Import VAT and customs charges for EU customers

A new EU import law came into force on 1 July 2026

Before 1 July 2026, EU customers paid VAT at checkout on our website through the IOSS system on orders under €150, and had nothing further to pay when the parcel arrived.

Since 1 July 2026, that is no longer the case. On orders under €150, EU customers must now also pay a customs duty of €3 per product category, plus a carrier handling fee (also called a clearance fee), even when VAT has already been prepaid through IOSS. Prepaying VAT no longer prevents charges on delivery. In its current form, IOSS no longer serves its purpose.

What we decided, and why

Because IOSS no longer protects you from charges on delivery, B4Comics has temporarily removed its IOSS number.

This means VAT is no longer charged at checkout for EU customers. What you pay us at checkout is the goods and the shipping, and nothing else. Everything on the tax side is then settled once, on delivery, with the carrier.

This change brings us nothing. We collect no VAT, we keep no part of the duty or the fee, and our prices are unchanged. We made it because prepaying VAT stopped protecting you from a bill on delivery.

What changed, side by side

Before 1 July 2026 — at checkout: goods + shipping + VAT. On delivery: nothing.

Since 1 July 2026 — at checkout: goods + shipping, no VAT. On delivery: your country's import VAT, €3 per product category on orders under €150, and the carrier handling fee.

Our product prices have not changed. Your checkout total is now lower than before by exactly the VAT that used to be added there, because that VAT is now collected on delivery instead. What is genuinely new is the €3 per product category duty and the carrier handling fee, and neither of them is charged by B4Comics.

What you now pay, and to whom

At checkout, to B4Comics:

  • The price of the goods
  • The shipping cost
  • No VAT

On delivery, to the carrier:

  • Your country's import VAT, at your country's own rate
  • €3 customs duty per product category (orders under €150)
  • The carrier handling fee

A "product category" is the customs classification of the type of item. Several items of the same type are normally treated as one category, and items of different types as separate categories. This classification is applied by customs and the carrier, not by us, so we cannot confirm the count in advance.

Orders under €150 and orders of €150 and above

The €150 is measured on the value of the goods only, before tax. Shipping is not counted towards it. A basket of €140 of products with €20 of shipping is therefore still under the threshold.

Under €150: your country's import VAT, plus €3 per product category, plus the carrier handling fee.

€150 and above: the €3 per product category duty does not apply. The normal standard customs duties apply, exactly as they did before 1 July 2026, alongside your country's import VAT and the carrier handling fee.

Worked example — an order under €150. An order that falls into two product categories. On delivery you pay: your country's import VAT on the order, plus €6 in customs duty (two categories at €3 each), plus the carrier handling fee.

Worked example — an order of €150 or above. On delivery you pay: your country's import VAT on the order, plus the normal standard customs duties for the goods, plus the carrier handling fee. The €3 per category rule does not apply here.

What is knowable in advance, and what is not

Two of the three amounts are knowable before you order. Your country's import VAT rate is published by your own tax authority. The customs duty is €3 for each product category in your parcel — so €3 for an order of one type of item, €6 for two types, and so on, on orders under €150. Only the carrier handling fee is outside what anyone can tell you here, and your carrier publishes it for your country.

We cannot tell you the handling fee amount

We want to be open about this before you ask: we do not know the handling fee amount. It is set by the carrier, not by us, and it varies from one carrier to another and from one destination country to another. We have no way of calculating it in advance for your address. We would rather say so than give you a figure that turns out to be wrong. Your carrier can tell you its own fee for your country.

We receive none of this money

None of these charges are paid to B4Comics. Import VAT and customs duty go to your own country's customs authority. The handling fee goes to the carrier. Nothing reaches us.

This is temporary

This arrangement is temporary. It will last until July 2028 at the latest, because the law is expected to be relaxed. If that happens sooner, we will return to a simpler set-up and update this page.

Talks with FedEx are ongoing

We are currently negotiating with FedEx to have the handling fee removed or reduced. Nothing is in place yet, so please plan on the basis of the charges described above. This page will be updated if and when that changes.

Customers outside the EU

Nothing changes for you. This applies to EU customers only. If your delivery address is outside the EU, your order is unaffected.

Returns and cancellations

Because these charges are set out in advance, we cannot accept a return, or a cancellation once the parcel is in transit, on the grounds of these import charges. Placing an order means accepting these charges.

Refusing a parcel is not a way to cancel an order. If you want to stop an order, write to us before it is dispatched — that is the only point at which we can act. Once the parcel has left Japan it must be accepted, and the import VAT, the customs duty and the carrier handling fee must be paid to the carrier, by you, before the parcel can be released.

If you want to return the goods afterwards, our usual return conditions apply in full: the request must reach us within 7 days of delivery, the items must be unused and in their original unopened packaging, return postage is at your expense, and consumables such as pens, inks and markers cannot be taken back once opened. The import VAT, the customs duty and the carrier handling fee are not refundable by us in any circumstance: the parcel has already been cleared, that money went to your own customs authority and to the carrier, and we never receive it. The original shipping cost is not refunded either.

If an item arrives damaged, faulty, not what you ordered or missing from your parcel, that is a different matter entirely and we put it right as we always have.

Last updated: 29 July 2026