[fy20]

This year the EU overhauled VAT regulations for purchases from outside the EU.

First of all it is now possible to make tax declarations yourself without going through a customs agent. Previously if you bought something like a dashcam from AliExpress you'd need to pay VAT and a "processing fee" to the agent (i.e. the post office) which in total would come to around the same price as you paid the seller. It's still somewhat complicated to do yourself, but the post office here introduced their own electronic declaration system. If you choose to use their system it's €3, but if you choose to do it yourself you need to pay a "parcel handling fee" of €3.

Additionally the regulations require sellers sending goods to the EU to charge VAT at the time of purchase. So everything you buy from AliExpress now is sold with VAT (but prices are still shown without). The post office also introduced a €1 handling fee for these parcels - that they don't need to do anything with other than deliver them.