Brussels: A new parcel duty took effect across the European Union on 1 July 2026, ending the long-standing exemption that let billions of low-value packages enter the bloc free of customs charges. The European Commission set the temporary flat rate at €3 for every consignment worth up to €150, and it aims the parcel duty squarely at the flood of cheap goods arriving directly from non-EU sellers.
The Commission argues that the charge restores basic fairness. European manufacturers and shops already pay duties on the stock they import, while offshore marketplaces long shipped straight to consumers without paying a cent. Roughly 4.6 billion parcels worth under €150 entered the EU in 2024, and more than 90% of them came from China. Member states concluded that the old rules handed foreign platforms a structural advantage.
Officials confirmed the change in a Commission announcement on 29 June, ensuring fairness and safety for low-value parcels, which spelled out how the measure works. Customs authorities apply the €3 to each distinct item inside a consignment, sorted by its tariff heading. A parcel holding one silk blouse and two wool blouses therefore attracts €6, because the goods fall under different sub-headings.
The Council gave the rules their final green light earlier this year. In a February statement, ministers agreed to bring the start date forward to 2026, well ahead of the wider customs overhaul planned for 2028. They cited the sheer speed of e-commerce growth as the reason to act early.
Fast-fashion and discount platforms such as Shein, Temu and AliExpress sit at the centre of the debate. France and several other capitals accuse these marketplaces of splitting orders into tiny shipments and understating values to slip under the old €150 threshold. The parcel duty removes that incentive by charging a flat fee no matter how sellers structure a sale.
Shoppers will feel a second charge before the year ends. The Commission plans a centralised €2 handling fee from November 2026 to cover the cost of processing the enormous parcel volumes at Europe’s borders. Unlike the duty, the handling fee applies once per parcel, whatever the contents, and talks on its final shape continue.
The temporary parcel duty runs until 1 July 2028. After that date, normal customs tariffs will apply according to the type of good, once the EU’s new customs data systems come fully online. The Commission has published guidance and legal text to help traders adapt.
Retailers warn that the charge could still catch shoppers by surprise, because carriers may add the €3 at delivery alongside their own clearance fees. Brussels counters that transparency will improve once platforms build the parcel duty into checkout prices. For now, the measure marks the clearest signal yet that Europe intends to close the gap between its own sellers and the offshore giants that reshaped online retail.
