Update on International Shipping

It has been a few months since the recent EU (European Union) change on Value Added Tax (VAT) came into effect on July 1^st, 2021. Despite this change, there have been some issues with customs in different countries not adhering to the new VAT/IOSS guidelines, which has caused duplicate VAT charges to be paid upon pickup. 

If you ship parcels, packages, products of any value to the EU (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden), we encourage you to use APC DDP service instead of DDU.

Read on to become an international shipping expert.

What is the difference between DDP and DDU?

The difference between DDP and DDU is that with DDP, taxes, and duties are assessed to the shipper after customs clearance and the buyer does not pay any customs fees or taxes. With DDU, the buyer of the product will pay taxes and duties at the time of pickup. 

The Implementation of DDP (Delivery Duties Paid Service) Worldwide

Stallion Express will now offer DDP postage options to the EU and Worldwide through our International partner carrier APC Postal Logistics.  With DDP, all shipments will be evaluated prior to their arrival to the destination country, which bypasses custom delays and increases delivery times and reliability. APC uses private carriers for the final mile delivery instead of relying on the local post offices of the destination country. If you use DDP service outside of the EU, IOSS/VAT does not apply and the taxes and duties will be charged back to you once we get the invoice from our carrier (approximately 4-6 weeks). 

What about IOSS? 

When the IOSS number is included with the purchase of DDP postage going to the EU, there will not be any additional customs fees and taxes assessed to the buyer of the postage. Using DDP along with an IOSS number will bring forth an increased satisfaction in international shipping for both the buyer and seller.  When you ship DDP to the EU without an IOSS number, Stallion Express receives a bill for the customs fees and taxes, then assesses and applies it to your account after we receive our monthly invoice.

Will you still offer DDU? 

DDU service remains available however, it is expected that there will be clearance delays due to the removal of the €22 threshold for VAT collection.

This option is not recommended if you already have an IOSS number and your customer has been charged at the time of sale.

Tips to increase deliverability of International Shipments 

1. Ship DDP. Whether you include an IOSS number or not, shipping DDP is a much more reliable and satisfactory service. Using an IOSS number and DDP for EU will guarantee no additional charges being assessed to the buyer of the postage. Some countries such as Australia do not charge Canada fees up to $750USD so DDP is already enabled. For other countries such as the UK, we recommend using DDP. Research what country you are shipping to in order to find out what fees they may charge at customs. This will give you an idea of what fees will be assessed and applied to your account, if shipping outside of the EU or without an IOSS number.
2. Always ensure that the address you have entered is correct. Verify the address format of the country you are shipping to and be aware of any special characters which are used to format things such as: the unit number or street number, postal/zip code, and country or region.  
3. Always ensure that the contents description is specific and details the type of product you are shipping. This will avoid shipments being flagged by customs if your shipment description is too vague. 
4. Always monitor the tracking for your international shipments by viewing both Stallion tracking and our partner carrier’s tracking to get the latest updates on your shipment. We recommend that your customer also monitors the tracking daily, as sometimes they may have the shipment waiting to be picked up before the allotted time period expires. 
5. Always ensure that your packaging choice is best for your product and the inside is filled adequately so it does not get damaged in transit. Since international shipments travel a further distance and are handled by multiple carriers, it is important that your product is in safe, ship-ready condition. 

As always, the team at Stallion Express is here to help answer your questions and concerns! Get in touch with our customer support team through email, live chat, or our toll-free phone number.

Aman Chopra

Aman looks after the content marketing department at Stallion Express. He is passionate about helping businesses grow by providing informative and up-to-date trends in the eCommerce industry. Outside the office, you can find him on the soccer field cheering on Real Madrid.