS extends to sales of goods held in EU customs warehouses
  • Platforms become responsible for VAT on all sales they facilitate, at any value
  • Start date: July 1, 2028, once the EU Customs Data Hub is running
  • Goods subject to excise duty stay outside the scheme
  • Commission review of the scheme by December 1, 2030

It is not law yet

A general approach is the Council's agreed position, not final adoption. The Commission says the European Parliament will be consulted again on the text before the Council formally adopts the directive. The July 2028 date is tied to the Customs Data Hub, so a delay there would move it. We could not read the Council's own press release, which blocked automated access, so the details here come from the Commission and from summaries of the Council text.

The detail most coverage misses: high-value orders are the ones that change

Headlines frame this as another hit on cheap parcels from Shein and Temu. The bigger change is for brands that sell goods over €150 straight from the US, UK or Asia. Today those orders cannot go through the IOSS, so the shopper usually pays import VAT, plus any courier charge, when the parcel arrives. That surprise at the door drives refused deliveries.

From July 2028 those orders can carry VAT in the checkout price. RegFollower says platforms will also generally need to show applicable VAT and customs charges in the final price. German tax firm KMLZ adds that, under the draft, marketplaces become the mandatory debtor of import VAT and can no longer pass that liability to the customer. Summaries differ on scope: RegFollower describes the deemed supplier rule as applying to non-EU platforms, while the Commission says platforms in general. Check your platform's position when the final text is published.

So what: the money on one order

The price the shopper sees rises, or your margin falls, because VAT moves from the doorstep into your listing. Example with illustrative numbers: a US brand sells a €400 jacket to a shopper in Germany, where the standard VAT rate is 19%. Today the shopper pays about €76 of import VAT on delivery, on top of the €400. After the change, the brand either lists the jacket at €476 including VAT, or keeps €400 as the VAT-inclusive price and nets about €336 after €64 of VAT goes to the tax office. That is €64 less per order, or 16% of revenue, if you hold the price.

The upside is real too. Shoppers no longer get a bill at the door, so refusals and returns on high-value EU orders should fall, and you compete on an equal footing with brands that already hold stock in the EU. On Amazon's European stores, stock sent into EU fulfillment centers is a domestic sale, so this rule mainly hits cross-border shipping, not Pan-European FBA.

A €400 order to Germany, today vs 2028

TodayFrom July 2028
Can use IOSSNo, over €150
Who pays VATShopper at the doorCollected at checkout
Price shown€400 plus surprise bill€476 or VAT-inclusive
Seller nets (price held)€400About €336

What sellers should do before 2028

Use the long runway to fix pricing and logistics rather than reacting in 2028. Our guide to selling on Amazon Europe covers the EU stock option, and our international expansion page sets out the market order we use.

  • Finance lead: export 12 months of EU consumer orders shipped from outside the EU and split them at €150. Metric: share of EU revenue above €150.
  • Ecommerce manager: confirm whether your store or carrier already uses IOSS for orders under €150, and ask your provider for a plan to extend it to all values. Metric: share of EU orders with VAT collected at checkout.
  • Marketplace manager: ask Amazon, eBay, Etsy and any other platform you use how they will show VAT-inclusive prices on items over €150 and what that does to your payout. Metric: net payout per order on your top 10 EU SKUs.
  • Pricing owner: model VAT-inclusive EU prices for every SKU over €150 and decide, by country, whether to absorb or pass on VAT. Metric: contribution margin per EU order.
  • Ops lead: compare shipping direct, a customs warehouse and stock released into the EU. Metric: landed cost per unit including duty, VAT and the €2 handling fee.
  • Customer service: record today's refused-delivery rate on EU orders over €150 as a baseline. Metric: refusals before and after July 2028.

When this does not apply

Sales from stock already released for free circulation inside the EU are domestic sales, not imports, so they stay under the normal VAT and One Stop Shop rules. B2B sales are outside the consumer distance sales rules. Excise goods such as alcohol and tobacco are excluded. UK sales follow separate UK rules. The text can still change before adoption, so treat this as a planning guide, not tax advice, and confirm with a VAT adviser.

Where PPC Spider fits

When VAT moves into your listing price, your break-even ad cost per EU market moves with it. A free Amazon audit shows which EU campaigns still pay at the new margin, and brands shipping from their own site can talk to our Shopify team. More trade and tax changes are on our ecommerce marketplace news channel.

Sources

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