EU to introduce new fee on parcels from outside the bloc

The European Union is preparing to introduce a new bloc-wide fee for handling goods ordered online from non-EU countries. Its planned amount is 2 euros per item position, and the fee is expected to be collected from 1 November 2026.

The new payment is part of a major reform of the EU customs system, finally approved by the Council of the European Union in September. It is intended to offset the growing costs of customs authorities for inspecting the huge volume of goods entering Europe through e-commerce.

The 2-euro amount is still undergoing a formal approval procedure. The European Commission set it in a delegated act, against which EU member states and the European Parliament may raise objections within a specified period. If there are no objections and the document is published in the Official Journal of the EU in time, national customs services will begin applying the fee from 1 November.

According to the Czech Customs Administration, the new payment will apply to e-commerce shipments from third countries regardless of the order value. It therefore differs from another change that has already been in effect in the European Union since 1 July 2026.

From July, a temporary fixed customs duty of 3 euros applies to goods in small parcels worth up to 150 euros. It is calculated for individual categories of goods in the shipment. For example, if one parcel contains goods belonging to three different customs categories, the total duty may be 9 euros.

The new 2-euro fee will be a separate payment and will not replace this duty. Thus, for some orders from outside the EU, both mechanisms may apply simultaneously.

The customs reform also changes the allocation of responsibility for online purchases. For distance selling of goods to the EU, foreign online platforms, sellers or operators involved in delivery will have to ensure completion of customs formalities and payment of necessary fees, rather than shifting this obligation onto the final buyer.

This will particularly affect the largest platforms through which European consumers order cheap goods from Asia on a mass scale. The European Commission explains the reform by the sharp increase in e-commerce volumes and the need to strengthen safety and compliance checks for imported goods against European requirements.

In 2025, almost 5.9 billion low-value goods purchased online entered the EU. The European Commission has also previously reported that the vast majority of such shipments come from China.

The current system with a fixed 3-euro duty is temporary. After the full launch of the single customs platform EU Customs Data Hub, expected from 2028, goods from online stores should switch to ordinary EU customs tariffs.

Sources: European Commission, Council of the EU, Czech Customs Administration