Import VAT and Duty in Ireland
Irish VAT Rates on Imports
Ireland is a full EU member state inside the EU VAT area, so imports carry Irish VAT at Irish rates. The standard rate is 23%. Reduced rates and a zero rate apply to specified supplies.
| Rate | Applies to |
|---|---|
| 23% | Standard rate — the majority of imported goods |
| 13.5% | Applied to specified supplies, including fuel, electricity, certain construction services and a range of labour-intensive services |
| 9% | Applied to specified supplies, including certain tourism and hospitality related goods and services |
| 4.8% | Applied to specified supplies, including the supply and hire of livestock, greyhounds and horses |
| 0% | Zero-rated supplies such as certain food, books and children's clothing |
Revenue's guiding principle is that the rate on import matches the rate that would apply to a supply of the same goods in the Irish domestic market. Classification and rate are therefore the same decision, not two sequential ones. If a consignment contains goods at different rates, it must be split by line; declaring the whole shipment at one rate either overpays or under-declares.
The VAT Taxable Amount
The most common under-declaration on Irish imports comes from getting the base wrong. Revenue's manual sets it out as three components:
| Component | Treatment |
|---|---|
| Customs value | Included — the CIF value of the goods, normally transaction value under the Union Customs Code |
| Customs duty, excise and other charges at import | Included |
| Transport from the EU point of entry to the Irish place of importation | Included — the add-back most often missed |
That third line is the differentiator. If a container discharges at Rotterdam and moves by feeder to Dublin, the cost of moving it from Rotterdam to the Irish place of importation sits inside the Irish VAT base. Shippers who calculate VAT on the CIF value alone under-declare, and the shortfall is assessed later.
Worked Example
A shipment of consumer electronics from Shenzhen to Dublin. Figures are illustrative only.
| Step | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Invoice value of goods | EUR 10,000 | Transaction value |
| Ocean freight and insurance to EU frontier (CIF) | EUR 1,200 | Gives a customs value of EUR 11,200 |
| Customs duty at 4% under the TARIC code | EUR 448 | Indicative electronics rate; the binding rate comes from the ten-digit code |
| Transport from EU entry point to Irish place of importation | EUR 350 | The add-back that is most often missed |
| VAT taxable amount | EUR 11,998 | Customs value plus duty plus the onward transport leg |
| Irish import VAT at 23% | EUR 2,759.54 | Assessed on the full taxable amount |
Note that the duty sits inside the VAT base, so the two compound. A duty rate error therefore produces a VAT error as well — which is why the ten-digit TARIC code matters more than any other single field on the declaration.
Customs Duty Under TARIC
Ireland applies the EU Common Customs Tariff, accessed through TARIC. Codes run to ten digits: six of Harmonized System, two of CN subdivision and two identifying the EU measure. It is the final two digits that carry preferences, suspensions, quotas and trade-remedy duties.
There is no China–EU free trade agreement. Chinese-origin goods are therefore normally assessed at MFN rates rather than preferential ones, and the declaration carries the erga omnes tariff arrangement code. Indicative ranges by category, for budgeting only:
| Category | Indicative EU MFN duty range |
|---|---|
| Consumer electronics and components | roughly 0–6% |
| Machinery and mechanical appliances | roughly 0–3.7% |
| Textiles and apparel | roughly 8–12% |
| Footwear | roughly 8–17% |
| Furniture | roughly 0–2.7% |
| Toys | roughly 0–4.5% |
These are indicative planning ranges only, derived from the structure of the EU MFN tariff. The binding rate always comes from the ten-digit TARIC code. Never budget from a category average.
Low-Value Consignments: Three Rules, Not One
Three separate mechanisms are routinely conflated. Separating them prevents the most expensive small-parcel mistakes.
| Rule | Value | What it actually does |
|---|---|---|
| EU VAT de-minimis | Abolished 1 July 2021 | No value is exempt from VAT. The old EUR 22 relief no longer exists anywhere in the EU. |
| Duty relief threshold | EUR 150 customs value | Consignments at or below EUR 150 may be relieved of customs duty. VAT still applies in full. |
| Temporary per-item duty | EUR 3 per item | From 1 July 2026, on consignments of EUR 150 or less, running until the EU Customs Data Hub goes live. |
The EUR 3 charge is assessed per item — goods sharing the same tariff classification, description and, where relevant, origin — and in practice operates per declaration line. The Commission's own examples make the mechanics clear: five T-shirts in one parcel is EUR 3; a T-shirt and a watch together is EUR 6.
It is payable by the declarant — the seller, importer, IOSS holder or indirect representative — not by the consumer, and it applies regardless of which VAT scheme is used. Classification granularity therefore has a direct cost consequence: an H7 declaration needs six-digit HS codes, an H6 needs eight-digit CN codes and an H1 needs full ten-digit TARIC. Coarser data means more lines, and more lines means more EUR 3 charges.
Postponed Accounting and Payment
Irish VAT-registered businesses can use postponed accounting instead of paying import VAT at the border. The VAT is reported on the periodic VAT 3 return — at T1 or T2, offset at PA1 — and reclaimed in the same period, so the cash never leaves the business.
It only works if the declaration carries the correct statement. In AIS, that is code 1A05 entered at data element 2/3 with the narrative IEPOSTPONED. In AEP, it is code 1A01 in Box 44 with the same narrative. Omit it, and Revenue treats the VAT as payable at import.
Businesses not registered for Irish VAT pay at import and have no straightforward recovery route. That is the point at which DDP, with VAT baked into the landed price, becomes the more workable structure than DAP.
Budgeting Checklist
- Classify every product line to ten digits before you quote — the duty rate and the VAT rate both follow from it.
- Build the VAT on the full taxable amount: customs value, plus duty and charges, plus the EU-entry-to-Ireland transport leg.
- Check whether any line falls at or below EUR 150 customs value for duty relief — but remember VAT still applies.
- Model the EUR 3 per-item charge on high-volume small-parcel flows before the first shipment, not after.
- Confirm Irish VAT registration and set up postponed accounting with the correct IEPOSTPONED statement before cargo moves.
- Split mixed-rate consignments by line rather than declaring the whole shipment at one rate.
Frequently Asked Questions
Irish import VAT is charged at 23 percent standard, with reduced rates of 13.5, 9 and 4.8 percent on specified supplies and 0 percent on certain zero-rated goods. Revenue's principle is that the rate on import matches the rate that would apply to a supply of the same goods in the Irish domestic market.
The taxable amount is the customs value (CIF) plus customs duty, excise and other charges at import, plus transport from the EU point of entry to the Irish place of importation. That final onward-transport add-back is the component importers most often miss, and omitting it under-declares the VAT.
EUR 150 is a customs duty relief threshold, not a VAT threshold. Consignments with a customs value at or below EUR 150 may be relieved of customs duty, but VAT applies at every value because the EUR 22 relief was abolished EU-wide on 1 July 2021.
From 1 July 2026, a temporary duty of EUR 3 per item applies to consignments of EUR 150 or less, running until the EU Customs Data Hub goes live. An item is goods sharing the same classification, description and where relevant origin, applied in practice per declaration line: five T-shirts is EUR 3, a T-shirt and a watch is EUR 6.
Irish VAT-registered businesses can use postponed accounting, reporting the import VAT on the periodic VAT 3 return rather than paying at the border. The declaration must carry code 1A05 at data element 2/3 in AIS or code 1A01 in Box 44 in AEP, in both cases with the narrative IEPOSTPONED.