Our UK shipping breakdown found that Sakuraco and TokyoTreat collect UK shipping and duty upfront while Bokksu leaves the question open. Germany and the rest of the EU use a different rulebook than the UK, and as of July 1, 2026, that rulebook changed in a way none of the three companies’ homepage pricing tables mention: the EU removed its long-standing duty-free allowance for low-value parcels, which means a box that cleared customs for free in June 2026 may now trigger a separate duty notice, even from a company that already collected VAT upfront at checkout.
The short version: TokyoTreat and Sakuraco’s shared help center states they collect $14.99/box shipping plus $7.00/box in “EU Tax and Duties” upfront, via the EU’s IOSS prepayment system, specifically so VAT doesn’t get demanded at the door. But their own separate support article on the July 2026 customs change confirms that prepayment covers VAT only, not the new customs duty, which ships Delivered Duty Unpaid (DDU) and can still arrive as a carrier notice after the box has already shipped. Bokksu, meanwhile, ships to the EU at a flat $15.99/box with no separate tax or duty line at all — its documented $3 prepaid-duty policy is explicitly scoped to “U.S. orders only.”
The EU Rule That Changed on July 1, 2026
Until June 30, 2026, the EU exempted low-value imports (goods worth €150 or less) from customs duty entirely, even though import VAT still applied. That exemption is gone. Per the European Commission’s own guidance on the change, the EU has replaced it with a temporary flat customs duty on low-value consignments from outside the bloc, which applies until July 1, 2028 (after which ordinary tariff-based duty takes over). The change affects every EU member state, Germany included, and applies to parcels from any non-EU country, not just Japan.
This is separate from, and in addition to, the VAT that’s been due on these boxes since April 2026. VAT and customs duty are two different charges collected two different ways:
- VAT can be prepaid at checkout through the EU’s Import One-Stop Shop (IOSS) scheme, which is what lets a seller promise “no surprise fees at delivery.”
- Customs duty on parcels shipped Delivered Duty Unpaid (DDU) is assessed by the destination country’s customs authority and collected by the carrier — meaning a courier can still show up asking for it even when the VAT was paid in full months in advance.
In Germany specifically, if a duty payment is required, Deutsche Post’s own published fee for collecting it is €7.50 (gross), charged for the effort of clearing the parcel through customs and applying regardless of the parcel’s value once a duty is owed. That’s Germany’s version of the £8-12 “Fee to Pay” card we found Royal Mail and Parcelforce charge UK recipients in our UK shipping breakdown, a real, if second-order, cost that doesn’t show up on any subscription box’s pricing page.
TokyoTreat & Sakuraco: VAT Is Prepaid, the New Duty Isn’t
TokyoTreat and Sakuraco (both owned by parent company ICHIGO Inc. and run on shared pricing and shipping infrastructure) publish EU-specific numbers on their shared help center: shipping is $14.99/box and EU Tax and Duties are $7.00/box, stated as “collected upfront to ensure smooth customs processing and avoid unexpected fees upon delivery.” That’s a real, dated commitment, not a vague policy statement, and it’s the same upfront-collection approach we found for their UK customers (who pay a lower $3.00/box duty line, since the UK isn’t part of the EU’s July 2026 change).
The company’s own follow-up support article, published after the EU rule took effect, is explicit that the $7.00/box figure doesn’t extend to the new customs duty: “The Tax & Duties amount collected at checkout covers the VAT… This amount does not cover customs duties (import tariffs), which are a separate charge assessed by the destination country’s customs authority and collected by the carrier.” The same article states boxes ship from Japan via Japan Post on a Delivered Duty Unpaid (DDU) basis, that duty “may” apply and “the rate will vary by country,” and that a subscriber should expect notification from their local postal carrier — by SMS, email, paper notice, or at the door — if a duty payment is required. ICHIGO’s own guidance is careful not to promise this will happen to every shipment, but is equally careful not to promise it won’t.
At 2026 live pricing, a 12-month Sakuraco or TokyoTreat plan runs $32.50/box, and a monthly plan runs $37.50/box (both confirmed directly on their live pricing pages). Add the $14.99 shipping and $7.00 prepaid EU tax, and the checkout total lands at $54.49-$59.49/box before any possible duty notice — a real number you can budget for, even if it isn’t the final one.
- Who this is NOT fully solved for: anyone assuming “I paid the Tax & Duties line at checkout” means there’s nothing left to pay. As of July 2026, that’s no longer guaranteed for EU and German subscribers specifically.
- Who it works well for: subscribers who want the VAT question settled upfront (it is) and are prepared to occasionally deal with a separate, smaller duty notice from Deutsche Post or another EU carrier, the way UK subscribers already budget for possible courier handling fees.
Bokksu: No EU-Specific Commitment, Before or After the July 2026 Change
Bokksu’s own shipping-rate table, published on its help center, lists a single flat rate for “United Kingdom, European Union, Canada, Australia” of $15.99/box, with no separate tax or duty line item the way the US rate ($13.99/box shipping ”+ $3.00 U.S. customs import duties”) explicitly has one. Bokksu’s Customs & Duties help article confirms why: its duties-prepaid, Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) policy is introduced with the line “Important: This section applies to U.S. orders only.” For every other destination, Bokksu’s general policy is that customs charges, duties, and taxes are “determined by your local government,” that Bokksu isn’t responsible for them, and that the recipient pays them.
That’s not new to the July 2026 EU change — it was already Bokksu’s position before the customs-duty exemption was removed, which our UK shipping breakdown found as well. What’s changed is that this general “recipient pays whatever customs assesses” policy now has to cover a bigger set of possible charges for EU and German subscribers: the same 19% (or 7% reduced-rate, for qualifying food items) German import VAT that applies to any commercial parcel from Japan, plus the same new EU customs duty TokyoTreat and Sakuraco’s own support article describes, plus Deutsche Post’s €7.50 collection fee if a payment notice is generated. None of that is included in Bokksu’s $15.99 EU shipping line.
At live 2026 pricing, Bokksu’s subscription tiers run $32.99-$39.99/box. Add the flat $15.99 shipping and the published total is $48.98-$55.98/box — lower than TokyoTreat or Sakuraco’s checkout total, but with nothing prepaid toward VAT or duty at all, versus ICHIGO’s brands having at least the (larger) VAT component settled in advance.
- Who this is a real risk for: a German or EU subscriber who wants cost certainty above all else. Bokksu’s lower sticker-plus-shipping total doesn’t include what customs might still assess, and unlike TokyoTreat/Sakuraco, none of that is prepaid.
- Who it works well for: someone comfortable treating the lower published total as a starting point rather than a ceiling, the same trade-off we found for UK subscribers choosing Bokksu’s undocumented approach over Sakuraco or TokyoTreat’s upfront commitment.
What This Means for Your Real Germany/EU Cost
| Box | Sticker (per box, 12-month to monthly) | Shipping | Prepaid EU VAT/Duty | New Post-July-2026 Duty Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sakuraco / TokyoTreat | $32.50-$37.50 | $14.99/box | $7.00/box VAT, collected upfront via IOSS | Possible, per their own June 2026 support article — not included in the $7.00 figure |
| Bokksu | $32.99-$39.99 | $15.99/box | None — no EU-specific tax/duty line published | Possible, and nothing is prepaid toward it; Bokksu’s duties-paid policy is explicitly US-only |
Sticker and shipping figures confirmed directly on tokyotreat.com, sakura.co, and Bokksu’s own help center on September 3, 2026. EU Tax and Duties figure sourced from TokyoTreat/Sakuraco’s shared help center pricing-update article; the July 2026 customs-duty change is sourced from TokyoTreat’s own dedicated support article and the European Commission’s official guidance on the reform. If a German customs duty notice is generated, Deutsche Post’s own published disbursement fee for collecting it is €7.50, separate from the duty itself.
This doesn’t reverse the finding from our Bokksu vs Sakuraco comparison, where Bokksu’s US total came out lower once shipping was included — that was about US costs specifically. For Germany and the EU, the comparison is different: TokyoTreat and Sakuraco charge more upfront but have already settled the larger VAT component, while Bokksu charges less upfront but has settled nothing.
Who Should NOT Worry About Any of This
If you’re ordering a single box to try it, or you’re comfortable paying whatever a carrier asks for if and when a notice shows up, the July 2026 change doesn’t need to change your decision. Plenty of low-value parcels move through EU customs without generating a duty notice at all — TokyoTreat’s own support article is explicit that a duty won’t necessarily apply “to every shipment,” and enforcement is rolling out unevenly as individual EU member states update their systems. If you want one settled number and are willing to pay slightly more for the VAT certainty TokyoTreat and Sakuraco already provide, that’s the safer bet for a recurring subscription you don’t want interrupted by a customs hold.
FAQ
Do I have to pay VAT on a Japanese snack box shipped to Germany? Yes. Germany’s import VAT rate is 19% standard (7% on qualifying food items), and a paid subscription box is a commercial import, not a gift, so gift-value exemptions don’t apply. TokyoTreat and Sakuraco collect this upfront at checkout as their $7.00/box “EU Tax and Duties” line; Bokksu does not collect an EU-specific figure at all.
Is the new EU customs duty the same as VAT? No, they’re two separate charges. VAT has applied to these boxes since April 2026 and can be prepaid at checkout. The customs duty is new as of July 1, 2026, replaces the EU’s prior duty-free exemption for parcels under €150, and — per TokyoTreat’s own support article — ships Delivered Duty Unpaid, meaning it’s assessed and collected separately by the carrier, not guaranteed to be included in any upfront charge.
What’s the Deutsche Post fee if I get a duty notice in Germany? €7.50 (gross), per Deutsche Post’s own published fee schedule for collecting import duties on behalf of German customs. It applies whenever a duty payment must be collected and is separate from the duty amount itself — the German equivalent of the £8 Royal Mail / £12 Parcelforce fee we found in our UK shipping breakdown.
Does Bokksu’s $3 duty-prepaid policy apply to Germany or the EU? No. Bokksu’s own help center states its duties-prepaid (DDP) policy “applies to U.S. orders only.” Its EU shipping rate is a flat $15.99/box with no separate tax or duty line, and its general policy puts the burden of any customs charges on the recipient.
Will every box get stopped for a customs duty notice now? Not necessarily. TokyoTreat’s own June 2026 support article is explicit that the new duty won’t apply to every shipment and that enforcement will vary by country and roll out progressively as EU member states update their systems — but it also recommends every EU subscriber keep their contact details current so a carrier can reach them if a notice is generated.
Bottom Line: Which Should You Choose?
- If cost certainty on the larger VAT component matters most: Choose Sakuraco or TokyoTreat. They’re the only two of the three with a dated, written commitment to collect EU VAT upfront — though their own support content confirms that doesn’t extend to the new post-July-2026 customs duty.
- If you’d rather pay a lower total upfront and handle whatever customs asks for later: Bokksu may work out cheaper on paper, but nothing toward VAT or duty is prepaid for EU or German orders, unlike its clearly-documented US policy.
- Either way: budget for the possibility of a separate carrier notice — and Deutsche Post’s €7.50 collection fee, if you’re in Germany specifically — on top of whatever total your checkout page shows.
- Not ordering to Germany or the EU? See our UK, Canada, and Australia shipping breakdowns instead — each country handles this differently.