EU Union Customs Code Reform Adds €2 Parcel Fee From November

Small parcels are no longer duty-free, and the next charge is due within days

Until this summer, a parcel worth less than €150 sent from outside the EU to a European shopper usually crossed the border without paying any customs duty. That arrangement is ending in several steps. The first step has already happened. On 1 July 2026 the EU removed the €150 duty exemption and replaced it with a temporary customs duty of €3 per item on low-value consignments11. The second step is close. A new Union handling fee must be collected no later than 1 November 202612. Most guidance now puts it at €2 per item on distance sales, whatever the parcel is worth17.

Both measures come under a larger legal change. Regulation (EU) 2026/2108 is the new Union Customs Code. It was adopted on 16 September 2026, published in the Official Journal on 19 September, and replaces Regulation (EU) No 952/201313. The Commission calls it the biggest reform of the Customs Union since the union was created in 196811. For cross-border e-commerce sellers, the message from the regulators is consistent. The consumer will no longer be treated as the importer of last resort, and the low-value parcel will no longer be the cheapest way into the single market.

How the reform passed

The Commission proposed the reform in May 202311. The Parliament and Council reached a political deal on 26 March 202616. The Council gave final approval on 3 September, and the Parliament voted on 16 September17. The low-value duty moved on a separate, faster track. In December 2025 the Council agreed to bring in the flat €3 charge as a temporary fix, rather than wait for the full code3. One reason for the speed was that member states such as France and the Netherlands were preparing their own national parcel charges. The Commission wanted to prevent a patchwork of country-by-country rules7.

The Parliament's rapporteur, Dirk Gotink, explained the urgency with one figure: 5.8 billion low-value parcels entered the EU last year12. Other Commission figures cited in trade coverage put the 2024 total at 4.6 billion, with about 91% coming from China.

Timeline: what applies when

The new code entered into force on 20 September 2026, but it does not take effect all at once. Most of its provisions apply from 21 September 20271718. Earlier coverage gave conflicting forecasts. One assessment expected the law to take effect about 12 months after publication14, while another said it would apply 20 days after publication15. In the end both were partly right: the law entered into force quickly, and most of its rules apply later.

The main dates for e-commerce are:

• 1 July 2026: the €150 exemption ended and the €3 per-item duty began. It is scheduled to run until 1 July 202817.
• 1 November 2026: the €2 handling fee is expected to start, and product identifiers become mandatory on distance-sales declarations. Identifiers include the seller's own SKU, the manufacturer's reference and, where one exists, a barcode such as an EAN17.
• 21 September 2027: most of the code applies. Indirect customs representatives take on the importer's obligations17.
• 1 July 2028: the distance-sales rules apply in full. The seller or the platform becomes the importer, and the Data Hub becomes mandatory for distance sales and users of the Import One-Stop Shop (IOSS), the EU's VAT scheme for low-value imports.
• 2031 and 2034: the Data Hub opens to other traders on a voluntary basis, then becomes mandatory for everyone1217.

The 2028 date is less fixed than it looks. The Commission must check by 1 December 2027 whether the central IT system will be ready. Since 1 October 2026 it has also been monitoring trade diversion every month, and either review could lead to the €3 duty being extended17. The temporary regulation explicitly allows an extension if the infrastructure is late2. Given how often EU customs IT projects have slipped, sellers should plan for the possibility that the flat duty lasts beyond mid-2028.

The €3 duty: charged per item, not per parcel

The Commission's examples show that the duty is not a flat charge per parcel. Five T-shirts in one box pay €3 because they share a tariff classification. Three T-shirts and a watch pay €61. In practice, the calculation depends on the customs declaration. Commission guidance says the amount due is the number of declaration lines multiplied by €3. Identical goods split across separate lines, for example by a carrier, can therefore be charged twice2. Some earlier explainers said identical units would each attract the duty4. The Commission's own guidance does not support that reading.

The scope of the duty has also changed since it was first announced. In December 2025 the Council described it as applying to goods from non-EU sellers registered for IOSS, which it said covered 93% of e-commerce flows3. Some early analysis therefore concluded that sellers outside IOSS were not covered4. Later Commission guidance, as reported by advisers, says the duty applies to all distance sales whatever VAT scheme the seller uses1725. Sellers who thought they fell outside the rule should check again.

IOSS itself remains in place. It is a VAT mechanism that operates separately from the customs duty25. One logistics provider reports that, under Commission guidance, carriers pay the €3 to customs and then invoice the merchant, rather than collecting it through IOSS6.

The handling fee: amount and scope still unsettled

The handling fee is meant to recover customs authorities' costs for data checks, risk analysis and physical inspections11. The Commission sets the amount and must review it every two years12. A delegated regulation was adopted on 21 September 2026. It sets the fee at €2 per item on distance sales and takes effect ten days after publication in the Official Journal17. As of late October, advisers still listed that publication as pending. One tax publication warned businesses not to build their systems around an assumed amount until the measure is formally confirmed13.

Coverage also differs on what the fee is charged on. Some firms described it as €2 per consignment or per parcel722. More recent guidance describes it as per item, applying even above €1501726. The more recent sources rely on the adopted delegated act, so the per-item reading looks more reliable. Under that reading, a parcel with three different items would pay €9 in duty and €6 in fees, with import VAT charged on both17. For a cheap accessory, those charges could easily cost more than the product itself.

National charges add to the confusion. France suspended its €2 parcel charge on 1 July 2026. Italy has postponed its own charge to 1 December 2026. Romania's charge of 25 lei, roughly €5, still applies17.

Who ends up paying

Legislators say the fee must be paid by the same party that pays the parcel's other customs charges, so that the cost is not passed to shoppers1216. Some customs practitioners say plainly that consumers will end up bearing the €3 duty5. Both statements can be true. The law decides who is legally liable, but it cannot stop a seller from building the cost into its prices. Readers should not expect the reform to leave the price of a cheap online order unchanged.

Deemed importers and the pressure on customs representatives

The biggest structural change is that sellers and platforms facilitating distance sales will be treated as importers. They will be responsible for customs data, charges and the product's compliance with EU rules. Non-EU businesses must be established in the EU or use an EU-based representative with authorised economic operator (AEO) or trusted-trader status. The aim is to stop the use of shell companies12.

Reports disagree on when this starts. One publication says platforms become deemed importers from 21 September 202723. A customs broker points to the article in the code that defines the importer for distance sales, which takes effect in 202726. A detailed adviser timeline links the operational distance-sales rules, including the requirement for an AEO or Trust and Check representative, to 1 July 2028. The most consistent reading is that the definition exists in law from 2027, but the e-commerce obligations that depend on it apply when the Data Hub opens to distance sales in 2028.

Customs brokers face their own change sooner. From 2027, an indirect representative takes on all of the importer's obligations and is jointly liable for the customs debt. Product compliance, such as safety and environmental rules, may also fall on importers and indirect representatives, depending on how the transaction is structured13. Brokers can be expected to charge for that risk, ask clients for more data, and refuse marginal clients.

The penalties are significant. Repeat offenders face fines of between 1% and 6% of the value of goods they imported over the previous 12 months. They can also lose AEO status and be flagged as high-risk12.

What it means

The reform does not ban small-parcel e-commerce. It removes the cost advantage the model has enjoyed and gives the EU much more data about it. Legislators offer some relief: platforms that import in bulk to EU warehouses and then ship to customers within the EU can qualify for a lower handling fee12. Compliant traders can apply for Trust and Check status, which brings fewer inspections and deferred duty payment18. From July 2028, the flat €3 is due to give way to standard tariffs or a simplified system of duty bands1824.

For sellers who ship directly to consumers, the incentives now favour EU stock, accurate HS codes (the product classifications used for tariffs) and clean product identifiers. The 1 November product-identifier requirement is the first deadline that tests whether that data is ready.