DutyWatch HQ is a landed-cost and duty clarity service for US Shopify brands selling into the EU and UK. We clean up the HS code and country-of-origin data on every SKU, show shoppers a delivered-duty-paid total at checkout, and monitor EU and UK customs rule changes so your catalog stays accurate as rates shift. Start with a free landed-cost audit of your catalog.
Get a free landed-cost auditThree pieces of work, delivered together, that keep cross-border orders profitable and compliant as EU and UK rules shift.
Every product in your catalog gets the correct 10-digit HS code and verified country of origin, then stays current as you add products. Accurate codes are the foundation: the EU flat duty, product identifiers, and duty-paid totals all key off this data.
Shoppers in the EU and UK see one total that includes duties and fees before they pay. That kills the surprise charge at the door, which is the top driver of refused parcels, chargebacks, and angry support tickets on cross-border orders.
EU and UK customs rules are moving monthly through 2028. We track rate, threshold, and data-requirement changes, map them to your catalog, and tell you what to change before the change bills you.
Most brands handle landed cost with a broker, a spreadsheet, or crossed fingers. Here is how the options stack up.
| DutyWatch HQ | Customs broker | Spreadsheet | Do nothing | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Per-SKU HS and origin accuracy | Cleaned and maintained | Only on shipments they file | Aging the day you finish it | Placeholder codes stay |
| Duty-paid total at checkout | Included | Not offered | Not offered | Shopper pays on delivery |
| Ongoing rule-change monitoring | Continuous, mapped to your SKUs | Alerts by newsletter | You watch the news | None |
| When rules change | Catalog re-mapped for you | You call them | You redo it | You find out from customers |
From catalog export to duty-paid checkout in about two weeks.
Send us your product catalog. We return a SKU-by-SKU classification report within 48 hours of access, flag every gap, and fix codes and origin data with your team.
We connect the landed-cost engine to your Shopify checkout. EU and UK shoppers see the full delivered-duty-paid total before payment.
We watch EU and UK rule changes, re-map your catalog when rates move, and send a plain-English brief each time something affects your products.
Straight answers on the 2026 EU customs changes and how the service works.
Two changes landed in 2026. Since July 1, 2026, the EU charges a temporary flat customs duty of 3 euros per item on low-value consignments up to 150 euros, under Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382; the previous duty exemption for those parcels ended on June 30, 2026. Separately, the agreed Union Customs Code reform treats sellers and platforms that facilitate distance sales to EU customers as importers, responsible for customs data and charges. The European Commission published guidance on both in June 2026.
November 1, 2026 is the latest date by which EU member states must start collecting the new handling fee on parcels sent directly to EU consumers from outside the EU, and it is the date product identifiers become mandatory on those consignments. For a US brand, that means every parcel carries duty, fee, and data obligations, and under the reform the seller is treated as the importer responsible for them. Brands shipping a few hundred EU orders a month feel this as a real per-order cost and a compliance workload, not an abstract policy change.
Yes, and it is the work most brands have been putting off. Duty rates and the new flat fee both key off the HS code and country of origin on each SKU, and most Shopify catalogs carry placeholder or inherited codes. We audit every SKU, assign the correct 10-digit codes and origin data, and keep them current. A typical catalog of a few hundred SKUs is cleaned up inside the first two weeks, and new products are classified as you add them.
A broker clears individual shipments at the border and charges per filing. We work upstream of the border: clean product data, correct duty calculation, and a duty-paid total shown to the shopper before they pay, so parcels clear on the data you already submitted. We are not a law firm and we do not act as your importer of record or give legal advice. We work alongside your broker or carrier, and most clients keep both.
Yes. The duty-paid total is calculated from your cleaned HS and origin data plus current EU and UK rates, and displayed through a checkout integration that works with Shopify and Shopify Plus. Shoppers see one delivered-duty-paid price, which removes the surprise fee on delivery that drives refused parcels and support tickets. Setup takes days once your catalog data is clean, and we handle the integration for you on every plan.
The UK is a separate regime with its own rules. UK VAT applies to imported goods, and for consignments up to 135 pounds sold direct to UK consumers, the seller is generally responsible for charging UK VAT at the point of sale rather than at the border. Our monitoring covers UK rate and threshold changes the same way it covers the EU, so one service keeps both markets current.
The EU handling fee and mandatory product identifiers take effect by November 1, 2026, and the seller carries the obligations under the customs reform. The audit is free: we map your exposure SKU by SKU and you keep the report either way.
Get a free landed-cost audit