Liège: EU finance ministers agreed on 9 November 2026 to scrap the IOSS 150 euro threshold, opening the way for VAT rules that treat every imported online parcel the same way regardless of its value. Member States reached a general approach in the Council on a draft directive that deletes the ceiling from the VAT Directive.

The Import One-Stop Shop, or IOSS, launched in 2021 as a simple way for online sellers to collect VAT at checkout on low-value goods shipped from outside the EU. The IOSS 150 euro threshold limited the scheme to consignments worth no more than €150, leaving more expensive parcels to standard import procedures. According to Commission figures, IOSS has generated more than €21 billion in VAT revenue since launch, with €7.7 billion declared through it in 2025 alone.

Under the agreed text, which removes the IOSS 150 euro threshold, the deemed-supplier rule in Article 14a(1) of the VAT Directive would cover all distance sales of imported goods made through an electronic interface, whatever the consignment value. Marketplaces would therefore collect and pay VAT on every such sale. Excise goods, such as alcohol and tobacco, would stay outside IOSS under Article 369l.

The Council also tightened oversight of the intermediaries that many non-EU sellers rely on. Intermediaries will need to pass capacity, solvency and probity checks. The Commission must propose the detailed criteria by 31 December 2027, and the Council will then adopt them.

Timing ties the VAT change closely to the EU customs reform. Member States would transpose the directive by 30 June 2028 and apply it from 1 July 2028. However, if the IOSS functionality of the new EU Customs Data Hub under Regulation (EU) 2026/2108 is not operational by 1 June 2028, application would follow the end of the transitional arrangement set out in that regulation.

The customs side has already moved. Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382 ended threshold-based customs duty relief from 1 July 2026 and introduced a temporary €3 per-item duty that runs until 1 July 2028. The revised Union Customs Code applies from 21 September 2027. Removing the IOSS 150 euro threshold aligns VAT with that customs logic, so authorities can handle cheap and expensive parcels within one coherent system.

The general approach is not the final word. The European Parliament must give its opinion again before the Council formally adopts the directive, which will then appear in the Official Journal and enter into force on the twentieth day after publication. The Commission must also deliver an assessment report by 1 December 2030.

For logistics hubs such as Liège, home to one of the busiest cargo airports in Europe for e-commerce flows, the reform promises simpler paperwork but stricter accountability for platforms. Retailers inside the EU have long argued that low-value imports enjoyed an unfair advantage, and this change answers part of that complaint.

Ending the IOSS 150 euro threshold therefore marks a significant step in the EU effort to close VAT gaps in online trade. Its real impact will depend on whether the Customs Data Hub arrives on time in 2028.