You find the bag you want, you pay, you wait. Then the courier rings the bell and asks for more money before handing over the parcel: import duties, import VAT and a fee for clearing it through customs. It is the most common surprise in buying online from abroad, and it depends on one choice the shop makes before your order leaves: DDP or DAP. At Piquadro the choice is made for you: we ship to more than 50 countries, and to every one of them DDP, so there is nothing to pay at your door.
Table of contents
- Do I have to pay customs when ordering from Italy?
- Where Piquadro ships: more than 50 countries
- DDP vs DAP: what is the difference
- What happens when duties are not prepaid
- Customs fees from Italy to the US, the UK, Switzerland and Canada
- How Piquadro ships: DDP only
- Frequently asked questions
- Conclusion
- Sources
Do I have to pay customs when ordering from Italy?
It depends on where you live and on how the shop ships.
- Inside the European Union: no. An order shipped from Italy to another EU country travels within the single market, with no customs.
- Outside the European Union: import duties and taxes are almost always due. The only question is who pays them, and when. If the shop ships DDP, they are already in the price you pay at checkout. If it ships DAP, you pay them on arrival, to the courier.
With Piquadro the answer is simple: we ship to a great many countries, and everywhere we ship DDP. The courier will not ask you for anything on delivery.
Where Piquadro ships: more than 50 countries, everywhere DDP
We ship to the whole European Union and to many countries outside it, across Europe, the Americas, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific. Wherever your order goes, it ships DDP: the price you see is final, and nothing is due when it arrives.
| Area | Countries | To pay on delivery |
|---|---|---|
| European Union | Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden | Nothing: no customs within the EU |
| Rest of Europe | United Kingdom, Switzerland, Norway, Albania, Moldova | Nothing: duties and taxes already in the price |
| Americas | United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Panama, Costa Rica | Nothing: duties and taxes already in the price |
| Middle East | United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Israel | Nothing: duties and taxes already in the price |
| Asia and Pacific | Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines, New Zealand | Nothing: duties and taxes already in the price |
DDP vs DAP: what is the difference
DDP and DAP are two of the Incoterms, the international rules published by the International Chamber of Commerce that say who pays what in a shipment. They were written for trade between companies, but couriers and online shops use the same words for parcels sent to consumers.
- DDP, Delivered Duty Paid: the seller takes care of everything, import clearance, duties and taxes included. It is the rule that puts the most responsibility on the seller.
- DAP, Delivered At Place (once called DDU, Delivered Duty Unpaid): the seller pays for transport, the buyer handles import clearance and pays duties and taxes on arrival.
| DDP | DAP | |
|---|---|---|
| Who pays import duties and taxes | The seller, already in the price | You, on arrival |
| Who handles import clearance | The seller | You, through the courier |
| Courier clearance fee | None for you | Often added to your bill |
| What happens at your door | You receive the parcel | The parcel is released once you pay |
| Final cost known at checkout | Yes | No |
What happens when duties are not prepaid
When an order travels DAP, duties and taxes are the receiver's responsibility, and express couriers generally do not deliver until they have been paid. DHL, for example, explains it in its customer FAQ, and its terms and conditions add two details worth knowing:
- when the courier pays duties to customs on your behalf, it can charge a fee for doing so, on top of the duties themselves;
- if the receiver refuses to pay, the parcel goes back to the sender.
So when a shop ships DAP, duties, taxes and the courier's fee are added on arrival to what you paid online. That extra bill is the reason why so many people search for "customs fees from Italy" after their order has already shipped.
Customs fees from Italy to the US, the UK, Switzerland and Canada
Rules change from country to country, and several changed recently. Here is what applies today in four of the countries where people most often buy from Italy. For a Piquadro order the result is the same in all of them, and in every other country we ship to: nothing to pay on delivery.
United States
Since 29 August 2025 the United States has suspended the duty-free de minimis treatment for low-value parcels from every country. U.S. Customs and Border Protection is clear: all applicable duties, taxes and fees must be paid on these shipments, whatever their value. In practice every parcel from Italy now goes through customs with duties to pay: if they are not prepaid by the seller, the courier collects them from you.
United Kingdom
For goods up to £135, UK VAT is charged by the seller at the point of sale. Above £135, normal import VAT and customs duty apply when the goods enter Great Britain, and they are collected on arrival unless the seller has already paid them.
Switzerland
The Swiss customs office does not collect duty or VAT amounts up to 5 francs, but above that threshold both are due, and couriers and the post add their own clearance fees, which the customs office does not set.
Canada
For courier shipments from countries other than the United States and Mexico, Italy included, the duty and tax free threshold is only 20 Canadian dollars. Above it, duties and taxes apply.
How Piquadro ships: DDP only
We want buying a Piquadro bag from anywhere to feel like buying it in one of our stores: you choose, you pay, it is yours. No calculations, no waiting at customs, no bill at the door. That is why Piquadro ships every order DDP.
- Everywhere DDP: we ship to the whole European Union and to many countries outside it, and every order, to every country, ships DDP.
- The price you see is final: in every country where we sell outside the European Union, the price on the product page already includes import duties and taxes. In the EU it includes VAT, and there is no customs.
- Nothing to pay on delivery: the courier will not ask you for duties, taxes or clearance fees.
- Express courier: orders outside Europe travel with DHL Express or an equivalent express courier, and we take care of customs clearance.
The full list of countries is in the table above: in each of them, nothing is due on delivery. You can find the same commitment in our FAQ. Ready to choose? Start from our backpacks, our travel collection or our gift ideas.
Frequently asked questions
Will the courier ask me to pay duties when my Piquadro order arrives?
No. Every Piquadro order ships DDP: import duties and taxes are already included in the price you pay at checkout, and the courier will not ask for anything on delivery.
I received a message asking me to pay customs for my Piquadro order. What should I do?
Do not pay it. Since our orders ship DDP, nothing is due on delivery, so a text message or an email asking you to pay customs fees for a Piquadro order is not legitimate: it is a common scam that uses the names of couriers. Do not click the link and contact our customer service with your order number.
Do Piquadro prices include VAT and duties?
Yes. Prices on piquadro.com are final: they include VAT or sales tax and, for countries outside the EU, import duties and tariffs, so nothing more is due on delivery.
Are there customs for orders within the European Union?
No. Orders shipped from Italy to another EU country travel within the single market, with no customs clearance and no duties.
DDP vs DAP: which is better for me as a buyer?
DDP. You know the final cost when you pay, you do not have to deal with customs and the parcel is not held until you pay. With DAP, duties, taxes and fees are added on arrival to what you paid.
Conclusion
Buying from Italy does not have to end with a surprise at the door. Before you order from any shop outside your country, check whether it ships DDP or DAP. With Piquadro you do not have to: every order ships DDP, and the price you see is the price you pay.
Sources
- International Chamber of Commerce, ICC Academy: Incoterms 2020: DAP or DDP?
- DHL: DDP shipping, duties and taxes FAQ, terms and conditions of carriage
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection: e-commerce FAQs; The White House: suspending duty-free de minimis treatment for all countries
- GOV.UK: VAT and overseas goods sold directly to customers in the UK
- Swiss Federal Office for Customs and Border Security: online purchases and courier shipments
- Canada Border Services Agency: low value shipments
- Which?: online shopping: do I have to pay VAT, import and handling costs?
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