Whether you pay import charges depends on your country's threshold, the declared value of the parcel, and increasingly on whether the tax was collected at checkout. Many AliExpress orders arrive with nothing to pay. Above your national threshold, expect VAT or duty plus a carrier handling fee.
One honest caveat before the detail: import thresholds change frequently, and several major markets have revised theirs in the last two years. Treat everything below as how the system works rather than as current figures, and confirm the specific numbers with your own customs authority before ordering something expensive.
The three ways charges reach you
Collected at checkout. Increasingly common. The EU, UK, Australia and others require marketplaces to charge VAT at the point of sale on low-value goods. If your basket showed a tax line, the parcel should pass through without further charges.
Billed on arrival. The carrier pays customs on your behalf and invoices you, usually by text, email or a card through the door. The parcel is held until you pay.
Never charged. Below threshold, or simply not assessed. Low-value parcels are frequently waved through because processing them costs more than the revenue.
What triggers a charge
| Factor | Effect |
|---|---|
| Declared value | The main trigger. Above threshold, charges apply. |
| Product category | Alcohol, tobacco and some textiles carry duty regardless of value. |
| Whether VAT was prepaid | Prepaid parcels usually clear without a second bill. |
| Shipping cost | Many countries include shipping in the taxable value. |
| Multiple parcels, one day | Some authorities aggregate same-day arrivals. |
The handling fee nobody mentions
When duty is owed, the carrier charges an administration fee for paying it on your behalf. On a small parcel this fee routinely exceeds the tax — a few dollars of VAT can arrive with a considerably larger clearance charge attached. It is not a scam, but it is the reason a "cheap" order sometimes becomes an expensive one, and it is worth factoring in before buying anything close to your threshold.
Under-declaration: don't ask for it
Sellers sometimes offer to mark a parcel as a gift or declare a lower value. Two problems. It is customs fraud, and you are the importer — the liability is yours, not the seller's. And it caps your compensation: if the parcel is lost, the declared value is what you can claim. Saving a few dollars in tax to lose the full value of the item is a poor trade.
What to do when a parcel is held for duty
Check post, email, SMS and the carrier's own portal — notices are missed far more often than they are never sent. Pay promptly, because hold periods are finite and unpaid parcels are returned to sender. And keep an eye on your AliExpress buyer protection deadline, which does not pause while customs holds the parcel. More detail in our guide on parcels stuck at customs.
You can watch the parcel move through clearance and into your local network with the tracking tool.