Before the UK left the EU's single market and customs union, a customs invoice was only needed when sending a parcel outside of the EU. However, from 1st January 2021, a customs invoice is now needed when sending parcels to EU countries too (including Germany).

If you aren't familiar with this process, don't worry it's quick and easy to do. Our booking form will gather all the information needed to generate a customs invoice on your behalf. Once you've paid for your parcel delivery, the label and 5 copies of the customs invoice will print off - which you can simply attach to your parcel.

Duties and taxes may also apply when sending a parcel to Germany. Any outstanding duties and taxes will need to be paid by your recipient before the parcel can be delivered to them.

HM Revenue & Customs has more information on tax and customs considerations for postage to Germany.

It’s your responsibility to ensure your parcel’s contents are allowed into Germany - failing to do so may result in extra charges, the parcel being returned or possibly even destroyed. Avoid this by making sure you don’t send anything on the restricted or prohibited list. You should also take care to package the parcel carefully before you post to Germany. 

As with all deliveries outside the UK, there may be certain restrictions around what items you can and cannot send to Germany. Therefore, you should check the contents inside are allowed into Germany.

We advise our customers take a look at the current restrictions on shipments on the German Customs website to ensure compliance with the items that can’t be sent. Some examples of items you can’t post include when you send a parcel to Germany include: