The EU is ending fee-free imports on “low-value” goods. Beginning 1 July, an interim €3 flat fee will apply to all packages valued under €150 arriving from outside the EU. This interim fee will apply until permanent arrangements are agreed. Under current EU-UK arrangements, Northern Ireland is subject to EU customs regulations – subject to some variations.

According to the UK Government this new fee will NOT apply to any goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.

However, there is less clarity around whether non-EU, non-GB imports to NI – such as parcels from China, including from sales portals like Temu and Shein – will be impacted by this fee. FactCheckNI was unable to find clear answers to this query, despite contact with various UK and EU agencies.

Discussions are underway about an extra administration levy, and a fee of €2 has been mentioned. However, this has yet to be finalised.

In a Member’s Statement delivered to the NI Assembly on 19 January, UUP MLA Steve Aiken said:

“Members may not be aware of European Commission regulations COM/2023/258 final and 2023/0156 (COD) and their annexes. The regulations set out EU revenue-raising customs proposals on e-commerce that were to apply from 1 March 2028 but have now been brought forward to July 2026. The names of the regulations are a mouthful to recite, so, for the rest of my statement, I will simplify them by calling them the ‘tax of the rigorous implementers’, which can be shortened to the ‘Alliance tax’.

“The changes rule that the duty relief and regulation exemption from customs duty for consignments valued at under €150 are to be rescinded and that a flat €3 fee will be applied to all non-excise goods that are imported. In simple terms, that will mean that any parcel coming in from outside the EU to an EU-designated customs area such as Northern Ireland will be subject to that charge. Additionally, in order to pay for the new EU Customs Authority, an extra charge of €2 per item will be added to the Alliance tax in the near future, bringing it up to €5 per item. The Alliance tax raise will be collected by HMRC and then passed to the EU.”

Is this correct?

There are several aspects to this check:

The EU will rescind duty relief and regulation exemption from customs duty for parcels valued under €150 and a flat €3 fee will be applied to all non-excise goods that are imported into the EU from outside.

This will apply to goods moving from outside the EU into Northern Ireland (note that this would include packages moving from Great Britain to NI).

In order to finance the new EU Customs Authority, a further €2 charge will soon be added to these transactions.

First aspect – a new €3 flat fee

The first aspect is supported by evidence. In November last year, the EU decided to abolish a rule that all “low-value” goods (meaning those worth under €150) moved into the EU from outside should be exempt of any customs fees.

The following month, the decision was made to implement, as an interim measure, a €3 flat fee beginning 1 July 2026. This will remain in place until permanent arrangements are finalised. As yet, there is no clear indication what any final plans might be.

Second aspect – application of that fee in NI

The second aspect is more complicated. There are two types of non-EU imports into Northern Ireland – those coming from Great Britain, and those coming from elsewhere.

Based on statements made by the UK Government, this €3 fee will not apply to parcels entering Northern Ireland from Great Britain specifically.

However, the picture is much less clear for non-EU, non-GB parcels entering NI. Despite extensive engagement with various EU and UK agencies – detailed below – FactCheckNI was unable to find any clear answer to this question. As yet, the claim that small e-commerce parcels coming to NI from outside the EU from July 2026 will be subject to the €3 charge is unsubstantiated.

Third aspect – additional handling charge

The third aspect is also currently unsubstantiated, but this is primarily because the plans for any such extra fee are yet to be finalised. Even bearing that in mind, there is little clarity over whether such a levy would apply to Northern Ireland at all.

For more details, read on. And if anyone has any extra relevant information about any of the matters covered by this article, please get in touch.

The consequences for trade of the UK’s decision to leave the European Union in 2016 were complex for Northern Ireland due to the previous custom-free movement of goods between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland which had made the border on the island all but invisible. 

The UK Government eventually decided that NI would territorially and legally remain part of the UK, but that EU customs rules would apply to goods entering the region. This removed the need for customs infrastructure on the Irish border.

Under Article 5 of the Northern Ireland Protocol, EU customs law applied to goods entering Northern Ireland from Great Britain and from third countries. This system proved politically contentious. 

The Windsor Framework of 2023 amended the operation of Article 5 by limiting the application of EU customs duties to goods deemed “at risk” of entering the EU Single Market, while goods assessed as “not at risk” are subject to UK customs duties instead.

Food and horticultural products are now largely deemed “not at risk” of travelling on to the EU Single Market. However medicines and veterinary medicines are often deemed “at risk”, continuing to carry EU customs charges.

In practice, small e-commerce parcels entering Northern Ireland for consumers do not usually attract customs duties, because low-value consignments are processed under simplified arrangements and are treated as destined for final use in Northern Ireland rather than for onward movement into the EU. A key question is, whether or not this is set to change.

On 23 January, FactCheckNI contacted Mr Aiken about this claim. He responded with an email pointing us towards EU announcements of new €3 levies on low-value parcels as well as discussions around further €2 handling charges. This was followed up with a phone conversation discussing the implications of new EU regulations for Northern Ireland.

On 26 January 2026, he made a video for social media which stated his claim more cautiously, that a parcel sent to NI “could well include” extra €3 and €2 payments after 1 July 2026.

Note that this differs from his contribution to the Assembly, which asserted these changes will happen and will apply to people in NI.

First aspect of the claim – EU regulations

The European Council decided in November 2025 to “abolish a rule allowing goods worth under €150 to enter the EU without customs duties being paid.”

This was part of wider EU customs reform to address concerns about unfair competition for EU sellers, health and safety risks for consumers, high levels of fraud and environmental damage.

A communication by the European Commission on e-commerce states that 4.6 billion low-value items were imported into the EU in 2024, up from 1.4 billion in 2022. The EU estimates that 91% of low-value e-commerce parcels came from China in 2024, including from retailers like Temu and Shein.

Part of the mechanism to begin charging customs duties on small parcels is the establishment of an EU Customs Data Hub, which is anticipated by 2028. However, the European Council deemed the issue to be more urgent than this. After a number of Member States introduced their own customs fees on small parcels, ministers decided in December 2025 to set an interim measure: a €3 flat fee beginning 1 July 2026.

An EU press release states that this is a “temporary measure” which will be in place until a permanent arrangement for small parcels comes into force. We could not find publicly available information to suggest what any non-temporary rates might be.

Regardless, this provides good evidence that the first part of this claim is true.

Second aspect – to what extent will this apply in NI?

The British Chamber of Commerce highlighted that the €3 flat fee will include parcels from GB going to the EU Single Market.

But what about small parcels coming into Northern Ireland, either from GB or a third country like China? Will the €3 apply, or will NI’s special arrangements under the Windsor Framework kick in?

FactCheckNI could not find any clear indication of this online. We contacted HMRC and asked them. A Government spokesperson said:

“We are committed to the smooth flow of goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland under the Windsor Framework. The facilitations under the Windsor Framework are unaffected by the EU’s planned changes, meaning goods can continue to move from GB to NI under the UK Carrier Scheme and the UK Internal Market Scheme without the need to pay duty.”

Based on this, it seems to be the case that packages imported to NI from GB should not be affected by these new EU charges.

However, concrete answers about what will happen with low value imports to NI from outside both the UK and EU (for example from China) have proven difficult to locate.

This is despite FactCheckNI contacting the Cabinet Office, Treasury Select Committee, Northern Ireland Office and the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Taxation and Customs Union, amongst others.

The UK Government responded to a House of Lords Written Question on 5 January about whether the new rules would apply to Northern Ireland by stating:

“The facilitations under the Windsor Framework remain in place for goods entering Northern Ireland. We will continue to engage with the EU to give certainty over future arrangements.”

Steve Aiken tabled a Written Question to the Economy Minister on 21 January 2026, who replied that it was not a devolved matter and that the Department would continue to engage with HMRC and other Whitehall Departments to get clarity. (When we spoke with Mr Aiken, he said the situation was uncertain and that he was awaiting further clarification from the UK Government.)

Overall, the EU’s new €3 customs charge from 1 July 2026, will not affect low value imports from GB to NI.

However,  it is still unclear how or if it might impact parcels from other countries outside the EU to NI. The claim that small e-commerce parcels coming to NI from outside the EU from July 2026 will be subject to the €3 charge is unsubstantiated.

Third aspect – an additional €2 charge?

In a February 2025 statement, the European Commission introduced the idea of a handling fee on goods imported directly to EU consumers, separate to the €3 customs fee, in order to help recover running costs. A European Parliament summary in September 2025 included a figure of €2 as the proposed fee.

However, this is not finalised. The handling fee is currently under discussion within EU institutions.

Industry sources in freight and logistics, summarising the Council’s negotiating mandate, report that an EU‑wide handling fee on low‑value parcels could be introduced around November 2026.

As this is yet to be set in stone, it is impossible to be sure what this measure will ultimately look like – or even if it will actually happen – let alone whether it will apply to Northern Ireland.

However, while this part of the fact check is unsubstantiated, we can still review how plans and discussions are going at the minute.

NI’s customs regime is governed by the Windsor Framework which deals only with EU customs duties, not handling fees.

On 3 February 2026, Lord Livermore answered a parliamentary Written Question from Lord Empey, saying:

“[The Government is] committed to ensuring that the current facilitations available for parcels under the Windsor Framework continue to operate. The EU has not yet published their full legislation in relation to the handling fee and therefore an assessment cannot be made. The Government is, however, engaging closely with the EU with regard to their announcements.

“The Government continues to engage with industry and the EU to ensure any applicable arrangements are implemented correctly and to minimise any negative impacts on Northern Ireland consumers and businesses.”

So, would any handling fee apply to Northern Ireland? Maybe, maybe not.

The exact amount and timeline of the handling fee have not yet been agreed in the EU. If and when it is agreed, it is not clear whether it would apply to Northern Ireland. All we know is that the UK government is aware of the issue and “engaging closely with the EU” to minimise negative impacts on Northern Ireland.

It should be noted that similar customs rules are soon very likely to come to the UK. In the November 2025 Budget, the Chancellor announced the removal of the £135 customs duty relief by March 2029 at the latest, and a consultation on customs for small parcels is underway.

As well as a customs charge, the consultation also considers “whether to apply an additional fee on LVIs [low value imports] to fund administration”, which sounds similar to the proposed EU handling fee.

In conversation with FactCheckNI, Mr Aiken emphasised that he is concerned that while the new EU €3 customs duty will begin in 2026, UK charges and fees are not planned until 2029 at the latest. 

Depending on the implementation of any such fees, this could create a temporary divergence for Northern Ireland, where NI consumers could potentially pay more customs charges on small low value parcels than consumers in the rest of the UK.

However, as laid out in the article above, plenty of uncertainty remains in what any changes to customs regulations (in both the EU and UK) will look like and how they might affect Northern Ireland.