The European Council has approved the new rules on customs duties for parcels entering the European Union: each parcel will be charged a flat-rate customs duty of 3 euros.
Until now, parcels with a value of less than 150 euros are exempt from customs duties upon entry into the EU. This is one of the reasons for the flood of parcels from Chinese e-commerce, which is considered unfair competition by European sellers. It is also about clamping down on certain unscrupulous sellers, as there are numerous examples of counterfeit or even banned goods on Temu or Alibaba.
Initially, Member States will introduce a flat-rate customs duty of 3 euros on items in parcels with a value of less than 150 euros. When a parcel contains items from different tariff subheadings, the customs duty is multiplied by the number of tariff subheadings. The EU’s new customs data platform should be operational in 2028 (theoretically on July 1). At that time, normal customs tariffs will apply to all goods entering the EU.
The European Council considers that this new system will have a positive impact on both the EU budget and national public finances, as customs duties are a traditional source of Union revenue and Member States retain part of these amounts as collection costs. This measure is separate from the proposal for a “processing levy” currently being discussed in the context of the customs reform package.
