Guidance notes issued for €3 customs duty on low-value E-commerce imports July 2026-28
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The EU has introduced an interim flat rate €3 customs duty per item type by customs code in parcels not exceeding €150 imported value from outside the EU from 1 July 2026-28, ending the duty-free treatment for parcels below €150.
- On 2 June 2026, the European Commission issued guidance notes for the launch of the €3 Customs Levy on parcels
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The €3 duty is a temporary measure ahead of the EU Customs Reforms 2028 .
- The levy targets primarily goods sold by non-EU sellers registered under the Import One-Stop Shop (IOSS), covering around 93% of e-commerce imports, and will be charged per item classifiction rather than per parcel. But all EU sellers importing goods from third countries are affected, too.
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This is addition to the proposed €2 Customs Handling Fee likely to be introduced in November 2026. This is largely in response to EU countries imposing unilateral 2026 fees since they were unwilling to wait for the March 2028 ending of the €150 customs exemption.
On 11 February 2026, the Council of the European Union formally agreed to the fixed rate customs levy of €3 per item by customs code on low-value e-commerce imports entering the EU from third countries. The measure will apply from 1 July 2026 until July 2028 and represents a significant shift in how the EU treats the vast volume of small parcels flowing into the Single Market.
The new charge will apply to individual items with an intrinsic value of €150 or less, removing the long-standing duty-free treatment that has applied to low-value consignments. In practical terms, this affects parcels sent directly to EU consumers by non-EU sellers operating through online platforms, which today account for the overwhelming majority of cross-border e-commerce shipments into the EU.
€3 levy per commodity code item – multiple charges for consignments
The €3 customs levy will apply to goods sold by non-EU merchants that are registered under the Import One-Stop Shop (IOSS) for VAT purposes. According to EU estimates, this captures around 93% of all e-commerce parcels imported into the Union, making the measure highly impactful from day one.
The levy is calculated per item or product by customs code, rather than per parcel, meaning multi-item consignments may incur multiple charges. This means one parcel with multiple items but under the same HS commodity code would only receive one €3 charge if the total value does not exceed €150.
Example:
- A parcel contains 1 blouse made of silk and 2 blouses made of wool.
- Therefore, due to their different tariff sub-headings, the parcel contains two distinct items and €6 in customs duty should be paid.
It is not yet clear how the customs levy will be collected – for example, via the IOSS VAT collections.
Importantly, the customs duty is separate from VAT, which will continue to be declared and paid via IOSS where applicable.
The European Commission has also indicated that it will assess whether the scope of the levy should be widened in future to include goods supplied by sellers that are not registered in IOSS.
Monthly monitoring of new customs charge; extension option
The Regulation embeds a formal surveillance and review framework around the new €3 flat-rate customs charge.
From 1 October 2026, the European Commission must conduct monthly monitoring to determine whether importers are diverting trade away from the import one-stop shop (IOSS) in order to circumvent the flat-rate duty. Where evidence of such behavioural distortion is identified, the Commission is empowered to propose legislative adjustments, including a potential extension of the simplified regime’s scope to neutralise avoidance incentives.
Separately, by 1 December 2027, the Commission is required to evaluate the readiness of the planned centralised Union IT infrastructure for e-commerce customs duties, which is scheduled to become operational on 1 July 2028. If implementation delays are confirmed, the Commission may propose prolonging the transitional simplified tariff treatment beyond that date to ensure continuity of customs processing and revenue collection.
A transitional measure ahead of wider customs reform
This €3 duty is explicitly designed as a temporary solution. It will remain in force until the EU’s broader customs reform package becomes operational, notably the EU Customs Data Hub scheduled for launch in 2028.
Once that system is live, low-value e-commerce imports will move to a permanent regime under which standard EU customs tariffs apply, based on the nature and classification of the goods rather than a flat rate.
The interim levy is intended to address an urgent enforcement gap. The explosive growth in e-commerce imports has placed significant strain on customs authorities, while EU retailers have long argued that duty-free imports undercut domestic businesses.
Relationship with the proposed handling fee
The €3 customs duty should not be confused with the proposed EU-wide handling fee on e-commerce parcels, which is still under negotiation. That separate charge is intended to offset the administrative and supervisory costs borne by customs authorities and may take effect from late 2026, subject to agreement between the Council and the European Parliament.
