MEP flags B2C-to-B2B avoidance risk; Commission closes the legal loophole but sidesteps enforcement at scale
From 1 July 2026, the EU will apply a €3 flat customs duty to e-commerce consignments under €150. The aim is to rebalance competition with non-EU platforms shipping direct to consumers. This is ahead of 2028 Customs Reforms which removes the €150 threshold customs duties exemption
The first avoidance model has already emerged and it’s not clear the European Commission is practically addressing it. Separately, a proposed €2 EU Customs Handling Fee may start early in July 2026 instead of November.
EU Parliament question highlights customs evasion issue
An EU Parliamentary question raised the risk of reclassifying B2C sales as B2B imports to sidestep the charge. The European Commission’s response is clear: where consignments simply group individual consumer orders, they remain distance sales of imported goods and fall within scope of the €3 duty.
This legally closes the loophole in law. But does not address practical policies to achieve this.
EC legal position skips practical enforcement tactics
Relying on European Court of Justice principles, the Commission confirms that each underlying order must be assessed separately, regardless of how goods are shipped. Repackaging consumer sales as bulk B2B imports does not change their legal nature.
To support this, the Commission is introducing:
- Amendments to the Union Customs Code implementing rules to help identify misclassified consignments
- An anti-abuse clause allowing authorities to reapply distance sale treatment where grouping is artificial
But the response leaves a gap.
The real challenge is not legal interpretation. It is enforcement at scale. Detecting these structures requires visibility of order-level data across high-volume parcel flows, often fragmented across platforms and logistics providers.
That raises practical questions on data access, consistency across Member States, and whether enforcement costs outweigh a €3 charge.
