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POSTING RULE

Send Cosmetics (Commercial) 🇩🇪 Germany

ANSWER

Can I post Cosmetics (Commercial) to Germany?

ALLOWEDVERIFIED · 2026-07-26LOW CONFIDENCE

Personal-quantity cosmetics can be posted to Germany; product registration applies to selling, not to personal parcels.

QUANTITY / LIMITS

Personal-use quantities; bulk or repeated identical shipments are treated as commercial imports

DOCUMENTS

  • Commercial invoice or proof of purchase showing the transaction value

DECLARATION

Required at the destination customs authority

SOURCE

zoll.de
Verify against the official customs authority before acting on this answer.Report a correction

Full Details

Posting cosmetics to Germany in personal quantities is permitted — registration and notification regimes govern marketing cosmetics, not personal parcels. Zollkriminalamt / Zoll (German Customs — Federal Customs Administration) applies the ordinary parcel framework to an accurate CN22/CN23 declaration: import VAT/GST at 19% applies above the exemption threshold, plus duty on above-threshold consignments. The EU removed the €22 VAT exemption for low-value goods on 1 July 2021. Now all imported goods regardless of value are subject to VAT when sold to EU consumers. Customs duty de minimis remains at €150 — goods above €150 may attract customs duty. VAT is collected at import or via the Import One-Stop Shop (IOSS) for distance sellers. Aerosols and nail varnish are dangerous-goods limited quantities for air mail; bulk or repeated identical parcels are treated as unregistered commercial imports.

PRACTICAL ADVICE

Keep parcels to personal quantities and declare contents specifically ('face cream', not 'gift'). Check carrier rules for aerosols and nail varnish — they are the commonly refused items in this class.

OFFICIAL SOURCES

POSTING DETAILS

QUANTITY / WEIGHT LIMITS

Personal-use quantities; bulk or repeated identical shipments are treated as commercial imports

DOCUMENTATION REQUIRED

  • Commercial invoice or proof of purchase showing the transaction value

COUNTRY POSTING NOTES

Deutsche Post DHL and customs coordinate for international parcel clearance. VAT applies to all imported goods. Items above €150 customs value require payment of customs duty. Prohibited items are seized by customs.

Sending Cosmetics (Commercial) to other countries

RULES5,339COUNTRIES85ITEMS111CARRIERS28GUIDES46UNIQUE SOURCES645LATEST VERIFICATION2026-07-26MethodologyChangelog