Dropshipping from China, no EU warehouse. Does Germany apply to us at all?
Your store sells, your supplier ships each order from China directly to the German customer. Whether German VAT touches you depends on a detail most stores never consciously chose.
It depends on who acts as importer of record.
If the customer imports (shipping terms like DAP: the parcel arrives and the customer or carrier settles import VAT and, since 1 July 2026, the €3 flat duty): your supply happens outside Germany for VAT purposes. No German registration, but your customers face surprise fees at the door, which shows up in your reviews and refund rate.
If you import (DDP: you or your agent are the debtor of the import charges so the customer pays nothing at delivery): § 3 (8) UStG shifts the place of your supply into Germany. That means German VAT registration, charging 19%/7% at checkout and monthly returns, exactly like a domestic seller. Most stores that scale choose DDP for the customer experience, and that choice is the tax trigger.
DAP and DDP are tax structures, not just shipping options
On DAP terms the customer is the importer: import VAT (19% on most goods) plus the new €3 flat duty per sub-€150 consignment are collected from them, usually with a carrier handling fee on top. Your sale legally takes place where transport begins, outside German VAT. The compliance is light; the checkout price is a lie the customer discovers at the door.
On DDP terms you are the importer: the goods clear in your name, you pay import VAT and duty, and your onward supply to the customer is a German domestic sale under § 3 (8) UStG. You register, charge German VAT openly at checkout, reclaim the import VAT you paid, and the customer gets the price they saw. More compliance, better conversion.
The €150 exemption is gone; the economics moved
Until 30 June 2026, sub-€150 parcels entered duty-free and the whole model leaned on that. Since 1 July 2026 every consignment carries at least the €3 flat duty (transitional until July 2028, when full tariff-based duties arrive with the EU Customs Data Hub). Import VAT was already due since 2021. The per-parcel friction now favours consolidated imports and EU stock more than ever.
For marketplace dropshippers a separate rule matters: on B2C orders up to €150 sold through a marketplace, the platform is deemed supplier and handles the VAT via its IOSS. That covers the marketplace channel only. For your own store, IOSS registration for sub-€150 parcels exists as a scheme (it requires an EU intermediary for non-EU sellers); we do not offer IOSS filings, and for German-focused stores the DDP-plus-registration route is usually the more durable structure.
Choosing the structure deliberately
- Read your checkout and carrier contracts. Whatever they say about duties and import charges defines who the importer is today. Most stores discover they are accidentally DAP.
- Decide on the customer experience. Surprise fees at the door kill repeat rates for German customers. If Germany is a core market, DDP or EU stock usually wins.
- If DDP: register before switching. The registration takes 4 to 8 weeks; switching terms before the number exists creates unfiled German sales from day one.
- If you move to German stock later: the analysis becomes the standard warehouse case: registration from unit one, filings at €79 per month (or €853 per year) with an existing Steuernummer or €1,199 per year all-in: German VAT registration, all monthly filings and the annual return, billed yearly starting at signup including the registration.
Tell us which side of the fork you are on.
Two sentences about your shipping terms and volumes. A licensed German tax advisor answers in writing with the structure that fits, no call required.
Get a written answer Licensed German tax advisor · English throughout · No calls requiredAsked about this setup
For B2C orders up to €150 shipped from outside the EU and sold through a marketplace, the platform is the deemed supplier and remits via IOSS. Above €150, or off-marketplace, the DAP/DDP analysis on this page applies to you directly.
The €150 customs duty exemption ended. Every consignment now carries a €3 flat duty (transitional until July 2028) on top of the import VAT that was already due. On DAP terms your customers pay it at the door; on DDP terms it lands in your cost base.
No. We do not offer IOSS filings; non-EU sellers also need an EU-established intermediary for IOSS, which is a different service category. What we do handle is the German registration and filings when you sell DDP or hold German stock, and honest advice on which structure fits.
Only if the paperwork actually names someone other than you as importer of record and your customer contracts match. In disputes the Finanzamt and customs look at the declarations, not the supplier's marketing. Worth checking one real shipment's documents.
Sources & official references