Short answer: an Oopbuy parcel to Belgium pays Belgian VAT (21% on most goods) and, since 1 July 2026, EU customs duty: a flat €3 per item type on online orders worth up to €150. The EU expects to add a €2 handling fee per item type from 1 November 2026. Whatever wasn't paid when you shipped, the delivery company collects before it hands over your parcel, usually with its own fee on top.

If your last haul to Belgium came in before July, the next one will cost a little more. The EU dropped the €150 duty-free limit, so small parcels from China generally pay duty as well as VAT now. Here's what that looks like for a Belgian address. The full EU rules, with every source, are in my EU customs and VAT guide.

What you pay on a parcel to Belgium

  • VAT: 21% on most goods. That's Belgium's standard rate. Like everywhere in the EU, it's calculated on the items plus shipping and customs duty, not just the item price.
  • Customs duty: €3 per item type on online orders worth up to €150. Above €150, or for a parcel that doesn't fall under the flat rate, the normal duty rate for each product applies.
  • The EU handling fee, expected from 1 November 2026: €2 per item type, on parcels of any value.
  • The delivery company's clearance fee, if it pays customs for you. Who delivers depends on the line you pick, and each company sets its own fee. You'll see the amount on its payment request.

The €3 counts item types, not items

The European Commission's own example: five T-shirts in one parcel are one item, so €3. A T-shirt and a watch are two items, so €6. It goes by customs category, not by how many pieces you ordered. In practice customs counts the lines on the customs form, so identical items should sit on one line.

A worked example

Example numbers, not a quote. Say your parcel holds a hoodie (€30) and a pair of sneakers (€45), with €18 shipping, nothing paid upfront, and the parcel falls under the €3 rate:

  • Customs duty: two item types × €3 = €6
  • VAT: 21% of €99 (€75 goods + €18 shipping + €6 duty) = €20.79
  • Plus the delivery company's clearance fee

So roughly €26.79 plus the carrier's fee on €75 of goods, and from November the expected €2-per-item-type EU handling fee comes on top. If Oopbuy already collected the VAT when you submitted the parcel, the €20.79 drops off.

What Oopbuy handles

Oopbuy's customs page says that for parcels worth up to €150 its system generally collects the VAT when you submit the parcel. When I checked on October 21, 2026, that page didn't mention the €3 duty or the coming EU handling fee. So before you pay for shipping, look at what your line includes. If it doesn't say duties are covered, expect a payment request before delivery.

Oopbuy also says customs risks, like extra taxes, delays or a returned parcel, are yours to carry. That's standard for agents, and one more reason to keep your declaration accurate: the value on the form should be what you actually paid.

My take: plan one parcel with a few item types and keep it at €150 or less if you can. Several small parcels can mean paying the €3 again for the same item type, plus a clearance fee on each one.

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How long shipping to Belgium takes

Oopbuy doesn't list a delivery time for Belgium, and its help pages give two different general ranges: 5 to 12 days from the warehouse to your address on one page, about 15 to 30 days depending on the destination on another. I'd rather not invent a Belgian number on top. Check the estimate for the line you pick in Oopbuy's shipping calculator, choose a line with tracking, and leave a few days for customs. How lines and weight pricing work is in Oopbuy shipping explained.

Sources

All checked on October 21, 2026.

  1. Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382 (EUR-Lex): end of the €150 duty relief and the €3 duty from 1 July 2026; split and undervalued parcels.
  2. European Commission (DG TAXUD): temporary flat fee FAQ: what counts as an item, the T-shirt example.
  3. European Commission, Access2Markets: €3 customs duty per item: the duty is applied per line on the customs form.
  4. European Commission guidance on the €3 duty and the Union handling fee, 5 October 2026 (PDF): the €2 handling fee.
  5. Your Europe: VAT rules and rates: 21% standard rate in Belgium.
  6. Oopbuy: Customs and Taxation, Delivery Notice and Delivery Time.