In 2024, more than 4.6 billion packages valued at less than 150 euros entered the European Union, approximately 91 percent of which came from China. This influx overwhelmed customs authorities and distorted competition to the detriment of sellers based in the EU. The European response has been in place since July 1, 2026, and it is not limited to an additional tax.
For a European e- retailer , three factors have shifted simultaneously: the cost of bringing a package into the European Union, the allocation of customs liability among the seller, the platform, and the customer, and the level of requirements for the declared data. This guide provides an update as of September 14, 2026, covering both imports and exports, and concludes with a perspective that few articles address: the relationship between the value declared to customs and the amount you can actually recover in the event of a claim.
The Essentials in 30 Seconds
Key takeaways if you only have a minute:
- The 150-euro customs duty exemption was eliminated as of July 1, 2026, pursuant to Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382 of February 11, 2026.
- It is replaced, on a transitional basis and until July 1, 2028, by a flat fee of 3 euros charged per item category, rather than per package.
- On September 3, 2026, the Council gave its final approval to the recast of the Union Customs Code. Online sales platforms based outside the EU are now considered importers of the goods they sell in the Union.
- A European management fee will be introduced by November 1, 2026. The amount of the fee will be set by the Commission before it is implemented by the Member States, and has not yet been made public.
- B2B shipments and shipments valued at more than 150 euros are not covered by the flat rate and remain subject to the standard customs rate.
- The national taxes introduced in 2026 by France, Italy, and Romania are intended to be phased out in favor of a single European system.
The Complete Timeline for the Reform
The reform is not centered on a single date but on a series of nine milestones, three of which are still ahead of us. The table below serves as a planning guide.
What Regulation (EU) 2026/382 Actually Says
The text, adopted by the Council on February 11, 2026, repeals the chapter of Regulation (EC) No. 1186/2009 that established the duty-free allowance for shipments with an intrinsic value of 150 euros or less. This exemption applied only to customs duties: import VAT had already been due on all shipments since the July 2021 reform of the IOSS single window. The change in 2026 is therefore not a tax-related change, but a customs-related one.
A flat rate per price category, not per package
The transitional fee of 3 euros is applied to each line item—that is, to each distinct 6-digit Harmonized System code included in the shipment. This mechanism is counterintuitive and should be factored into your cost simulations: a 40-euro package containing five different SKUs incurs 15 euros in duties, while a 140-euro package containing only one SKU incurs just 3 euros. It is the composition of the order—not its value—that determines the duty amount.
The flat-rate scheme applies to distance sales of imported goods shipped from a third country to a customer located in the European Union, particularly when the seller is registered with the IOSS. Shipments between businesses and shipments valued at more than 150 euros continue to be processed according to the actual customs tariff, based on their classification and origin.
A transitional arrangement, not a permanent one
The flat rate is explicitly a temporary solution. It is to remain in effect until July 1, 2028, at which point the European customs data platform should make it possible to apply the actual tariff to each shipment, regardless of its value. In other words, operators who are currently basing their pricing strategy on a flat rate of 3 euros will have to revise it in two years, this time using a rate that varies depending on the product and its country of origin.
A key point to note from a budgetary perspective: duties are collected at the European level, with the EU passing on 25% to the Member State that receives and clears the package. This may seem like a minor detail to the sender, but it explains why the countries that host major logistics hubs supported the accelerated timeline.
How Much Does It Really Cost? Two Examples with Specific Figures
Orders of magnitude speak louder than principles. The calculations below intentionally include only the flat fee in order to isolate the effect of the reform.
Case 1: A package worth 45 euros containing four items
Before July 1, 2026, this shipment entered the country duty-free, although import VAT was still due. Since then, it has been subject to four times 3 euros—that is, 12 euros in duties—plus VAT and customs clearance fees charged by your Carrier. For a 45-euro shopping cart, the customs duties alone account for more than a quarter of the merchandise’s value. It is this threshold effect that most severely penalizes shopping carts containing many small-ticket items.
Case 2: A B2B shipment worth 900 euros
It is not covered by the flat-rate fee. It is subject to the actual customs tariff, calculated based on the tariff classification and origin of the goods, just as it was before the reform. Many professional shippers believed they were subject to the 3-euro fee and set aside funds for a charge that does not apply to them. The reverse is also true: these shipments remain subject to enhanced inspections and reporting requirements, which apply to everyone.
Starting in November, the European handling fee—the amount of which has not yet been determined—will need to be added to Case 1. If the estimated fee of 2 euros per item is confirmed, the customs charge for the same package would increase from 12 to 20 euros. We will update this article as soon as the official amount is published.
September 3, 2026: Platforms Become Importers
This is the least discussed aspect of the reform, and likely the one with the greatest impact on the system. On September 3, 2026, the Council gave its final approval to the overhaul of the Union Customs Code, described as the most comprehensive reform of the European customs framework in decades. The European Parliament is expected to approve the final text in September, prior to its signing and publication in the Official Journal.
Transfer of Responsibility
The text clarifies that non-European e-commerce platforms that sell within the European Union are considered importers of the goods. Therefore, it is these platforms—and no longer the end consumer—that are responsible for completing customs formalities and paying duties. For a European seller, this changes the terms of negotiation with the marketplaces on which they operate: customs obligations are no longer an overlooked contractual detail.
A sanctions regime that really bites
The reform establishes a specific system of penalties for noncompliant e-commerce operators. The most serious violations can result in fines of up to 6% of the company’s annual import value for the previous year, the withdrawal of certain customs privileges, and even restrictions on access to online platforms. When considered in relation to the revenue of a high-volume importer, the magnitude of these penalties is by no means symbolic.
A European customs authority in Lille
The text establishes a new decentralized European agency responsible for coordinating the governance of the customs union. This EU customs authority will be based in Lille and will begin operations in 2027. It will analyze import and export data centralized in the EU Customs Data Hub, help Member States identify the highest-risk shipments, and define priority areas for inspection.
Use of the data hub will become mandatory for e-commerce businesses on July 1, 2028, and then for all operators on March 1, 2034. In the meantime, a new category of trusted operators—known as “trust and check traders”—will be able to move their goods within the European Union without active customs intervention, provided they provide complete information on the movements and compliance of their products. This is the positive aspect of the reform, and it’s worth exploring now if your volume justifies it.
To put this into perspective: in 2025, 2,200 customs offices and 84,000 agents collected nearly 31 billion euros in duties and processed approximately 6 billion e-commerce packages, more than 90 percent of which came from China.
November 1, 2026: The European Management Fee
The next concrete deadline is less than two months away. An EU-wide handling fee, the Union Handling Fee, must be introduced by November 1, 2026, to cover the rising costs of tracking small packages. It is legally distinct from the elimination of the duty-free allowance: it is not a customs duty, but rather a fee for services rendered.
An important point to note for your projections: the amount has not yet been determined. The Commission must set it before Member States begin to implement it, based on the minimum costs incurred by customs authorities in processing goods. A figure of around 2 euros is widely circulating in the trade press, but no official document has confirmed this to date. Any simulation of landed costs that currently includes 2 euros as a given figure is based on an assumption and must be presented as such internally.
November 2026 brings a second, often-overlooked requirement: the use of unique product identifiers—which has been implemented on a voluntary basis since July 1, 2026—will become mandatory. These identifiers are intended to improve risk management, facilitate the enforcement of prohibitions and restrictions, and enable controls to be extended beyond individual shipments to cover all goods with a similar risk profile. In practical terms, your product catalog becomes a customs document.
The national patchwork is coming together
Between January and June 2026, several Member States took the initiative by introducing their own fees, creating a patchwork of regulations that is difficult for operators active in multiple countries to manage. Italy and Romania introduced administrative fees on January 1, 2026, amounting to 2 euros and 25 lei, respectively. France followed suit on March 1, 2026, with a tax on small packages of 2 euros per item, applicable to shipments from outside the EU valued at less than 150 euros.
This French tax was in effect for four months. It was suspended effective July 1, 2026, as Decree No. 2026-589 of July 3, 2026, noted the entry into force of the European measure that replaces it. The logic is now clear: the European level is absorbing national initiatives, and the November fee is intended to become the sole management levy applied uniformly across the 27 member states.
One caveat, however. The customs clearance fees charged by carriers and customs brokers are not covered by any European legislation and will not be eliminated. They are added to the flat rate, the VAT, and the future fee. Check the rate schedule on your Carrier before concluding that your total cost will increase by only 3 euros.
On the export front: destination markets are also closing
A European e- retailer r selling outside the European Union faces the same trend in reverse. The de minimis threshold—which allowed low-value shipments to enter without duties or burdensome formalities—is being rolled back everywhere.
United States
The $800 exemption has been suspended for all countries of origin since August 29, 2025. In June 2026, the U.S. Customs Administration incorporated this suspension into its regulations for shipments arriving via all modes other than the international postal system, effective June 24, 2026. The consequence for a European seller is that every shipment to the United States becomes a formal import, requiring a 10-digit tariff classification, documented country of origin, and duties payable regardless of value.
United Kingdom
The 135-pound customs exemption for low-value imports will be eliminated. On July 13, 2026, the British government published a summary of its consultation, and the measure will take effect via regulation no later than October 2028. The threshold therefore remains in effect for the time being, but any pricing strategy based on its long-term continuation should be reassessed.
The operational conclusion is the same on both sides of the border: product data, commercial descriptions, and country of origin become compliance assets. Operators with vague product descriptions, approximate tariff codes, or values that consistently fall close to the thresholds automatically become the focus of inspections.
The Blind Spot: Declared Customs Value and Insured Value
This is the area where we see the most costly mistakes, and the reform directly exacerbates the problem.
The tendency to underreport is a two-pronged trap
When the cost of importing a package rises, the temptation to understate its declared value rises as well. This is a miscalculation on two fronts. First, from a customs perspective: undervaluation and the artificial splitting of shipments are precisely the practices that the reform aims to eliminate, and inconsistencies between the commercial description, tariff code, and declared price are among the primary criteria for targeting inspections.
Next, from an insurance perspective—and this is the part people tend to overlook—your compensation is capped at the value you declared. A shipment that’s actually worth 600 euros but declared at 150 euros will never result in compensation exceeding 150 euros. You saved a few euros in fees only to forgo 450 euros in coverage. Three documents must list the same amount: the commercial invoice, the customs declaration, and the declaration of value submitted to your insurer.
Why physical risk is also increasing
The reform is creating more points of friction: more detailed declarations, more targeted inspections, goods held in bonded warehouses, and rerouting of shipments to other European hubs. Each of these steps adds handling, storage, and delays. Yet, statistically, loss, theft, and damage occur at transshipment points, not along the direct route.
What the liability coverage at Carrier includes—and what it does not include
A carrier’s ( Carrier ) legal liability is capped based on weight, not value. For international road transport, the CMR Convention limits compensation to 8.33 SDRs per kilogram, or approximately 10 euros per kilogram. For air transport, the Montreal Convention has set the limit at 26 SDRs per kilogram since December 28, 2024. For a 2-kilogram package containing 800 euros worth of goods, the statutory compensation is approximately 20 euros for road transport and 60 euros for air transport. The discrepancy with the actual value is not an exceptional case; it is the standard practice.
Ad valorem insurance addresses this discrepancy by covering the declared value of the shipment rather than its weight. At Claisy, coverage goes up to 100,000 euros per package, with a premium ranging from 0.60% to 0.75 Excluding VAT of the declared value—with no minimum cost and a premium that decreases with volume—along with disputes processing within 48 to 72 hours and integration with major e-commerce platforms as well as your APIs.
What Insurance Will Never Do for You
Let’s be clear: seizure, confiscation, or destruction ordered by a public authority is a standard exclusion under cargo insurance policies—both for us and our industry peers. A shipment that is held up because the product is non-compliant, prohibited, or misdeclared is not a matter for insurance but for compliance. The 2026 reform specifically increases the likelihood of this type of event. Insurance protects your goods while in transit; it does not compensate for an incomplete or incorrect shipment declaration.
Your Action Plan Before November 1, 2026
Six projects, including three to be launched immediately and three to be scheduled for the fourth quarter.
Sources
- Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382 of February 11, 2026, amending Regulation (EC) No. 1186/2009.
- Council of the European Union, press release dated September 3, 2026: “EU Customs: Council Greenlights Landmark Reform.”
- Council of the European Union, press releases dated February 11, 2026, and March 26, 2026.
- European Commission Delegation to France, note dated July 1, 2026, on the small-package tax.
- Service-public.fr and economie.gouv.fr, July 2026, and Decree No. 2026-589 of July 3, 2026.
- Federal Register, Indefinite Suspension of the De Minimis Exemption, effective June 24, 2026.
- HM Revenue and Customs, “Reforming the Customs Treatment of Low-Value Imports into the UK,” July 13, 2026.