The direct route, costed
Each parcel arriving from outside the EU now carries the temporary flat duty of €3 per tariff heading — the four-digit code that classifies each product type. On top sit the carrier handling fee for the customs declaration, which commonly runs between €2 and €6, and import VAT, collected through the Import One-Stop Shop (the EU scheme for declaring VAT on distance sales, shortened to IOSS).
Take 5,000 parcels a month at an average of two tariff headings each:
| Component | Per parcel | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| Flat duty (2 headings) | €6.00 | €30,000 |
| Declaration handling | €3.50 | €17,500 |
| Cross-border freight | €4.50 | €22,500 |
| Total | €14.00 | €70,000 |
The bulk route, costed
The same goods travel as one consignment. A 40-foot container from Shenzhen to Rotterdam clears customs once, under one declaration, at the standard tariff rate for those goods — frequently between 0% and 12% depending on product category. From the warehouse each order ships as a domestic EU parcel.
| Component | Per parcel equivalent | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| Sea freight, container share | €0.90 | €4,500 |
| Customs duty at standard rate | €1.80 | €9,000 |
| Warehousing and pick-pack | €2.20 | €11,000 |
| Domestic EU parcel | €4.20 | €21,000 |
| Total | €9.10 | €45,500 |
At this volume the bulk route saves roughly €24,500 a month. The figures are illustrative — freight rates and tariff percentages vary by product and season — but the shape holds: the flat duty punishes parcel count and product variety, while bulk import spreads one clearance across thousands of orders.
Where the break-even sits
Bulk carries fixed costs that direct shipping avoids: warehouse minimums, stock funding and an EU presence to import under. Those fixed costs are absorbed at somewhere around 1,500 parcels a month for single-category sellers, and considerably earlier for sellers whose average order spans several tariff headings.
The capital question
Bulk import ties up money in two places. Stock sits in the warehouse until it sells, and import VAT falls due at the border. On a €500,000 container at 21% that second item is €105,000 advanced to customs and recovered weeks later through the VAT return.
That is the specific problem the Dutch deferment licence solves: import VAT moves from the border to the periodic VAT return, where it is declared and deducted on the same form. See the import VAT deferment licence for how it works and who can hold one.
What bulk buys beyond cost
- Delivery time. Next-day or two-day delivery within the EU, against ten to twenty days from Asia.
- Returns. A local return address, which raises conversion and satisfies consumer expectations in Germany and France.
- Marketplace standing. Amazon and Bol.com weight delivery speed and cancellation rates in their ranking.
- Compliance footing. An EU importer serves as the responsible person under product safety rules, covered in the EU responsible person requirement.
Last verified: 20 July 2026. Figures are illustrative and depend on product classification, freight contracts and warehouse terms.
The follow-up question
Most readers arrive here from Importing into the Netherlands as an EU company or move on to Calculating import duty and VAT in the Netherlands.