From 1 July 2026, the European Union has started charging a €3 customs duty on low-value goods imported from outside the bloc, ending the duty-free treatment that applied to parcels worth less than €150.

The new charge forms part of the EU’s customs reform and targets the rapid growth in low-cost online shopping. The measure applies to consignments valued below €150 and covers most purchases made through online marketplaces registered under the EU’s Import One-Stop Shop (IOSS) system. Around 93 percent of e-commerce imports into the EU fall under that scheme.

The temporary duty will remain in force until the EU introduces its permanent customs system agreed in late 2025. That reform removes the €150 customs duty exemption entirely and subjects low-value imports to the standard customs tariffs that apply to each product.

The €3 charge applies to each customs declaration item rather than to the parcel itself. Goods that share the same tariff classification and country of origin count as one item. Products with different customs codes attract separate charges even when they arrive in the same package.

The rule creates situations where similar-looking products receive separate customs charges. A cotton T-shirt and a button-up shirt fall under different tariff headings and each attracts a €3 duty. A parcel containing both products therefore incurs a €6 customs charge.

If identical products arrive in separate shipments, each shipment receives its own customs declaration and the duty applies each time.

The European Commission said it will monitor the system and assess whether the fixed rate should later extend to sellers that are not registered under the IOSS scheme.

The customs duty differs from the handling fee proposed as part of wider discussions on the EU’s long-term customs reform and budget plans. That proposal remains under negotiation.

The reform follows a rise in low-cost imports into Europe during the past four years. EU figures show around 1.4 billion low-value items entered the bloc in 2022. By 2025 that figure had reached 5.8 billion.

Finland reflects that trend. Finnish Customs recorded more than 50 million low-cost parcels arriving from outside the EU last year, an increase of 69 percent compared with the previous year. Most originated in China and included purchases from online platforms such as Temu and Shein.

Under the new rules, retailers registered in the IOSS system become responsible for customs declarations and payment of the duty when value-added tax has already been collected during the purchase. The cost is expected to appear during checkout and retailers decide whether to absorb the charge or pass it on through higher prices.

Antti Hästbacka, Senior Customs Inspector at Finnish Customs, explained how the system works in a statement.

“For example, if a shipment contains three shirts and dozens of pairs of socks, the shirts would be declared as one item and the socks as another, meaning the customs fee would total six euros,” he said.

Finnish Customs also confirmed that private individuals no longer handle customs declarations themselves when VAT has already been paid to an IOSS-registered seller during the purchase. Responsibility shifts to the seller or its customs representative, which often includes the delivery company acting on the seller’s behalf.

Hästbacka said, “A private individual can no longer clear this type of shipment themselves.”

Consumers continue to submit customs declarations themselves for purchases that do not fall under the IOSS system. In those cases, they pay both the new customs duty and VAT during customs clearance.

The date of customs clearance determines whether the duty applies. Orders placed before 1 July still attract the €3 charge if customs clearance takes place on or after that date.

“If the customer clears the parcel in July, the customs duty must be paid even if the online order was placed in June or earlier,” Hästbacka said.

Consumers only begin the customs process after receiving a clearance request from the transport company. In some cases, carriers complete customs procedures on behalf of the customer, removing the need for any action by the buyer.

Some sellers already import goods into warehouses inside the European Union before selling them to customers. In those cases, the seller completes customs formalities before the sale, pays the customs duty and VAT, and customers receive the goods without additional customs procedures after purchase.

HT