Customs Information for International Shipments to Ireland

Effective July 1, 2021, all shipments to European Union (EU)* member states, including Ireland**, require formal customs declarations and are subject to Value Added Tax (VAT).

To ensure uninterrupted customs processing and delivery to Ireland, formal customs declarations must be completed accurately, including a comprehensive description of goods for each item in the shipment. Please refer to the following instructions.

A formal customs declaration must include:

Customs Information for International Shipments to Ireland

Requirement

Detail

Sender Information

Sender information cannot include any abbreviations.

  • Name: Complete First Name and Last Name
  • Address: Street Name, Number, Zip Code, City, State
  • Contact Information: Phone, Email

Recipient Information

Recipient Information cannot include any abbreviations.

  • Name: Complete First Name and Last Name
  • Address: Street Name, Number, Zip Code, City, State
  • Contact Information: Phone, Email 

Item Description

You must include a specific, accurate description for each item in your shipment. For example, if you are sending electronics, you must indicate what type of electronics (e.g., television, computer, mobile phone) for the description to be acceptable.

Acceptable goods descriptions must include:

  • ✓ Complete, detailed information, explaining the precise nature of the goods in plain language
  • ✓ An indication of what the goods are, what they are made of, and what purpose they serve

Unacceptable Description

Acceptable Description

Electronics

  • 1 television
  • 1 mobile phone

Clothing

  • 2 men’s cotton t-shirts
  • 4 pairs of polyester women’s socks

Item Country of Origin

You must indicate the country of origin for each item included in the shipment. For example, if you are sending 1 television from Mexico and 1 mobile phone from China, you must indicate accordingly.

Item Value

You must declare the total value of your shipment, including a separate and specific value, or cost, for each item.

The total value of your shipment includes:

  • Specific cost for each item
  • Shipping cost
  • Insurance
  • Duties, taxes, and fees

Packet or Package Weight

You must include the total gross weight of the package and the unit of calculation (i.e., pounds or kilograms).

HS/TARIC Code

HS codes are identifiers linked to specific goods descriptions. You can find an An Post (Ireland) tool to select HS or TARIC codes required for shipments to Ireland here. In the event that you cannot find an HS or TARIC code, an accurate goods description will suffice for customs processing.

Customers are not permitted to send prohibited or restricted items to Ireland. You can find a full list of those items here.

For questions on customs processing or VAT payment instructions, reach out to an international sales representative or contact USPS Customer Service.

*The European Union includes the following member countries: 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, and Sweden.

**This guidance does not apply to shipments made to Northern Ireland, a part of the United Kingdom.