Customs charges on delivery to France: a guide for UK sellers

Who pays customs charges when a UK seller ships to a French consumer?

It depends on how you ship, but the duty to tell the customer is always yours. If you ship duties unpaid, the carrier will ask your French customer for import VAT, any customs duty and its own clearance fee before handing over the parcel. French consumer law allows that only if you announced it clearly before the order. If you did not, the customer is not required to pay those charges (Article L. 221-6 of the French Consumer Code), and the omission can be treated as a misleading commercial practice.

Updated: November 2026. Key provisions: Articles L. 112-1, L. 112-3, L. 221-5, L. 221-6, L. 221-7, L. 221-14, L. 221-18 to L. 221-24, L. 121-2, L. 121-3, L. 131-5, L. 242-10 and L. 132-2 of the French Consumer Code (Code de la consommation); Order of 3 December 1987 on consumer price information (arrêté du 3 décembre 1987), Article 1; Article 6 of Directive 2011/83/EU; French customs guidance on low-value parcels (douane.gouv.fr).

This guide is for directors of UK companies selling online to consumers in France and for their French partners. It deals with consumer information, checked by the DGCCRF (the French authority for competition, consumer affairs and fraud control) and its local offices, the DDPP. Customs and VAT are covered only as far as needed; classification, origin and clearance are matters for your customs broker. Victoris is a Paris law firm; UK law is mentioned only to describe your position, and nothing here is advice on English law. All examples are fictitious. If a French partner or your website has been contacted by the authorities, see our page for a lawyer for DGCCRF and DDPP inspections.

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Why a parcel from the UK triggers charges on delivery

Every B2C parcel is now an import

Before 2021, a jumper shipped from Manchester to Lyon moved within the single market: no customs declaration, no French VAT on arrival. Since 1 January 2021 the UK is a third country for the EU. The same parcel now enters the EU customs territory, must be declared, and sums may be due before the carrier delivers it. Your customer only sees that the price on your website was not the price they paid. French inspectors do not check your customs declaration; they check what your customer was told before buying.

Import VAT from the first euro

French customs (the DGDDI) stated in its notice of 30 June 2021 that, from 1 July 2021, distance sales of goods located outside the EU worth less than €22 are no longer exempt from VAT (except in the French overseas departments), and that goods bought online from outside the EU are subject to VAT from the first euro. A €18 lipstick shipped from Edinburgh bears VAT just like a €300 coat.

That VAT is paid in one of two ways. Either you collect it at checkout through the Import One-Stop Shop (IOSS) for consignments of €150 or less, or the carrier collects it from your customer at the door after clearing the parcel on their behalf. French customs warns consumers that, when a website sells without VAT, the carrier may ask them on delivery to pay duties and taxes, including VAT.

Customs duty, the €3 flat duty and the €2 handling fee

Customs duty may come on top. The EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement removes duty only for goods that are "originating" in the UK (see below). For small parcels, two new measures apply in 2026. According to the French customs page on small parcels (petits colis), a flat customs duty of €3 per item category has applied since 1 July 2026 to distance sales worth €150 or less. From 1 November 2026, a handling fee (frais de traitement) of €2 per item category applies to distance sales with no value threshold. Above €150, ordinary customs duties apply, plus the handling fee.

French customs states that platforms, sellers or, where relevant, carriers are liable for these sums, that customs does not ask private buyers to pay them, and that they may be built into the price at checkout or requested later. A French national €2 tax on small parcels, introduced in March 2026, was repealed on 1 July 2026. The customs page does not explain how the €3 flat duty interacts with the zero-duty treatment of UK-originating goods. Ask your customs broker; until you know, do not promise customers that nothing will be payable.

Carrier clearance fees are not taxes

When the carrier clears the parcel for the recipient, it charges for that service. French customs is explicit: these fees, often called "customs fees" (frais de douane), are set by carriers under commercial law and are not taxes collected by the State. They vary between carriers and, on a small order, can exceed the VAT itself. They follow from your choice of carrier and shipping terms, which is why French law puts the duty to disclose them on you.

What French law requires you to show before the order

The total price, including taxes, in euros

Article L. 112-1 of the French Consumer Code requires every seller to inform consumers of prices and conditions of sale, in the manner set by ministerial order. The reference text is still the Order of 3 December 1987. Its Article 1 requires any price information to show the total sum, all taxes included, that the consumer will actually pay, expressed in euros. If your customer still has to pay VAT and a clearance fee at the door, your displayed price is not the sum they will actually pay. And a site aimed at French consumers that shows prices only in pounds sterling does not meet the "in euros" requirement. Breaches are punishable by an administrative fine of up to €15,000 for a company (Article L. 131-5). Our guide to price display rules in France covers the general rules.

Additional charges, or the fact that they may be payable

For online sales, Article L. 221-5 lists the information due before the contract. In its version in force since 19 June 2026, point 2 covers the price, by reference to Articles L. 112-1 to L. 112-4. Article L. 112-3 covers additional freight, delivery or postage charges and any other costs and, where they cannot reasonably be calculated in advance, requires the seller to state that they may be payable. The Directive that these rules implement is more direct. Article 6(1)(e) of Directive 2011/83/EU requires "the total price of the goods or services inclusive of taxes" and "all additional freight, delivery or postal charges and any other costs or, where those charges cannot reasonably be calculated in advance, the fact that such additional charges may be payable".

In our view, import VAT, duties and clearance fees charged on delivery fall within "any other costs". Two levels of information follow. If you know or can reasonably calculate the amount, show it. If you cannot, because it depends on the carrier, the order value or the product's classification, at least warn the customer that charges may be payable on delivery and say what they are. Silence is the one option the law excludes.

A reminder next to the order button

The information cannot sit only in your terms and conditions. Article L. 221-14 requires you, for online contracts, to remind the consumer of the main characteristics of the goods and their price, clearly and legibly, just before the order is placed, next to a button labelled "commande avec obligation de paiement" (order with obligation to pay) or equivalent. A basket summary reading "Total: €95.00" with no word about charges on arrival does not meet this requirement when you ship duties unpaid.

You carry the burden of proof

Under Article L. 221-7, the burden of proving that the pre-contract information was given lies on the seller; Article 6(9) of the Directive says the same: "the burden of proof shall be on the trader". Months after an order, you must be able to show what the customer saw on the date of purchase. Keep dated archives of your product pages, basket and checkout.

Unannounced customs charges: the customer does not have to pay

Article L. 221-6 and Article 6(6) of the Directive

Article 6(6) of Directive 2011/83/EU provides: "If the trader has not complied with the information requirements on additional charges or other costs as referred to in point (e) of paragraph 1 [...] the consumer shall not bear those charges or costs." France transposed this in Article L. 221-6 of the Consumer Code: where the seller has not complied with its information duties on the additional charges referred to in Article L. 112-3, the consumer is not required to pay them. The whole chapter on distance contracts is mandatory (Article L. 221-29). A clause such as "Customers are responsible for all import duties and taxes" does not cure the problem if the checkout never said so clearly.

In practice: refunds of fees paid at the door

These sums are not paid to you: VAT and duty go to the authorities, clearance fees to the carrier. The rule does not stop the carrier from collecting them. It means that, between you and your customer, the customer does not bear them. We read this as entitling a customer who paid unannounced charges to claim them back from you, and preventing you from charging a customer who refused them for the return of the parcel. A Nantes customer who paid €24.60 at the door for a €48 serum ordered from a Bristol website that announced nothing can claim the €24.60 from the seller, go to the consumer mediator or report the website to the DGCCRF (figures fictitious). If complaints pile up, fix the website rather than refunding case by case.

Misleading omission and penalties

Under Article L. 121-3, a commercial practice is misleading if it omits, hides or provides too late essential information. For any invitation to purchase, essential information includes the price including all taxes and the delivery charges payable by the consumer, or how they are calculated. A product page with a price and an "Add to basket" button is an invitation to purchase. Telling customers about import charges only in the dispatch email or the carrier's text message may be treated as information given too late. Our guide to misleading commercial practices in France explains the general tests.

The risk grows when your website says the opposite of what happens. Statements such as "No customs fees for EU customers" or "All-inclusive prices" become false if you ship duties unpaid or if your goods do not qualify for zero duty. That is a false or misleading claim about the price or delivery conditions under Article L. 121-2.

Penalties are significant. Breaches of the information duties in Articles L. 221-5, L. 221-6 and L. 221-14 carry an administrative fine of up to €75,000 for a company (Article L. 242-10), imposed by the DGCCRF or the DDPP after an adversarial procedure. Price display breaches fall under Article L. 131-5. A misleading commercial practice is a criminal offence punishable by two years' imprisonment and a €300,000 fine, which can rise to 10% of average annual turnover; when committed online, the penalties rise to five years and €750,000 (Article L. 132-2).

DDP or DAP: what each option means for your price display

Carriers and the ICC Incoterms rules use two familiar terms. Under DDP (delivered duty paid), you handle import formalities and pay the import charges: the customer pays nothing on delivery. Under DAP (delivered at place), import formalities and charges are left to the recipient. French consumer law does not impose either option. It requires your price display to match the one you chose.

DDP: simpler for customers, demanding for you

DDP removes surprises at the door and most refused parcels. You organise clearance, advance VAT and duty, and build them into your price. For consignments of €150 or less, IOSS is the tool for VAT. The specific risk is an "all-inclusive" claim that is not always true. Take a fictitious Edinburgh skincare brand with a banner reading "EU delivery - all duties and taxes included". It uses IOSS, but its carrier charges some customers on orders above €150, where IOSS no longer applies. For those orders the banner is wrong. Test orders are a simple way to check that your carrier does what your website promises.

DAP: lawful if you warn customers clearly

DAP remains lawful. French law does not prevent you from leaving import charges to the customer; it prevents you from not saying so. A fictitious Birmingham seller of electric toothbrushes and hair clippers can ship DAP to France, provided each product page shows, under the price, a line such as "Shipped from the UK: import VAT, any duty and the carrier's clearance fee are payable on delivery", in French and in euros, with a link to an estimate, and the basket repeats it before the order button.

IOSS: a VAT tool for consignments up to €150

French customs describes IOSS as an optional scheme that simplifies declaring and paying VAT on distance sales of imported goods worth €150 or less. The seller collects VAT at the time of sale, which must therefore be made inclusive of VAT, and the import is then exempt from import VAT; customs tells consumers that, where the seller is registered, VAT will not be claimed on arrival. IOSS covers VAT only. It does not remove the €3 flat duty, the €2 handling fee, carrier fees or ordinary duties, and it does not apply above €150. Registration conditions for a UK-based seller are a tax question outside the scope of this guide.

Origin: the EU-UK agreement does not make everything duty-exempt

French customs explains the Trade and Cooperation Agreement as follows: the agreement exempts from customs duty all products originating in one party when imported into the other, subject to the agreement's rules of preferential origin. Products that do not meet those rules pay the EU common external tariff.

The common e-commerce case is a UK company selling, under its own brand, goods made outside the UK, stored in an English warehouse and shipped to France. Shipping from the UK does not, by itself, make a product UK-originating. Without sufficient processing in the UK under the agreement's rules, the product will not, in principle, benefit from the exemption, and duty may be payable in France. A fictitious Leicester brand selling bedside lamps designed in England but made in Asia, with the claim "Made by a British brand - no customs duties in the EU", is wrong twice: on the origin suggested and on the price. If you have not checked the origin of each product, do not promise "no duties"; either ship DDP and absorb the duty, or warn customers that duty may be payable. Origin rules are a customs matter; ask your broker.

Refused parcels: withdrawal, refunds and return costs

Is a refused parcel a withdrawal?

The French Consumer Code does not expressly treat a refused parcel as an exercise of the right of withdrawal. Under Article L. 221-21, the consumer withdraws by sending the model form or any other unambiguous statement. In practice, a customer who refuses the parcel almost always writes to ask for a refund, and that message will usually count as a withdrawal. Treat it as one: the customer has 14 days from receipt of the goods to withdraw without giving reasons (Article L. 221-18). What happens to the charges then depends on what you announced before the order.

If the charges were clearly announced

Ordinary rules apply. You must refund all sums paid, including standard delivery costs, within 14 days of being told of the withdrawal, and you may withhold the refund until you get the goods back or proof of dispatch (Article L. 221-24). The customer bears only the direct cost of return, and only if you said so before the order (Article L. 221-23 and point 8 of Article L. 221-5).

If the charges were not announced

The customer did not have to pay them (Article L. 221-6), and the refusal follows from your failure to inform. In our view you should refund the full price and delivery costs with no deduction, and bear the cost of the parcel's return. Recovery of import VAT and duty when goods leave the EU again is a customs procedure not covered here; Article L. 221-6 lets the customer claim unannounced charges from you.

Checkout wording and a short checklist

Place the information where the customer decides. On each product page, a line under the price states whether import duties and taxes are included. For DAP, it names the charges payable on delivery and, if possible, gives an amount or range. The basket repeats it next to the total, before the order button. For DDP, "Import duties and taxes included: nothing to pay on delivery" is useful only if it is true for every order it covers; if it applies only below a value or to some products, say so in the same sentence. All of this is in French, with prices in euros.

Your terms of sale complete the picture but do not replace it. For DAP, a clause can state that goods are shipped from the UK, that the price excludes import VAT, any duty and the carrier's clearance fee, which are collected on delivery, and that their nature and estimated amount are shown on the product page and in the order summary. A clause that does not match your logistics creates more risk than it removes.

1. Prices shown to French consumers are in euros and include all taxes.
2. Each product page says whether import charges are included or payable on delivery.
3. For DAP, the amount, or at least the existence and nature, of charges on delivery is shown before the order.
4. The basket repeats the price and charges next to the "order with obligation to pay" button.
5. "Duties included" or "no customs fees" claims are true for every order covered (€150 threshold, product origin).
6. Return costs, if borne by the customer, are stated before the order.
7. There is a refund procedure for unannounced charges.
8. Refunds after withdrawal are made within 14 days, standard delivery included.
9. Checkout pages are archived with dates.
10. Product origin and clearance arrangements have been checked with a customs broker.

If an inspection is under way or complaints have started to arrive, the order of corrections and how they are presented to the authority matter as much as the corrections themselves.

Frequently asked questions

Who pays customs charges on a UK order delivered to France?

Under DDP, the seller pays import VAT, any duty and clearance fees, and the customer pays nothing on delivery. Under DAP, the carrier collects them from the customer. Either way, the seller must say so clearly before the order. If it did not, the French customer is not required to pay those charges (Article L. 221-6 of the French Consumer Code).

Can a French customer get unannounced customs fees refunded?

Yes, from the seller. Where the seller failed to disclose additional charges, the consumer does not bear them (Article L. 221-6, implementing Article 6(6) of Directive 2011/83/EU). The customer can claim a refund, refer the dispute to the seller's consumer mediator or report the website to the DGCCRF. The seller must prove that the information was given (Article L. 221-7).

DDP vs DAP: which should I use when selling to French consumers?

French consumer law accepts both. DDP avoids charges at the door and most refused parcels, but your "all-inclusive" price must really be all-inclusive. DAP is lawful if each product page and the basket clearly warn that import VAT, any duty and carrier fees are payable on delivery. The choice is commercial and logistical; the display must match it.

What happens if a French customer refuses a parcel because of customs fees?

The refusal is not in itself a withdrawal, but the customer's refund request usually is. If you had announced the charges, ordinary withdrawal rules apply, including direct return costs if you disclosed them. If you had not, refund the full price and delivery costs with no deduction.

Are goods shipped from the UK duty-exempt under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement?

Only if they are UK-originating under the agreement's rules of origin. Goods made elsewhere and simply shipped from a UK warehouse do not, in principle, qualify. Since 1 July 2026, a €3 flat duty per item category also applies to distance sales of €150 or less. Origin and classification are questions for your customs broker.

Do I have to show prices in euros on my UK website for French customers?

Yes. Article 1 of the Order of 3 December 1987 requires price information to show the total sum, all taxes included, actually payable by the consumer, expressed in euros. A company that breaches it faces an administrative fine of up to €15,000 (Article L. 131-5).

Key points

You cannot control import VAT, duty or carrier fees, but you control what French customers see before they order. Charges on delivery are lawful when clearly announced, in French and in euros, on the product page and in the basket. When they appear only at the door, the customer need not pay them, and the DGCCRF may treat the omission as misleading. If you are receiving complaints about delivery charges or a French partner has been contacted by the authorities, book a consultation to review your checkout.

Article written by Guillaume Leclerc, lawyer at the Paris Bar, 34 avenue des Champs-Élysées, Paris. Working languages: French and English.

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