Parcel from UK to Germany: gift or sale?

A friend in Germany asks you to send a birthday present. A German buyer purchases a used item from you. A customer asks your UK shop to send an order straight to the person receiving it. Those parcels can look similar from the outside, but their customs purpose differs. Start with the transaction, then prepare the documents and choose transport. This guide covers goods leaving Great Britain and uses official UK, German and EU sources checked on 9 October 2026.

What counts as a private gift for German customs? #

The private-gift relief concerns an occasional consignment from a private individual to another private individual, sent without payment and intended for personal or family use. German customs identifies an intrinsic goods-value limit of €45 for tax-free qualifying gift consignments. Product-specific conditions and quantity limits also matter. The description should identify the actual goods and their supported value. A gift is not valueless just because the recipient did not buy it.

Check all the conditions rather than choosing the gift category because the total is small. Who is sending it? Was there a payment for the goods? Is this occasional personal giving or part of a sales activity? Where an order is dispatched by a business directly to the buyer’s friend, gift wrapping does not turn the business shipment into a private-to-private gift. The commercial transaction remains relevant to customs even if the person opening the box paid nothing.

Is a sale between private people treated as a gift? #

No. If the recipient buys the goods, you cannot support a declaration saying they were sent free as a private gift merely because the seller is an individual. A second-hand jacket, a used camera or a collectible sold through a marketplace has a transaction and value. Keep the listing, agreed price and payment evidence. Describe the item accurately as used where that is relevant, while retaining information about what it is made of and how it is used.

The same reasoning applies when a friend reimburses you for an item and asks you to post it. Explain the actual arrangement if the customs form is unclear. Do not assume that a familiar recipient, private email address or handwritten label establishes gift relief. For a business, train whoever prepares labels to use the order’s real purpose. A customer’s request to mark an order as a gift is not evidence that the relief conditions are satisfied.

How should you value used goods and presents? #

For sold goods, GOV.UK instructs exporters to use the sale price. For goods that are not sold, it says to use market value. That gives you a useful starting distinction between the price a buyer actually paid for a used item and the valuation of a free present. Retain the receipt or other basis for the value. Avoid copying an original new retail price without explaining the item’s condition or using a token amount merely because it is old.

List the contents individually enough to support the valuation and classification. Several items in one gift box are not automatically one customs article because the wrapping is shared. If a gift exceeds the relief conditions, have the operator explain the resulting treatment. Do not calculate the taxable amount by casually subtracting €45 from every total: the rules for multiple items and higher-value goods require their own assessment. The limit describes relief conditions, rather than a universal discount on import tax.

Which documents should travel with a sale? #

For a shop order, prepare an invoice identifying the seller, receiver, product descriptions, quantities, values and currency. State freight or insurance separately where included in the price. A private sale should still have clear transaction evidence available to support the declared contents and value. Ask the booked operator which customs information is supplied electronically and which documents must accompany the parcel. Do not assume that a marketplace payment receipt includes everything its customs process needs.

Check that the recipient’s name and address match the actual delivery, particularly when the purchaser is sending to someone else. Give the operator a working contact channel for clearance. Keep the shipment reference with the documents so a request can be answered without guessing which order it concerns. Business exports from Great Britain also need the relevant EORI and export arrangements. A personal-use exception should not be applied to a shop’s customer orders merely because the products are small.

What tax can an ordinary commercial parcel attract? #

German customs identifies a standard import VAT rate of 19%, with a reduced rate for specified goods. Customs duty depends on the applicable product treatment, origin and declaration. Where tariff-based import VAT is assessed, its base includes the customs value and relevant duties. Ask for the assessment’s individual lines rather than treating every amount requested by the delivery operator as one customs tax.

As a tax illustration, a confirmed import VAT base of €200 at the standard 19% gives €38 of VAT. This is arithmetic on an assumed assessed base, not a courier quote or a claim about the value of your goods. Your actual base may differ because of the transaction, transport and any duty. Use the correct product rate. Keep an operator’s commercial clearance fee separate when explaining the final payment request to the buyer.

For low-value online sales, do not rely on a pre-July 2026 statement that orders below €150 are automatically free of customs duty. The EU changed that treatment from 1 July 2026. The separate EU low-value duty guide explains the mechanics. The point here is the distinction: qualifying private gifts and customer distance sales are different situations, so the gift limit cannot be used as a shortcut for a shop order.

Does UK origin mean a parcel is tax-free? #

Goods that meet the trade agreement’s origin rules may receive preferential duty treatment under the appropriate claim. That is different from claiming private gift relief and different again from import VAT. A parcel sent from a UK address may contain goods originating elsewhere. Obtain the actual origin information before telling the receiver that there will be no duty. Where preference is claimed, supply the supported origin statement or other accepted basis through the agent’s process.

Avoid a single generic UK origin entry for a mixed order if the products do not share that origin. A supplier change can also alter the answer for an item you have sent before. If the duty rate is already zero under the normal tariff, check whether a preference claim has any practical role for that product. The operator can help apply the right treatment, while you remain responsible for accurate product and transaction information.

Are food, alcohol and other presents covered automatically? #

No. The gift value limit does not remove product restrictions or special quantitative conditions. Check the particular goods before buying transport, especially where a present contains food, alcohol, tobacco, medicines or materials from protected species. GOV.UK’s export guidance and German customs provide the starting points for those checks. The fact that a recipient could buy a similar product in Germany does not establish that this import is permitted through your chosen parcel service.

Give the operator the full contents of a mixed gift or order. Do not describe a box of several different articles merely as personal effects unless that accurately describes the applicable movement and procedure. For a product the service cannot handle, change the shipment arrangement rather than the wording. For a shop, resolve permission and service support before promising dispatch; otherwise the customer receives a customs problem your packing team cannot fix.

What about replacements and stock sent to Germany? #

A replacement sent by a shop is not automatically a private gift or a shipment without customs value. Explain the original sale and replacement to the agent, retain the supporting records and check the correct procedure. Likewise, stock sent to a German fulfilment partner remains a commercial stock movement. The person receiving the box does not become the purchaser simply because their home appears on the delivery label.

With AirPost’s local fulfilment, a suitable verified sender can hold an agreed stock batch and pack your orders from home. The shop arranges the batch import and applicable registrations before domestic orders leave from the cleared stock. Check capacity, packaging and fees before sending goods. The Germany local stock guide covers that setup, which has a different purpose from both a private present and an individual UK customer shipment.