Duty and VAT on a parcel from abroad: from what value, and how to appeal
Checked: Changed:
In short
- Who it applies to
- Anyone receiving a parcel from outside the EU: both purchases from foreign shops and gifts from relatives. The rules for these two cases are DIFFERENT, and that is the main fork of this page.
- What it costs
- For a purchase: 19% VAT plus duty. VAT is charged not on the price of the goods but on the customs value plus all duties and levies collected on importation. Since 1 July 2026, for consignments worth no more than EUR 150 a transitional duty of EUR 3 per item replaces the abolished relief. For a gift between private people up to EUR 45 — no duty and no VAT.
- How long it takes
- The parcel is not released until what has been charged is paid. An appeal is lodged after the customs decision, and by itself it does NOT suspend that decision — only customs may suspend it, and only on its own grounds.
- Where to apply
- The charge is made by Τμήμα Τελωνείων (the Customs and Excise Department); postal parcels are usually cleared by the postal operator on your behalf. If you disagree with the charge, the first step is not the court: a request for review to the Director of Customs within 60 days of the decision.
- If your case differs
- If you are moving and bringing your own belongings, that is not a parcel but a different rule, and there the relief does exist. Goods from another EU country are not cleared at all.
Deadlines and conditions
| Condition | Legal basis |
|---|---|
| EUR 3 for each item in the consignment | Reg. (EU) 2026/382, art. 2 — a transitional measure. |
| the transitional rate applies while the consignment value does not exceed EUR 150 | Reg. (EU) 2026/382, art. 2 — the ceiling up to which the transitional duty applies. |
| the transitional measure runs until 1 July 2028 | Reg. (EU) 2026/382, art. 2 — the measure applies from 01.07.2026 to 01.07.2028. |
| the former EUR 22 threshold below which no VAT was charged was abolished on 1 July 2021 | Dir. (EU) 2017/2455 — it deleted Title IV of Dir. 2009/132/EC; applicable from 01.07.2021 under Decision (EU) 2020/1109. |
| a gift from one private person to another is relieved up to EUR 45 per consignment | Reg. 1186/2009, art. 26(1) (duty) · Dir. 2006/79/EC, art. 1(2)(c) (VAT and excise). |
| VAT on importation is 19%, the Cyprus standard rate | VAT Law 95(I)/2000, art. 17 «Κανονικός συντελεστής» — 19% since 13.01.2014 · the same figure is given by the Customs Department specifically for importation, on the page “V.A.T. on importation”. |
| the request for review goes to the Director of Customs within 60 days of the decision | Customs Code Law 94(I)/2004, art. 112(1) — consolidation with the amendments of 18(I)/2022; customs itself gives the same period on the page «Δικαιώματα κοινού». |
| if you applied and no decision was issued within 30 days, that too grounds a request for review | Law 94(I)/2004, art. 112(1)(β) — the authority's silence itself gives the right to demand a review. |
| to the court — 75 days from the day the decision came to your knowledge | The Constitution of Cyprus, art. 146(3) — the period for going to court; art. 146(1) gives such cases to the Administrative Court at first instance exclusively. |
| no more than 50 cigarettes in a gift — exceed it and the relief is lost entirely | Reg. 1186/2009, art. 27(a) · Dir. 2006/79/EC, art. 2(1)(a) — exceeding it removes the relief ENTIRELY. |
Your case
If you bought something from a foreign shop and the consignment is worth no more than EUR 150
You pay VAT at the Cyprus rate of 19% and a transitional duty of EUR 3 for each item. This is how it works from 1 July 2026 and runs until 1 July 2028. If the shop charged VAT at checkout, it is not charged again — but the EUR 3 per item still applies. ⚠️ The transitional EUR 3 is available in two cases only: the parcel travels by post, or the shop accounted for VAT through IOSS. A courier parcel from a seller outside IOSS does not qualify — it is charged at the normal tariff, and this is where the mistake costs most.
If the purchased consignment is worth more than EUR 150
The transitional rate does not apply: duty is calculated at the tariff rate for your goods, plus 19% VAT. Splitting an order into several consignments to stay under the ceiling is precisely the abuse for which the threshold was abolished.
If it is a gift from one private person to another, worth no more than EUR 45
No duty and no VAT. But the conditions are strict and all checked together: the sending is occasional, the goods are only for personal or family use, and the sender received no payment of any kind. If you reimbursed your relative for the parcel, it is no longer a gift.
If the gift is worth more than EUR 45
Relief is granted up to EUR 45, and only for those items in the consignment that would have qualified separately; the value of a single item is not split. Tobacco and alcohol are stricter: exceeding the quantity limits removes the relief from the whole consignment, not just the excess.
An appeal does not suspend the decision: the parcel is still not released until you pay
How to contest the charge:
- First step — an αίτημα αναθεώρησης, a request for review addressed to the Director of the Customs and Excise Department: 60 days from the date of the decision. The Director set out how to file it in Notice ΚΔΠ 392/2004 (s. 112 of Law 94(I)/2004).
- If you applied to Customs and no decision was issued within 30 days, that silence itself grounds a request for review.
- The request does not suspend the decision. The Director may suspend it; where duty or tax has been imposed, suspension depends on a guarantee, which may be waived where it would cause the person serious hardship.
- A request for review does NOT extend the deadline for going to court — the two deadlines run in parallel, and waiting for Customs to answer is an easy way to miss the judicial one.
- Second step — a recourse to the court: 75 days from the day the decision came to your knowledge (Art. 146(3) of the Constitution).
- ⚠️ The Customs page in both languages (checked 26.09.2026) points you to the Supreme Court. Since 2015 such cases are heard at first instance by the Διοικητικό Δικαστήριο, the Administrative Court, and that exclusive jurisdiction is written into Art. 146(1) of the Constitution itself.
Sources
- Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382 of 11 February 2026eur-lex.europa.euThe principal source on this topic. Art. 1 deletes the EUR 150 threshold; Art. 2 puts a transitional duty of EUR 3 per item in its place from 1.7.2026 to 1.7.2028; Art. 3 obliges the Commission to check monthly from 1.10.2026 whether trade flows are being diverted.
- Council Regulation (EC) No 1186/2009, consolidated version in force from 1 July 2026eur-lex.europa.euThe relief for gifts between private individuals: Title II Chapter VI, Arts. 25–27 — EUR 45 per consignment, the 'non-commercial character' conditions and the quantity limits on tobacco and alcohol. This chapter was NOT deleted; the neighbouring Chapter V was.
- Council Directive 2006/79/ECeur-lex.europa.euThe VAT side of gifts, a separate instrument from the duty one. Art. 1(2)(c) — the same EUR 45 limit; Art. 2 — the quantity limits; Art. 3 — exceeding a limit removes the relief from the whole consignment.
- Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446, consolidated from 1 July 2026eur-lex.europa.euThe definition of 'goods in postal consignment' (Art. 1(24)), which decides who gets the transitional EUR 3 rate: a distance sale worth up to EUR 150, excluding IOSS-VAT cases and goods benefiting from preferential measures.
- Union Customs Code, Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, consolidated from 12 December 2022eur-lex.europa.euThe right of appeal: Art. 44 — who may appeal and why there are at least two steps; Art. 45 — lodging an appeal does not suspend implementation, while the authority may suspend it on the grounds named in that article.
- VAT Law 95(I)/2000, s. 17 'Standard rate'www.cylaw.orgThe Cyprus rule that states the rate as a figure: 18% from 14.1.2013 to 12.1.2014 and 19% from 13 January 2014. The rate is set by this law, not by the EU directive, which leaves the level of the standard rate to the Member State.
- Customs Code Law 94(I)/2004, s. 112www.cylaw.orgThe Cyprus first step of appeal, absent from the EU rule: a request for review to the Director, 60 days, 30 days for the authority's silence, no automatic suspension, and the guarantee. In force as amended by 18(I)/2022.
- Constitution of Cyprus, Art. 146www.cylaw.orgThe judicial step: para. 3 gives the 75-day deadline from publication or from the day the act came to the applicant's knowledge; para. 1 gives the Administrative Courts exclusive first-instance jurisdiction over such cases.
- Customs and Excise Department: V.A.T. on importationwww.mof.gov.cyThe authority states the rate for importation: 19%. The same page says import VAT is charged as an import duty and that the taxable value includes the customs value plus all duties and levies collected on importation.
- Customs and Excise Department: rights of the publicwww.mof.gov.cyThe authority describes the request for review in its own words: s. 112, 60 days, 30 days for silence, the guarantee, and gives the Notice number — ΚΔΠ 392/2004.
- Customs and Excise Department: postal parcels and private courierswww.mof.gov.cyThe Cyprus specifics of clearing postal parcels: a declaration is needed only when the Director requires one; personal parcels of any value and commercial ones up to EUR 1,000 go through a simplified procedure; the post may return an uncollected parcel to the sender after two months.