Since 1 July 2026, parcels up to 150 euro that are sold to EU consumers no longer enter the EU duty free. Customs charges a flat 3 euro per item instead. On 1 November 2026 two more changes follow. A Union handling fee of 2 euro per item comes on top, and the customs declaration must carry product identifiers for every item: two in all cases, and a third where one exists.
For a seller from outside the EU this means: from 1 November a low-value item costs 5 euro at customs, and your carrier or marketplace will ask you for product data it did not need before.
- What changes on 1 November 2026
- The 2 euro Union handling fee
- The 3 euro customs duty
- What "per item" means, with examples
- The three product identifiers
- What to do before your next shipment
What changes on 1 November 2026
| Charge or rule | Applies to | Amount | Since or from | Until |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Temporary customs duty | Distance sales in consignments up to 150 euro | 3 euro per item | 1 July 2026 | 1 July 2028, unless extended |
| Union handling fee | All distance sales, whatever the value | 2 euro per item | 1 November 2026 | No end date |
| Product identifiers | Distance sales in consignments up to 150 euro | M-PID, NS-PID and, if it exists, S-PID | Mandatory from 1 November 2026 | More product data planned from July 2028 |
A distance sale here means goods sold to a consumer in the EU and shipped from outside the EU by or on behalf of the seller. Business-to-business imports are not distance sales.
The 2 euro Union handling fee
The new Union Customs Code, Regulation (EU) 2026/2108, says customs authorities must collect a Union handling fee of a fixed amount per item for handling the request to release goods sold in distance sales for free circulation (Article 20(2)). Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/2152 sets that amount at 2 euro per item, from 1 November 2026.
Four points matter for sellers:
- It applies whatever the value. The handling fee is not limited to parcels up to 150 euro. A parcel of 400 euro sold to a consumer also pays it, per item (Commission guidance, section 3.2).
- It is permanent. Unlike the 3 euro duty, the handling fee has no end date. From 1 July 2028 a lower fee will apply to goods sold from a customs warehouse for distance sales; that amount has not been set yet.
- It is not refunded. Once customs has accepted the declaration, the fee stays due, also when customs does not release the goods, when the declaration is invalidated later or when the goods are returned (Article 20(6); Commission guidance, sections 7.5 and 7.6).
- The consumer does not owe it. The fee is paid by whoever owes the customs debt, in practice the party that declares the goods: the platform, the seller, the carrier or a customs agent (Article 20(5) and recital 80; recital 10 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/1022). That party will usually pass the cost on to you.
Member states may still charge separately for specific extra services, such as examining or sampling goods, or customs staff working outside office hours (Article 20(9)). Ask your carrier which charges it passes on.
The 3 euro customs duty
Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382 ended the duty relief for consignments up to 150 euro and replaced it with a customs duty of 3 euro per item (Articles 1 and 2). It applies from 1 July 2026 until 1 July 2028, unless it is extended. After that date, goods sold in distance sales pay the normal duty rate, whatever their value (Commission guidance, section 3.1).
Our article on EU customs controls on e-commerce imports explains how this duty ties in with the stricter checks on parcels.
What "per item" means, with examples
"Item" does not mean one piece and it does not mean one parcel. Under the Union Customs Code, an item is one or more goods in a consignment that share the same tariff classification, description and, where the declaration asks for it, origin (Article 5(78)). In practice the Commission says both charges apply per declaration line, whatever the quantity on that line (Commission guidance, section 5.2).
| Parcel sold to an EU consumer | Items | Duty | Handling fee | Total at customs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| One phone case, 25 euro | 1 | 3 euro | 2 euro | 5 euro |
| Three identical phone cases on one declaration line, 60 euro | 1 | 3 euro | 2 euro | 5 euro |
| A phone case, a mug and a T-shirt, 70 euro | 3 | 9 euro | 6 euro | 15 euro |
| One jacket, 220 euro | 1 | Normal duty rate | 2 euro | Duty plus 2 euro |
VAT comes on top in every case, either at import or through IOSS at the moment of sale, and VAT is also due on the handling fee: at import or, with IOSS, only when you charge the fee to the buyer as part of the price (Commission guidance, section 9.2). The fewer different product types a parcel contains, the less it pays. Identical products only count as one item when the declarant puts them on one line. The type of declaration also matters: a full H1 declaration uses the 10-digit TARIC code and the origin, so the same parcel can count more items than in the simplified H7 declaration. The right tariff code for each product is therefore more important than before.
Not sure which tariff code your products fall under? Our HS code classification service finds the right CN and TARIC code for each product.
The three product identifiers
From 1 November 2026, customs declarations for distance sales in consignments up to 150 euro must carry product identifiers for each item. Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/1022 introduced the requirement; it could be applied voluntarily from 1 July 2026, and enforcement starts on 1 November (Commission guidance, section 8.2). The Commission is adjusting the legal text to confirm the 150 euro limit. Business-to-business flows are in principle not concerned.
| Identifier | Assigned by | Required | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| M-PID, merchant product identifier | The online seller, marketplace or platform | Always | On a marketplace, its own product number (such as the ASIN on Amazon); on your own webshop, your SKU |
| NS-PID, non-standardised manufacturer product identifier | The manufacturer, producer or product supplier | Always | The factory's model or article number |
| S-PID, standardised manufacturer product identifier | The manufacturer, producer or product supplier | Only if it exists | An EAN barcode number |
If a product has no non-standardised identifier yet, the Commission expects the manufacturer or supplier to assign one; no specific format is required. A manufacturer may also use the EAN as the NS-PID (Commission guidance, section 8.4).
In practice the declarant fills in the declaration, but it can only fill in what it receives from you. Make sure every product in your feed or listing has its marketplace product number or SKU, the supplier's model number and, where you have one, the EAN.
What to do before your next shipment
- Ask your carrier, platform or customs agent how it will charge the handling fee and the duty to you, and from which date.
- Add 5 euro per item to your landed cost for consumer parcels up to 150 euro, and 2 euro per item plus normal duty above that.
- Check the tariff code of each product. It decides how many items customs counts in a parcel.
- Collect the three identifiers for every product: the marketplace product number or, on your own webshop, your SKU; the supplier's model number; and the EAN if there is one.
- Compare the cost per parcel with importing stock in bulk into an EU warehouse. A business import into your own warehouse is not a distance sale, so the handling fee does not apply at that moment; normal duty and import VAT do. This only works when the goods are released for free circulation before you sell them. Goods already sold to consumers, or sold while still in a customs warehouse, still count as distance sales (Commission guidance, sections 4.2 and 4.4).
Our page on selling in the EU on a budget lists the other costs of selling into the EU from outside it.
Want to know what these changes cost for your own products? Tell us what you sell and where you ship, and we will work out what applies to you.
Sources
- Regulation (EU) 2026/2108 establishing the Union Customs Code and the European Union Customs Authority, Article 5(78) and Article 20. EUR-Lex
- Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/2152 establishing the amount of the Union handling fee, Official Journal of 22 October 2026. EUR-Lex
- Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382, Articles 1 and 2. EUR-Lex
- Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/1022 on data elements for the temporary 3 euro customs duty, including product identifiers.
- European Commission, Guidance on the temporary EUR 3 customs duty and the Union handling fee, October 2026, sections 3, 4.2, 4.4, 5.2, 7.5, 7.6, 8 and 9.2. taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu
- Council of the EU, press release of 11 February 2026. consilium.europa.eu
- Consulted October 2026.
