EU Scraps the Duty Exemption for Parcels Under €150 From Outside the EU as of 1 July 2026

From 1 July 2026, online orders from outside the EU worth up to 150 euros are no longer duty-free.

Who This Affects

The changes affect e-commerce goods — ordinary products you order online from a seller outside the EU that are delivered directly to you by post or courier. These can be:

• clothing, footwear, accessories;
• electronics, gadgets, small appliances;
• cosmetics, household goods;
• toys, stationery;
• other purchases made online from a seller in a third country.

The new rules apply not only to online shops and e-commerce platforms, but also to entrepreneurs who regularly import small batches of goods, such as samples, spare parts, or warranty shipments, and to entrepreneurs who deliver online orders from outside the EU to consumers in the EU.

The Reason for the Change

The exemption was once intended to limit the administrative burden on businesses and customs services. But this exemption no longer matches practice and has, on the contrary, led to increased pressure on customs.

In recent years the number of small orders from abroad has grown rapidly, which created unequal competitive conditions for European sellers. In addition, small parcels are often associated with safety risks, cases of fraud, and an additional environmental burden because of the sheer volume of such small shipments. European inspections show that more than 60% of the products checked, including toys, electronics, cosmetics, and food supplements, do not meet European product safety or quality requirements.

That is why a new tariff was adopted, intended to level out competition, reduce risks, and bring order to the import of small goods.

How It Will Work

For consumers this means a small but additional burden on the budget, and for businesses new requirements for guarantees and for preparing declarations.

Importantly, for the consumer this should not be a separate payment: the costs must be included in the price of the product or the delivery, and the buyer has the right to see the final amount before placing the order. There should be no additional invoices on delivery.

Please note! This concerns a change in the customs clearance of parcels worth up to 150 euros. Shipments worth 150 euros or more are already subject to ordinary customs duties.

1 July 2026 — 1 July 2028 — a temporary flat tariff of €3 per declared goods category in the parcel will apply. Buy two T-shirts and you pay 3 euros. If the parcel contains 2 T-shirts and a bracelet, you pay 6 euros.

After 1 July 2028 the flat tariff will be replaced by the standard EU customs tariff.

Consequences for Companies

Once the exemption is abolished, companies engaged in import, logistics, or customs declarations acquire customs obligations — they have to pay duty regularly on thousands of small parcels. To be sure of their ability to pay, customs requires them to obtain certain authorisations:

• CGU — a comprehensive guarantee;
• DPO — an authorisation for deferred payment;
• sometimes an increase in the size of the guarantee if the import volume is large.

At the same time there are exceptions and special cases regarding exactly how to file the declaration and how a preferential tariff is applied. Which goods categories appear in the declaration depends on the type of declaration used. As a result, the same consignment of goods can lead to different amounts of import duty.

Additional Rules and Fees

From November, companies must also provide product identification data together with their customs declarations. The European Commission also intends to introduce a handling fee of 2 euros per parcel to cover administrative costs. The planned entry into force is November 2026. Italy and Romania have already introduced such a fee.

The Goal

Customs forecasts that after the €3 duty is introduced, the flow of small e-commerce parcels will decrease by roughly two thirds.