Click & Drop IOSS Mark Missing from Labels

[eyewear247]

I have just had a German customer complaining that he had to pay tax, duties and a handling charge to get his order delivered. 

I have checked and eBay have charged him the VAT at the checkout via IOSS. Upon checking the RM shipping label the IOSS marking is not on the label were as it has always previously been present. 

Printed out a couple of EU labels today and again it is not there.

Have any of you good folks noticed anything like this before.

[4_bathrooms]

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@eyewear247 wrote:

Printed out a couple of EU labels today and again it is not there.

How are you paying for the labels? Are you purchasing them through eBay, Royal Mail's website or a Royal Mail business account?

[eyewear247]

I have a RM business account and getting the labels by Click & Drop

There has always been a IOSS badge next to the tracked badge but it is no longer be there. Not sure how long this has been the case but the customer complaining (quite rightly so) ordered the item around a week ago. I have sent several more to the EU since then and got 2 going out today.

Just to confirm the items in question are all under the IOSS threshold 

[4_bathrooms]

Weird, but it sounds like a Royal Mail issue rather than an eBay one. In your C&D account does each record show the channel/source as being "eBay"?

[eyewear247]

I have dug a little deeper into this and it seems that all the correct eBay details are being uploaded to Click and Drop including the CN22 information and everything is as it should be but the section for the IOSS number is blank.

I have manually added eBays IOSS number and successfully reapplied the postage to the 2 x EU orders going out today and the IOSS badge is back as it should be.

The question is WHY did the IOSS number not get pulled into C&D and it has always done previously. That is what I am yet to find out.

It may be unique to me but I have not changed any settings in either eBay or C&D so it may be worth you good folks just checking your Royal Mail EU shipping labels to make sure the IOSS badge is there.

[ett1954]

Just had the same on a medium parcel today to Germany.  I hadn't noticed in the rush to get packed for the mobile post office van; it was pointed out by the person on the van as she placed it in the bag after scanning.

It seems there is nothing but hassle created by Royal Mail and eBay IT developers these days.  Are they one and the same. 🤔

Now I have to forewarn the customer that they may be asked to pay a charge on delivery.  Fortunately the packing slips enclosed in the package show that eBay has collected VAT.  Never had a problem with IOSS since its introduction in 2021 until today.

[eyewear247]

Before you print any more IOSS EU labels just check the IOSS number is present in the IOSS box, you can manually add it if necessary although as you mentioned it has always previously been pre-filled since the start.

[4_bathrooms]

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@ett1954 wrote:

It seems there is nothing but hassle created by Royal Mail and eBay IT developers these days.  Are they one and the same. 🤔

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I don't think this one is eBay's fault. Royal Mail knows eBay's IOSS number; you don't need to provide it when purchasing postage to the EU from RM's website nor at a Post Office counter; you only need to select "eBay" on RM's website or tell the PO counter it was an eBay sale. All the information RM requires for determining the IOSS number should already be present in C&D - I'm pretty sure you would have never needed to manually enter it at any point before this.

[ett1954]

I have certainly never had to manually add it before and I send items to European countries just about every week; sometimes 4 or 5 times a week.  My Royal Mail account is integrated with my eBay account so it would appear that there is an issue at one end or the other.

If sellers are having an issue of the same nature with other platforms then it would suggest a Royal Mail issue.  It would be interesting to know whether anyone is experiencing the same on other platforms.  Otherwise we will never know as unfortunately both Royal Mail and eBay are worse than hopeless of publicly notifying customers of their issues; both constantly living in fear of worrying their investors.

[style_wise]

I also don't think it is an eBay issue. I have had friends complain about duty/fees on small gifts sent to Germany by Royal Mail (which I would expect to be duty free). And a Customer complain about duty/fees on an eBay item that had the IOSS label on the package. It may be a German government issue.

[eyewear247]

I think the main question is why all of a sudden is eBay's IOSS number not being imported into Click and Drop like it has always previously that that in turns does not add the IOSS badge to the printed label.

As another poster mentioned, I too have never previously had an issue with any EU order not being delivered without any additional fees having to be paid for by the addressee, that is until now where eBays IOSS number is not being assigned automatically. 

[retrocomputershack]

I too have had the same problem. IOSS logo not printed on the address label. Started on the 24/07/2025/ Reported this to Royal Mail on the 04/08/2025, so far done nothing (as expected, my experience is RM technical support, take a very long time to respond, and most of the time never do).

Found a work around myself. The problem is the IOSS number is not importing from ebay EU orders.

Try This, until RM fix the problem.

In Click & Drop Orders

Click on EU customer address
From Other Actions on right, select Edit Package contents
Click View Contents
Click on Customs details for order xxxxxxxxx
Enter the ebay IOSS Number, in the IOSS data field, mine is  IM2760000742 (check yours is the same).
Save order.

IOSS logo should now print on the address label, and the IOSS customs data should now be electronically transmitted.

I also print the IOSS number clearly on the packed. and an "ebay Tax Paid" label, I designed and printed myself. Picture attached.

Hope this helps,

Ian Priddey.

[bzmotman]

I send plenty to the EU & keep a PDF of my labels. On July 30 the IOSS symbol was appearing but not on a batch sent on Aug 1 or thereafter. It wasn't on either Standard or Tracked. Not just Germany either.

Awaiting a string of complaints now.

Kat@ebay dave@ebay this is a serious issue. Can you please get it picked up & sorted. Also I would suggest an Ebay announcement to warn sellers would be appropriate.

[ett1954]

I have had such a label on the top front left corner of every EU, Norwegian, Australian and New Zealand sale with the appropriate IOSS number since 2021.

I have been in contact with my German buyer, who is a regular buyer, and he has had this issue previously with IOSS numbers from the UK and he has informed me that Deutsche Post have no alternative but to collect the payment or return the package to the sender if their instruction is to collect payment.  Generally post to Germany is usually completed in 3 or 4 days so I will give an update on here once I hear from him

I have obviously informed him that I will refund any costs if he sends me a copy of the receipt and make a claim against eBay who have already collected the VAT or Royal Mail should the fault be determined to be theirs.

dave@ebay , kat@ebay ; Could you please let us know whether it is just the IOSS symbol on the postage label which has failed or whether the customs data has failed to upload also.  eBay have obviously not only collected the VAT but have happily collected fees from sellers using this service which has failed, therefore can you please advise where we should send claims relating to this issue should the need arise.

[4_bathrooms]

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@ett1954 wrote:

If sellers are having an issue of the same nature with other platforms then it would suggest a Royal Mail issue.  

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The same problem is being reported on Amazon's boards so it does appear to be a Royal Mail issue (the Amazon thread was started 7 days ago).

[ett1954]

Just logged onto my Click & Drop account to check on what they are doing to resolve the problem - not a word about the issue from Royal Mail.

The way corporations these days treat their paying customers when there is an issue they have caused absolutely stinks.  No communications whatsoever, not even an acknowledgement there is a problem.

[kat@ebay]

Hi @ett1954 ,

Thank you for the post.

We are not aware of any tech reports on the eBay side for this currently. I will report it with our shipping team to have it looked into with the Royal Mail.  Once I have more details I'll let you know.

Thank you,

Kat

[ett1954]

kat@ebay  Kat, thanks for pushing this forward at your end; it is very much appreciated.

It does appear that from the posts above that Royal Mail were made aware of this some time ago.  I can understand Royal Mail's reluctance to engage with their 'minor' customers on this issue but I am somewhat amazed that they haven't advised one of their major client/partners of this issue.

I would sincerely hope that someone very senior at eBay UK is approaching someone equally senior at Royal Mail with some very strong words to Royal Mail about the total lack of communication of what is a serious, and potentially costly, issue concerning sellers with international buyers.  It smacks of total ineptness on the part of Royal Mail, especially after the recent debacle between Royal Mail and the Post Office with the Tracked 48 issue less than a week ago.

[padanpcparts]

I was like 'OMG I Need to check...', then I realised I dropped RM a couple of years ago. Best decision I ever made.

[bzmotman]

I have now had  a buyer send me scans of my letter with DHL stickers etc showing tax due & also his receipt, scan attached, for having paid it. Another is sending his scans later today.

To help the tech team the item is 357243772156 order 02-13400-11706. I should point out that not only are customers being charged the tax but also a fee for collecting the tax.

Whether it is Ebay or Royal Mail at fault not only does it need to be sorted but we need to know how customers can reclaim the tax plus charges that they are having to pay to get their items.