Sending your first parcel abroad in 2027: the US, EU and UK rules that changed

Your first order from abroad has come in.

The packing is the part you already know. The paperwork is the part that has changed most since 2025, and 2027 brings two more dates for the US and a review in the EU.

Here is the short version. Every parcel to a US buyer now needs a proper customs entry with its full value, origin and tariff code. Every low-value parcel to an EU shopper pays a small flat duty plus a handling fee per item.

In the UK, VAT on small parcels is collected at the point of sale, and bigger changes are announced for the next two years.

Checked against official sources on 28 October 2026.

We export packaging from Jaipur to 20+ countries. If I could pass on one lesson to a first-time exporter, it would be this. Customs officers read your papers long before anyone sees your box. Good packing gets the product there in one piece, and good papers get it there at all.

How do you pack a parcel to send abroad?

The method is the same one we teach for a parcel at home. Our lesson on how to pack a parcel has the six steps. A parcel going abroad travels further, changes hands more often and may sit in a warm or damp hub for days. So I would add a few things to the usual steps.

1. Use a new, rigid corrugated box. A reused box with old barcodes is a bigger risk on a long trip, because more machines read the label.
2. Keep about 6 cm of cushioning between the product and every wall, and wrap each item on its own.
3. Put paper, fabric and anything that hates damp inside a plastic bag before it goes in the box.
4. Pack so that customs can open the box and close it again. Customs can inspect any parcel. Do not bury the product in layer after layer of tape inside the box. We put a copy of the invoice on top, under the flaps.
5. Seal it with the H-taping method and tape at least 48 mm wide. Our lesson on how to tape a box shows how.
6. Write the address in full, with your customer's phone number. The US Postal Service's International Mail Manual (section 122) asks for the country name alone on the last line, in full and in capital letters, and a return address with the sender's full legal name. Your own postal service may have its own format, so check its guide too.

If you ship bottles, oils or cosmetics, read our lesson on packing liquids and check the carrier's list of restricted items first. Batteries, perfume and food each have their own rules, and they differ by carrier and by country.

What changed for parcels to the US

A parcel worth up to $800 used to enter the US without duty. That limit, called the de minimis exemption, has been suspended for every country since 29 August 2025.

On 24 June 2026, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) made the suspension indefinite in its own rules. Separately, a US law passed in 2025 (Public Law 119-21) ends the exemption in law on 1 July 2027.

So what changes for you on 1 July 2027?

In practice, nothing new. The suspension simply becomes permanent law. I would not wait for that date to get the papers right, because every parcel already needs a customs entry with its full value, country of origin and US tariff (HTS) code, and duty is charged on it.

The post has its own track. A simpler "postal informal entry" for mail items worth $2,500 or less started on 24 July 2026. Some mail cannot use it: goods regulated by other US agencies (food and cosmetics are common examples), and items claiming free trade agreement or Chapter 98 treatment. For these, CBP's final rule on postal shipments, published in October 2026, sets 20 January 2027 as the date to comply with formal entry.

If you mail regulated goods to US buyers, ask your postal service or a customs broker before January how your parcels will be entered. I would rather you find out in a phone call than from a parcel stuck at the border.

What changed for parcels to the EU

The EU ended its EUR 150 duty-free limit. From 1 July 2026 to 1 July 2028, a flat customs duty of EUR 3 per item applies to consignments worth up to EUR 150 that use the IOSS VAT scheme or travel by post (Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382). Low-value goods outside IOSS pay the normal tariff.

On top of that, since 1 November 2026 EU customs charge a handling fee of EUR 2 per item on goods sold at a distance to consumers (Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/2152). It is due even when there is no duty.

The word that matters is "item".

In EU law, an item is goods in one consignment that share the same tariff classification, description and origin. I would show these two examples to anyone who packs EU orders.

1. Five identical mugs in one parcel are one item: EUR 3 duty plus EUR 2 fee, so EUR 5.
2. A mug and a coaster in one parcel are two items: EUR 6 duty plus EUR 4 in fees, so EUR 10.

This is simple arithmetic from the law, not a forecast.

Describe every product honestly on the papers, even when an honest description adds an item.

VAT is a separate matter. The EU's Import One-Stop Shop (IOSS) lets you charge EU VAT at the point of sale on consignments up to EUR 150, so the VAT is not collected from your customer at the door. A seller based outside the EU normally needs an EU intermediary to use it. Without IOSS, the VAT is collected at import, usually from your customer.

One more date to watch.

The EUR 3 duty runs to 1 July 2028, and by 1 December 2027 the European Commission must decide whether the EU's customs systems can collect normal duties after that. If not, it may propose to extend the EUR 3 rule. Put 1 December 2027 in your calendar.

What changed for parcels to the UK

For goods sent from outside the UK to customers in Great Britain in parcels worth GBP 135 or less, VAT is charged at the point of sale, not at import. If you sell directly from your own website, you must register for UK VAT and charge it yourself. If you sell through an online marketplace, the marketplace charges and accounts for it. Above GBP 135, normal import VAT and customs rules apply.

The UK Budget published on 28 October 2026 (overview of tax legislation) announced two changes. From October 2027, online marketplaces will collect VAT on sales by UK VAT-registered businesses and other UK businesses above a per-platform threshold of GBP 90,000. And the customs treatment of low-value imports will be reformed by October 2028. Both are announcements. The detailed rules are not published yet.

For a seller sending parcels into the UK from abroad, the paperwork for your first parcel in 2027 stays the same as today.

I will check again when the details come out, and so should you.

The papers that travel with every parcel

These are the details customs officers look for, whichever country the parcel goes to. I would print this list and keep it next to your parcel scale.

1. The right form: a commercial invoice for a courier, or a CN22 or CN23 customs declaration for post.
2. A plain description: "cotton scarf" or "ceramic coffee mug". Never "gift", "sample" or "accessories" for a paid order.
3. Quantity, the value of each unit and the total, in the currency your customer paid.
4. The HS code. The first six digits are shared by most countries. The US uses a 10-digit HTS code built on them.
5. The country of origin, which is where the goods were made, not where you ship from.
6. Weight, plus phone numbers and email for you and your customer.

We keep one set in a clear pouch on the outside and one copy inside on top. If you ship with FedEx, Supply Chain Dive reports a $25 fee for paper trade documents from 18 January 2027, so ask about uploading your invoice electronically.

What to do now, before the 2027 dates

1. November and December 2026: find the HS code for each of your best-selling products and write a one-line plain description for each. Keep them on one sheet with origin, weight and price.
2. Decide, market by market, whether you or your customer pays duty and VAT. Write it on your checkout page.
3. Before 20 January 2027: if you mail food, cosmetics or other regulated goods to the US, confirm how they will be entered.
4. Before your first EU order: decide on IOSS, and work out EUR 3 plus EUR 2 per item into your prices.
5. Send one test parcel to a friend or relative abroad. Ask them to note how long it took, what they paid at the door, and what the box looked like when it arrived.
6. Put 1 July 2027 (US law), October 2027 (UK marketplaces) and 1 December 2027 (EU review) in your calendar.

I will be honest about one limit. I cannot give you duty rates in a lesson like this. They depend on your product's code and the country, and they change, so a carrier's duty calculator or a customs broker is the right place for that number.

If you are packing something unusual for a long trip, tell us what it is through our contact page and we will suggest how to protect it.