Member States move first on panels charge; EU €3 parcel duties from July 2026
Early movers: Romania goes live; Italy to pause; France agreement; Netherlands abandons proposal
12 Dec 2026 Update: an interim EU €3 Customs Levy has been agreed to come into force from 1 July 2026. Romania and Italy have gone live with their levies. Netherlands and France are still at proposal stage. Belgium has withdrawn its unilateral proposal.
As the 2028 EU Customs Reforms progresses, several member states are looking to impose local versions of the proposed small parcel customs processing fee. This would cover the balloting costs of tackling an esteemed €50 billion in VAT and customs fraud.
Romania — flat 25 RON (~€5) per parcel under €150 from 1 Jan 2026
Bucharest has imposed a fixed customs/handling fee of 25 lei on non-EU B2C parcels below €150, explicitly targeting the flood of low-value direct-to-consumer shipments. This is now live in 2026.
Italy €2 parcel charge on B2B and B2C live 1 January 2026 – but likely delay to July 2026
Italy has now introduced its €2 administration charge for Customs clearance on parcels not exceeding €150 in value. This was introduced from 1 January 2026. It appears to be levied on B2C, B2B. However, it is expected to be put on hold until July 2026.
Netherlands raises prospect of February 2026 B2C €2 handling fee
The Dutch Finance Ministry on 13 January 2026 said it was abandoning plans the Customs Administration has been weighing – a national B2C e-commerce handling fee for parcels entering the EU via the Netherlands. Industry briefings indicated a €2 per product/declaration line charge within DECO/IOSS, settled monthly via UTB to the declarant (representation-agnostic). A €2 Dutch Customs Fee proposal in the Parliament
The backdrop: the Netherlands is Europe’s parcel portal, so unilateral fees risk traffic diversion to neighbouring states without a fee.
France — €2 national fee “as soon as 2026,” in agreed budget
The 2026 Finance Act includes a proposed French €2 Customs Administration Fee. Paris pushed in spring 2025 for a national handling fee as a stopgap ahead of the EU regime (with ministers stressing consumer-safety checks and unfair competition). Formal legal text isn’t yet fully confirmed publicly, but the intent to move early is clear. Media and wire reports place the EU-level fee at €2 per parcel (and €0.50 when fulfilled from an EU warehouse), with France agitating to accelerate timelines.
Poland – cautious based on delayed EU plans
Polish deputy digital minister Dariusz Standerski said that Warsaw was “exploring various national solutions in this area, bearing in mind, however, that only EU solutions will be fully effective”.
Germany – pushes EU to act as soon as possible before unilateral disharmony
Lars Klingbeil, Germany’s finance minister, has written to the commission urging it to accelerate implementation of the bloc-wide fee so it can enter into force early next year. “Customs and market surveillance authorities are facing an increasing workload, and risks are emerging in terms of product safety and conformity, illegal goods, sustainability, and unfair competition for responsible companies. We can only tackle this major political task within the EU by working together.”
2028 EU Customs Reforms
The reforms are:
- Creation of a single Customs authority from March 2028 to strengthen policing of the goods border. The remains the more controversial strand with key member states challenging the centralisation of obligations, roles and funding;
- Establish Customs Data Hub by December 2037 which appears to enjoy support across the board, but needs further definition.
- Trusted Trader, the introduction of enhanced customs simplifications for the most trusted traders, saving them time and money. This includes be able to release their goods into circulation in the EU without any active customs intervention at all.
- Platforms take on Customs Deemed Importer obligations: becoming responsible for: Duties, excise and VAT collections; import reporting; and product liabilities To facilitate this, creating the concept of a deemed importer for customs.
- Eliminating the €150 customs duties and VAT threshold on low-value consignments, which has strong support. But some states would like to bring the go-live date forward from 2028. The includes incentives to encourage non-EU digital platforms adopt IOSS returns.
