# Europe Forum > Travelling & Living in Europe > Benelux >  Cost of receiving a package in Belgium

## jgombos

I thought VAT was the only obstacle to getting a package. It was shocking to discover that the Belgian International Post charges a 10€ fee to "act as an agent on behalf of the recipient" when interfacing with customs. This fee comes on top of the VAT. The fee is flat, and applies even if the product is only worth 1€.

Anyone know what UPS, fedex, and DHL charges recipients of packages?

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## Maciamo

You are right, the Belgian Post (which sucks by the way) charges 10€ for the delivery of packages of a certain weight that come from outside the EU.

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## jgombos

> You are right, the Belgian Post (which sucks by the way) charges 10€ for the delivery of packages of a certain weight that come from outside the EU.


I didn't realize weight was a factor.. I thought it was simply anything opened by customs got the fee. What I had shipped was a usb stick and some wire, not much heavier than 6 or 7 sheets of paper.

The product turned out to be DoA. Presumably, the 10€ is non-refundable. I got lucky on the VAT.. not VAT was charged.. but if it had been, is VAT refundable on defective imports?

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## Maciamo

That's weird that they charged 10€ for a light package. I have ordered a few times books from Amazon US and was not charged the 10€. I only had to pay for big packages (10 kg of more) from outside Europe.

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