📃 Updates for international shipping and information on Value-Added Tax fees for products going to the European Union.


🇪🇺 What is VAT and how is it changing in the EU?

A Value-Added Tax or “VAT” is a tax that’s imposed on sales of goods in foreign countries. While Europeans are used to paying VAT on everything they buy from businesses in their country, the new laws going into effect mean they will have to start paying VAT on anything they buy from other countries as well.

Previously, low-cost shipments going to the EU valued at €22 (22 euros) or lower weren’t subject to these VAT taxes. But with the new changes every shipment sent to the EU is subject to VAT, no matter the value.


✅ For VAT fees, you don’t *have* to do anything differently, unless…

You are not required to pay the VAT tax on behalf of your European customer. If the VAT tax has not been paid ahead of time, the recipient must pay the VAT tax before they receive the package from their country’s customs department. Before the package is delivered, they will be notified and asked to pay the VAT by their country’s local package delivery service.

If you made the sale on a marketplace like eBay, Etsy, or Amazon that collected the VAT tax from your customer and is paying it on their behalf, you will need to include their IOSS or “Import One-Stop Shop” number in your customs form when creating the shipping label, to make sure the customer isn’t charged VAT again. If you have an IOSS number for us to use with an international order, make sure to include the number in your order sheet.


🤔 So… what should you do differently for international orders?

As noted above, if you have an IOSS Number that shows that your customer has already paid their VAT tax, make sure to include it with their order in your order sheet. This data should be added to a new IOSS column in your order sheet OR added to a new line below the name of the recipient. Otherwise, the customer will pay the VAT tax when the order is delivered to them. Here is an example using the IOSS number within the address:


Mr. Firstname Lastname
IOSS: IM4870000225
1234 Streetname, Unit 5678
City, State 12345
Country

🚀 Better shipping options, still a low price

We are working hard to keep international shipping prices as low as possible for our customers. We also understand that the international shipping services we offer need to be fast and reliable.

Enhanced end-to-end tracking will soon be standard for all international orders we process. This will allow all orders to be tracked even after they have left the US. The price we charge for international shipping will have to be updated to reflect the higher costs we pay for postage. These prices will start at $3.99 and go up depending on the country the item is being shipped to. We will update this page soon with the adjusted prices as soon as we have all the best possible deals to offer our customers finalized by country.

You should see either USPS international tracking numbers (which you can track using USPS Tracking as usual) or tracking numbers that start with “AHOY.” These numbers (the following example uses tracking number “AHOY1Z4AXCN8”) can be tracked using the following link: https://a1.asendiausa.com/tracking/?trackingnumber=AHOY1Z4AXCN8


💬 Need Help?

If you have any questions or need assistance, feel free to Contact Us and we will do our best to help you in a timely manner!