Dropshipping in Ireland changed on 1 July 2026. Revenue now charges €3 customs duty on every distinct product in every parcel that arrives from outside the EU, on top of VAT, and the €150 duty-free limit is gone. A €12 phone case posted from China to a customer in Cork now carries €3 duty, VAT on the lot.
The old model, a Shopify store and a supplier in Shenzhen, has just got a great deal harder to make work here.
Every rule that follows is Revenue’s, the CCPC’s or the platform’s own, as it stood in October 2026.
What is dropshipping and how does it work?
You sell products on your own website or a marketplace without buying stock. When a customer orders, your supplier posts the product directly to them and you keep the difference.
In dropshipping, the order goes from your store to your supplier, which picks, packs and ships it to your customer. You stay responsible for customer service and order tracking.
That’s the whole business. Low risk, because you pay for stock after you’ve sold it. Low margin, because the supplier does the work. And you own every problem, because in Irish law you’re the seller.
Is dropshipping legal in Ireland?
Yes. There’s no law against selling goods you don’t hold. What applies is the same law that applies to every Irish retailer, and it lands on you rather than the supplier. Selling goods to consumers in Ireland means complying with the Consumer Rights Act 2022, and when you sell to a consumer you enter into a contract. The supplier isn’t party to it. You are.
So the questions that matter aren’t “is it legal” but “am I registered, am I charging the right tax, and can I honour the rights my customers have”.
Registering a dropshipping business in Ireland
Sole traders must register for tax with Revenue, and online registration is available through Revenue’s eRegistration. If you trade under a business name other than your own, register that name with the Companies Registration Office.
You don’t need a limited company to start.
VAT on dropshipping in Ireland
Three thresholds and one scheme decide what you charge.
- Selling to Irish customers. Revenue’s VAT registration threshold for goods is €85,000. Below it you can trade without charging VAT; above it you must register and charge 23% on most products. You can register voluntarily below the threshold, which lets you reclaim VAT on your costs.
- Selling to customers in other EU countries. A separate EU threshold of €10,000 applies to distance sales of goods to other EU countries, and it covers all your EU sales combined. Past it you charge each customer’s country’s VAT rate, usually through the One Stop Shop return rather than registering in every country.
- Goods shipped from outside the EU. This is where dropshipping lives or dies. Import VAT is due on the goods. If you don’t handle it, your customer may have to pay it on the doorstep, and the delivery company may add a charge.
The scheme that fixes the third case is the Import One Stop Shop. It lets a business register once, declare the EU import VAT and pay it, so the customer pays the VAT at checkout. It applies to consignments worth up to €150.
So if your supplier is outside the EU and you want customers to pay once, at checkout, register for IOSS. Or use a supplier or platform that does.
The €3 customs duty on each product from outside the EU
From 1 July 2026, Revenue charges a €3 customs duty on eCommerce packages valued at €150 or less coming into Ireland from outside the EU. Each distinct product in a package attracts its own €3 charge. Revenue says the €3 is included in the total used to calculate VAT.
As an example, three low-value items costing €15 in total, bought from China, attract €9 in duty. The VAT is then worked out on the €24 total, which includes the duty. Unless you’ve built those charges into your price and paid them through IOSS, the customer pays them on delivery.
But the arithmetic is the point. Cheap goods from outside the EU no longer arrive cheap. Guides written before July 2026 predate the duty change.
The reliable route is to ship from inside the EU.
Dropshipping suppliers that ship from Ireland and the EU
Goods that start inside the EU carry no customs duty and no import VAT; they’re just a domestic or intra-EU sale. The suppliers worth looking at for an Irish store are the ones that hold stock or manufacture here or on the continent.
- Print-on-demand networks such as Gelato and Printful are one option. Check where each one prints before you order.
- Irish wholesalers and makers. The best supplier is often a brand that already ships from Ireland and would rather you sold it than not. Ask. A local supplier can mean faster delivery, Irish VAT invoices and someone you can ring.
Whatever you choose, order your own products first. You’ll learn the real delivery time, what the packaging says and whether the returns address is somewhere your customers can post to.
Your legal obligations as the seller
Under the Consumer Rights Act 2022, customers can seek remedies for up to six years from when they receive the goods. In the first year, the seller has to prove that the product was not faulty when it was delivered.
In the first 30 days, a customer who reports a fault can cancel and get a full refund, and you pay for the return. After that, the customer can ask for a repair or a replacement at no cost to them.
On top of that is the online cooling-off period. It runs for 14 days from the day the customer receives the goods, and the customer does not need to give a reason.
The business must tell the customer about the right to cancel, provide a cancellation form, and refund within 14 days of being told about the cancellation. If it fails to tell customers about the right, the cooling-off period runs longer.
Now read that against a supplier in another continent. Faulty goods come back to you, at your expense, from a customer who has six years to complain. Build returns into the price. Pick suppliers whose returns you can actually process.
Can you dropship on Amazon, TikTok Shop and Shopify?
Each platform has its own rule.
Amazon.ie allows drop shipping only where the customer can tell that you are the seller of record. Having another retailer ship the order is not allowed if the shipment does not identify you as the seller.
Packing slips, invoices and packaging that identify a different seller or supplier must be removed before shipping.
TikTok Shop Ireland opened to all Irish businesses in May 2026 and sits well with EU-stock suppliers, because customers expect fast delivery from a video they watched a minute ago. Our TikTok Shop Ireland guide has the fees and registration.
Shopify supports drop shipping through supplier apps in its app store. Selling into the EU from a supplier outside the EU can mean registering for the Import One-Stop Shop. Our Shopify pricing guide covers what the store itself costs in Ireland, and WooCommerce is the alternative if you’d rather own the site.
How to start dropshipping in Ireland as a beginner
- Pick a product people already buy from a supplier inside the EU. Not “trending on TikTok”. Something with a reason to buy from an Irish site: faster delivery, Irish returns, a niche the big retailers ignore.
- Order it yourself. Time the delivery. Read the packaging. Try to return it.
- Register. Register for tax with Revenue, register any business name with the CRO, and use IOSS if any supplier ships from outside the EU.
- Price for the real costs. The product, delivery, a returns allowance, the card fee (our card payment fees guide has the current Irish rates), the platform, and ads.
- Write the terms the CCPC requires. Cooling-off rights, the cancellation form, a returns address, your business name and contact details.
- Get customers. Start by searching the Facebook Ads Library for what competitors already run, then test small budgets on Meta or Google Ads. The store is the easy part.
What sells best in dropshipping?
The honest answer is whatever you can deliver in two days and take back in fourteen. Since July 2026 that rules out much of the cheap-import model, because a €4 gadget from China with €3 duty and VAT on top is no longer a €4 gadget. What’s left is print on demand with EU production, higher-value items where €3 duty is noise, EU-warehoused brands, and anything Irish that isn’t sold well online yet.
Is dropshipping dead in 2026?
The version people mean, the cheapest possible product from the cheapest possible supplier sold through Facebook ads, is close to it in Ireland. The customs change, the six-year remedy period and competition from marketplaces have squeezed it hard.
What has replaced it is less exciting and more durable. A real brand. EU stock. A supplier you’ve met, and a website that earns its traffic rather than renting it. That’s still dropshipping.
Questions people ask about dropshipping in Ireland
Do I need to register a business to dropship in Ireland?
Yes. A sole trader must register for tax with Revenue, and a trading name needs registering with the CRO. Registration with Revenue is free.
Do I have to charge VAT?
Not until your goods sales pass €85,000 a year in Ireland, unless you register voluntarily. Cross-border sales to other EU countries have their own €10,000 threshold. Goods from outside the EU carry import VAT regardless, which IOSS lets you collect at checkout.
Can I get sued for dropshipping?
You can be pursued like any retailer, because you’re the seller in the contract. The common problems are faulty goods, late delivery, undisclosed customs charges and selling products that don’t meet EU safety rules. Sell compliant products from suppliers you can name and the risk is the same as any shop’s.
How much does it cost to start dropshipping in Ireland?
The store from €24 a month billed yearly (€32 billed monthly) on Shopify, a domain, your test orders, and an ad budget.
Is dropshipping from China to Ireland still worth it?
Rarely, for low-value items, after the €3-per-item duty from 1 July 2026. For a higher-value product the €3 duty is a smaller share of the price, and it can still work if you register for IOSS so customers pay at checkout.
Can I dropship from Ireland to the UK or the US?
Yes, but the UK and the US are separate customs territories with their own rules, so check the import charges before you sell there. Start with Ireland and the EU.
If you want to talk through your online store or your ads, contact us. No obligation.
Sources
Revenue (removal of the €150 relief for low-value consignments from 1 July 2026; VAT thresholds; Import One Stop Shop; registering for tax); the CCPC guidance on selling products to consumers; Amazon.ie drop shipping policy. Checked October 2026.
