EU applies €3 customs duty per item on low-value e-commerce consignments

One of the biggest changes to low-value ecommerce imports into the EU since the introduction of the Import One Stop Shop (IOSS) in 2021, is the abolition of the tariff exemption on low-value imports from 1 July 2026.

Until now, goods shipped from third countries with an intrinsic value of €150 or less could enter the EU without paying customs duties. This exemption, known as low-value customs duty-free, disappears with the entry into force of Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382, which also introduces a temporary customs duty of €3 per item, applicable from 1 July 2026 to 1 July 2028, the date scheduled for the launch of the EU Customs Data Hub provided for in the EU customs reform. From that moment on, the goods will be subject to the normal tariff according to their tariff classification, unless extended if this infrastructure is not operational within the deadline.

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1200 published on 8 June, adjusts the specific mechanisms for customs processing, guarantees, declarations and new product identification obligations so that the €3 duty can be applied operationally and consistently with existing national IT systems.

The Commission has also published a specific Guide on the application of this €3 temporary customs duty on low-value imports, the document of reference for understanding how the new scheme shall be applied in H1, H6 and H7 declarations, as well as for preparing customs and logistics systems before the entry into force of the new data requirements.

The €3 customs duty applies to all consignments with an intrinsic value of €150 or less corresponding to distance sales (B2C) of imported goods, regardless of the VAT regime used (IOSS, Special Arrangements or standard import VAT) and the type of declaration used (H1, H6 or H7). This duty also applies to products that were previously excluded from the tariff exemption, such as alcohol, perfumes and tobacco, and it is no longer relevant whether or not the goods are shipped directly to the recipient.

What ‘item’ stands for

The 3 € fee is applied per declared item, where ‘item’ means each unit of a product that is declared on a separate line. Specifically, the Commission defines "item" as one or more goods in a consignment sharing the same tariff classification, description and, where applicable, origin. However, due to the limitations of current IT systems, the tariff of €3 will be automatically applied per declaration line, regardless of the number of items included in that line, provided that the total intrinsic value of the shipment does not exceed €150.

This distinction has direct economic consequences depending on the type of declaration used. In the case of a shipment with three goods that share the same CN code (8 digits) but have a different TARIC code (10 digits): in H6 or H7 they could be grouped into a single line and only €3 taxed, while in H1 they would generate three different lines and a total of €9. This is because the required tariff classification level varies depending on the type of declaration:

• In the H6 declaration, classification is required at 8 digits (Combined Nomenclature, CN). Items with different TARIC code but with the same CN code may also be grouped on one line, with a single tariff of €3.
• In the H7 declaration, the required level is 6 digits (Harmonized System, HS). Items with a different TARIC code but with the same HS code may be grouped on a single line, taxing a single tariff of 3 euros.
• In the H1 declaration, the classification is required at 10 TARIC digits, with separation by description and origin. It is not possible to group items with different TARIC code even if they share the same HS code.

The following table summarizes how the duty varies according to the type of declaration:

The Guide points out that grouping goods from the same consignment classified under different tariff subheadings in order to apply the highest tariff rate – as set out in Article 177 of the UCC and Article 228.1 of Regulation (EU) 2015/2447 (as amended by Regulation (EU) 2026/1200) – is not permitted where the temporary duty of €3 applies.

Distance sales

The temporary tariff of €3 applies to goods sold in transactions that qualify as distance sales of imported goods (B2C). The Commission's guide defines precisely which transactions qualify as distance sales, establishing four cumulative conditions:

1. The goods must be supplied by a taxable person (including digital platforms as "presumptive suppliers" under Article 14a of the VAT Directive) to a customer in the customs territory of the Union.
2. The supply must be made to an end consumer or a taxable person/legal person whose intra-community acquisitions are not subject to VAT:
   • Taxable person ‘non-purchaser within the Community’: has VAT number but is not obliged to declare intra-Community acquisitions: small companies under the franchise regime, those that carry out exempt transactions without the right to deduction (clinics), taxable persons under a special regime (farmers).
   • Legal person not subject to VAT, such as public authorities or institutions.
3. The goods must be located in a third country or territory at the time of supply. In IOSS transactions, the taxable event for VAT occurs at the time of acceptance of the payment, regardless of when the actual payment is made.
4. The goods must be dispatched or transported to the customer by or on behalf of the supplier (with its intervention, even if it is indirect). Cases where the buyer himself collects the goods or contracts the transport without any intervention from the seller are expressly excluded from the scope of distance sale.

Limits on tariff circumvention: Sales in bonded warehouses and artificial groupings of individual shipments

Sales of goods in bonded warehouses

With respect to bonded warehouses, the Guide expressly clarifies that goods sold to consumers while stored in a bonded warehouse cannot be considered distance sales for the purposes of the transitional tariff. The reason for this is that, under customs legislation and the VAT Directive, customs warehouses cannot be used for retail sales, and goods intended for final consumption cannot remain under that regime.

Consequently, a supplier wishing to supply consumers in the EU with goods stored in a bonded warehouse must first release them for free circulation.

Groupings of individual shipments (anti-abuse clause)

As regards artificial groupings of consignments, where the customs authorities detect, after verifying a declaration, that it is in fact grouping individual distance sales in order to reduce the number of lines and thus the amount of the tariff, they must treat them as such and apply the duty separately. Among the main indications that may give away this practice are:

• the presence of individual labels or references with different final destinations within the same consignment,
• the frequency of such declarations by the same operator,
• information on the context in which the operator usually operates (whether they typically engage in distance selling),
• inconsistencies between the declared buyer and the actual nature of the transaction.

New information to be included on import declarations

Codes F48, F49 and F53 applicable from 1 July 2026

From the entry into force of the €3 temporary customs duty, in the data element ‘12 03 000 000 Supporting document’ on the import declaration, the appropriate code must be indicated to identify the VAT procedure used.

The table below shows when each procedure can be used:

*P&R: Prohibitions and restrictions

Product Identifiers (PIDs): Mandatory from 1 November 2026

Another change with a great operational impact is the introduction of Product Identifiers, known as PIDs, which must be declared to customs for import distance sales from 1 November 2026. Its objective is to improve the traceability of products sold in e-commerce and facilitate customs controls, especially in terms of security, regulatory compliance, prohibitions and restrictions.

Product information must flow fully and accurately from the seller, marketplace or platform to the customs declarant, and a generic product description will no longer be enough.

Operators shall ensure that identifiers are correctly captured, validated, transmitted and declared in the ‘Supporting documents’ data element of the import declaration:

The €3 customs duty is a separate measure from the handling fee aimed at covering customs processing costs, which is currently under discussion and could be introduced at the end of 2026 (the deadline is 1 November 2026).

These new customs rules for e-commerce are expected to reinforce the EU customs union and help customs authorities protect not only the EU retail trade but also EU consumers against growing competition from online platforms abroad.

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Further information

• Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382 of 11 February 2026 amending Regulation (EC) No 1186/2009 as regards the elimination of the threshold-based customs duty relief
• Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1200 of 5 June 2026 amending Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447 as regards the rules on the implementation of the temporary EUR 3 customs duty on distance sales of imported goods in a consignment with an intrinsic value not exceeding EUR 150
• DG TAXUD – News: Guidance and legal text on temporary flat fee on low-value imports which will apply until 1 July 2028
• DG TAXUD – IMPORTATION AND EXPORTATION OF LOW VALUE CONSIGNMENTS – The EUR 3 temporary customs duty “Guidance for Member States and Trade”