If you’re building in the EU and ordering parts from the UK, you may have seen talk of a new customs charge landing this summer. It’s real, it takes effect on 1 July 2026, and the headlines around it have been more confusing than they need to be. So here’s the plain-English version of what’s changing, what it actually costs, and why ordering from us won’t turn into a customs headache.
The short version
For years, small parcels worth under €150 came into the EU free of customs duty. That exemption is ending. From 1 July 2026, the EU is applying a flat customs duty of €3 to low-value consignments arriving from outside the bloc – and since the UK sits outside the EU, that includes orders from us.
This isn’t something we’ve chosen, and it isn’t unique to us. It’s an EU-wide rule that applies to every non-EU retailer shipping into the bloc, introduced as a temporary measure until the EU’s new customs system comes online (expected around 2028). Everyone sending parcels into Europe is in the same boat.
The bit most people get wrong
Here’s where a lot of the online chatter goes sideways. The €3 isn’t simply “€3 per parcel.” It’s charged per product category – meaning each distinct type of product in your order, as defined by its customs classification, carries its own €3.
For a single-item order, that’s just €3. But a typical printer build isn’t a single item. Picture a basket with printed and machined parts, a set of stepper motors, a control board, and a bag of fasteners. That’s several different product categories, and each one attracts its own €3. So a multi-part order might see €6, €9 or more in duty rather than a flat €3.
It’s worth knowing this up front, because if another retailer advertises a blanket “just €3” on a mixed order, the maths may not add up at the border. The charge scales with how many different types of product are in your basket – not with how many items you buy or how heavy the box is.
The good news: we will have it handled for you
This is the part that matters most. You won’t have to calculate any of this, and you won’t be ambushed by a courier asking for money before they’ll hand over your parcel.
We will collect the duty at checkout and ship using a duty-paid delivery service. The customs duty will be worked out and paid in advance, as a clearly itemised line at checkout based on the categories in your order. What you will see at checkout is what you pay – full stop. No “pay €9 to release your parcel” texts, no trips to a collection depot, no nasty surprises on the doorstep. Your order arrives the way it always has: already cleared, already paid, ready to build.
We think that’s how it should be. Plenty of sellers will pass the customs hassle straight on to you. We’d rather take it off your plate.
A note on delivery times
We’ll be straight with you here too. Alongside the new duty, the EU is asking for fuller customs declarations and running more thorough checks on incoming parcels. That extra scrutiny can add a little time at the border, particularly in the first weeks while carriers and customs authorities settle into the new system.
Your order is still picked, packed and dispatched on our usual schedule – nothing changes on our side. The potential delay sits in EU customs clearance, which is outside anyone’s control. Our advice during the transition: allow a few extra days, and you’re unlikely to be caught out.
What about VAT?
Nothing to worry about here. VAT and customs duty are two separate things. VAT is handled exactly as it always has been; the new €3 is a customs duty charged on top, and the 1 July change affects only the duty. Your VAT treatment doesn’t change.
Quick checklist: does this affect you?
If you’re shipping to an address inside the EU, yes – the new duty applies, and we’ll handle it at checkout. If your order is over €150, it falls under the EU’s standard duty rules rather than the flat €3. And if you’re in the UK or anywhere else outside the EU, none of this touches your order at all.
The bottom line
The rules are changing, but your experience with us doesn’t have to. We will built the new duty into checkout, we will ship it paid in full, and we’ll keep being upfront about the one thing we can’t control – the odd extra day at the border. You order your parts; we’ll deal with the customs paperwork.
Got a question about a specific order or how the duty applies to your basket? Drop us a line – we’re always happy to help you get building.
