As a rule it pays import VAT from the first euro, at 19% or 7% depending on the goods, plus customs duty. The exception is an occasional gift between private individuals worth up to €45, with no payment from the receiver, which enters exempt.
Shipping from Brazil to Germany starts with a commercial or proforma invoice showing a precise description, the real value and the origin, plus a full German address and a phone number. On arrival, EU rules apply: import VAT from the first euro and, since 1 July 2026, a flat €3 duty per item on sales up to €150.
Germany is the largest consumer market in the European Union and a demanding one at the border. German customs read the invoice literally, so a vague description is what turns a three-day clearance into a two-week one. Ten minutes on the paperwork buys back that week.
What changed in 2026 for parcels entering Germany?
The European Union scrapped the customs duty relief for consignments worth up to €150. Since 1 July 2026, distance sales in that band pay a flat duty of €3 per declared goods item, not per parcel. Source: German customs (Zoll), September 2026.
A goods item is a tariff classification, not a unit. Four pairs of socks pay €3; two pairs of socks and a pair of trainers pay €6, because that is two classifications. The flat duty runs from 1 July 2026 to 1 July 2028 (European Commission, June 2026).
VAT did not change. Since 1 July 2021, every consignment arriving from outside the EU pays import VAT regardless of value (Zoll). In Germany the standard rate is 19%, with a reduced 7% for food, books and a short list of other goods.
When the seller is registered for IOSS, the EU import one stop shop, VAT on sales up to €150 is collected at checkout and is not charged again on entry (Zoll).
Does a gift sent to family in Germany pay tax?
It does not, provided four conditions are met at once: the shipment is occasional, sent by one private individual to another, intended for the personal or household use of the recipient, with no payment in return, and worth up to €45 in goods. Within that limit Germany waives both duty and import VAT. Source: Zoll, Geschenksendungen, September 2026.
The word "occasional" carries weight. A purchase between private individuals on an auction site does not count as a gift, and four boxes in the same month to the same address take the shipment out of the rule.
Inside the €45 limit, some goods have their own cap, set in quantity rather than value: 500 g of coffee or 200 g of extracts, 50 g of perfume or 0.25 litre of eau de toilette, 1 litre of spirits above 22% alcohol plus 2 litres of still wine, and 50 cigarettes or 10 cigars or 50 g of smoking tobacco (Zoll).
Above €45 the shipment is taxed. For non-commercial consignments between private individuals worth up to €700, a single flat duty of 2.5% on the value applies instead of item-by-item tariffs, under Annex I of the EU Combined Nomenclature. German VAT is then charged on top.
What is due on each type of shipment?
The table matches the type of shipment with what is payable on arrival, under the rules in force in September 2026.
Type of shipment | German VAT | Customs duty | Who usually pays |
Gift between individuals, up to €45 | Exempt | Exempt | Nobody |
Gift between individuals, €45 to €700 | Due, 19% or 7% | Single flat duty of 2.5% | The receiver, unless DDP |
Sale to a consumer, up to €150 | Due, via IOSS or on entry | €3 per goods item, until July 2028 | Seller or importer declares |
Sale to a consumer, above €150 | Due on entry | Per the customs tariff | Whoever the Incoterm names |
Shipment to a German company | Due on import | Per the customs tariff | The importing company |
Every consignment entering Germany needs a customs declaration, and in practice the carrier files it from what you wrote on the invoice (Zoll). That is why a generic description is expensive: "gift" or "sample" classifies nothing and sends the box to inspection.
Which documents does the shipment need?
The core is the same as for any destination: a commercial invoice for a sale, a proforma invoice for a gift, with full sender and receiver details, an item-by-item description, quantity, unit value, total value and country of origin. How to fill in each field, with a worked example, is in the guide to the commercial invoice for international shipping.
Three points weigh more in Germany. The purpose has to appear on the invoice, because that is what puts a gift inside the €45 rule. A company recipient clears with an EORI number, the EU economic operator registration, and without it the shipment waits. And the HS code speeds up classification, which matters now that the €3 flat duty is charged per classification.
On the Brazilian side, the courier files a DRE (Declaração de Remessas de Exportação, the simplified export declaration) for goods worth up to US$ 1,000 that need no licence; above that, or when a licence applies, the filing moves to the DU-E, Brazil's standard export declaration (Receita Federal, August 2026).
What can't you send to Germany?
The sanitary rules are EU-wide and make no exception for a family parcel. Meat, sausages, milk and dairy from outside the bloc cannot travel in a personal consignment, whether in baggage, by parcel or bought online (European Commission, Your Europe portal, December 2025; Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/2122). That rules out Brazilian cured cheese, linguiça sausage, doce de leite and charque.
Fruit, vegetables, plants and seeds need a phytosanitary certificate issued in Brazil, confirming the goods are free of pests (European Commission). Without it, the seedling and the seed packet are destroyed.
Watch the items that look harmless, too. Guaraná powder, herbs and supplements can fall under food or medicine rules depending on the formula. When the composition is unclear, the safe answer is not to ship it.
Commercial shipments carry one more layer. Coffee, cocoa, soy, leather and timber sold into the EU fall under the European deforestation regulation, which is covered in the guide to shipping from Brazil to Portugal, alongside the rules shared across the bloc.
How is a German address written?
The number comes after the street name, and the five-digit postcode sits before the city, on the same line. The order is full name, street and number, any additional detail, postcode and city, country, and a phone number with the +49 prefix.
A real format example: Maria Souza, Kastanienallee 12, 10435 Berlin, Germany. Ask the receiver to send the address in writing, because German street names are long and one wrong letter moves the box to another district.
For the box itself the basics solve almost everything: a new, sturdy carton, padding on every side, nothing loose inside and old labels removed. The step by step is in the guide to preparing your package for international shipping.
How do you stop the receiver paying on delivery?
Inside the €45 gift rule, nothing is charged. Above it, the default is duties payable by the receiver, which matches the DAP Incoterm, and the bill lands on the German side. If you want the family member or the customer to receive the box with nothing to pay, ship DDP, with duty and VAT settled by you at origin.
For an online store, this choice moves both the final price and the refusal rate. The cost blocks behind that calculation are laid out in the guide to exporting from Brazil.
How long does it take?
Transit time is the sum of the service booked, the pickup city and clearance in Germany, which no carrier controls. The quote shows the estimate for your lane, with no guaranteed release date.
December fills the queue across the bloc. If the box is a Christmas one, send it early. For a destination with a very different rulebook, compare with the guide to shipping from Brazil to Japan.
Frequently asked questions about shipping from Brazil to Germany
No. Since 1 July 2026 the customs duty relief for consignments up to €150 no longer exists in the European Union. Distance sales in that band pay a flat €3 duty per goods item, set to run until 1 July 2028.
No. Meat, milk and dairy from outside the European Union are banned in personal consignments, and the rule covers gifts, samples and online purchases alike. For processed goods, check the ingredient list before packing.
Up to €45 in goods value, with separate quantity caps for coffee, alcohol, tobacco and perfume. Above that the shipment is taxed, and between €45 and €700 a single 2.5% flat duty can apply to consignments between private individuals.
A private individual does not. A German company clears with an EORI number, the EU economic operator registration, so confirm that number before you issue the invoice.
It varies with the service, the pickup city and clearance in Germany, which has no guaranteed date. The quote gives the estimate for your lane, and in December it pays to ship earlier.
Sources
- Zoll (German customs): Geschenksendungen (in German)
- Zoll (German customs): Internetbestellungen (in German)
- Zoll (German customs): Privatsendungen, relief outside the tariff (in German)
- European Commission: Importation and exportation of low value consignments: the EUR 3 temporary customs duty
- European Commission (Access2Markets): EU applies €3 customs duty per item on low-value e-commerce consignments
- EUR-Lex: Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382
- EUR-Lex: Council Regulation (EC) No 1186/2009 on reliefs from customs duty
- European Commission: Your Europe: taking animal products, food or plants into the EU
- Receita Federal: Postal and express shipments: questions and answers (in Portuguese)
Selling into Germany on a regular basis?
Germany rewards sellers who decide three things before every shipment: IOSS, DDP or DAP, the right invoice, and who watches the clearance. With a business account, labels and documents come from one place and you set, shipment by shipment, who pays the duties.
To get started, open a DHL Express business account.
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