EU imposes €3 customs levy on all low-value online imports from non-EU countries

How the levy works

Every small parcel imported from a non-EU country now faces a flat customs charge of €3, provided its total value is below €150. The fee is not per package but per distinct tariff classification: five identical T‑shirts incur €3 once, while a parcel containing T‑shirts and a watch triggers €6 because the items fall under two different customs codes. Clothing, toys, electronics and other consumer goods bought through e‑commerce platforms all fall within the scope.

From 1 July 2026, the EU will introduce a temporary customs fee of 3 euros on low-value imports from outside the EU, mainly through e‑commerce. This includes a wide range of products regularly bought online, such as clothing, toys, electronics and other consumer goods valued up to 150 euros.

The legal debtor is the seller or importer, but the extra cost can be passed on to shoppers at checkout. In Italy, a separate national charge of €2 was due to start immediately but has been postponed to 1 October 2026.

A tide of Chinese parcels

Last year alone 5.9 billion low-value parcels entered the EU without any customs charge, the equivalent of 16 million packages a day. More than 90 % originated in China, often shipped by discount platforms such as Shein, Temu and AliExpress. Liège airport in Belgium has become a major gateway for these flows. The explosion of ultra‑cheap direct‑to‑consumer imports has put pressure on domestic retailers and stretched the administrative capacity of national customs services.

The current duty exemption gives an unfair advantage to sellers outside the EU over companies that produce or sell products in the EU.

Safety, fraud and environmental concerns

EU officials estimate that millions of daily parcels do not meet European health and safety standards. Custom checks carried out during 2025 showed that 65 % of tested cosmetics, toys and small electronic devices failed to comply with EU rules, posing risks to consumers. There are also widespread cases of goods being intentionally undervalued to slip below the €150 threshold and avoid duties. The new levy closes that loophole while aiming to reduce the environmental burden of single‑use packaging linked to mass e‑commerce shipments.

A temporary step towards a digital customs union

The €3 flat rate is a temporary measure that will remain in force until 1 July 2028. From that date the EU’s planned Customs Data Hub is expected to be operational, allowing the bloc to move to a system where normal import duties are applied automatically based on the value and nature of each product. As an interim step, from November 2026 all imported goods will have to carry identification data to help customs authorities detect and block non‑compliant items.