The exemption from customs duties for orders up to 150 euros will disappear in the European Union (EU) and will be replaced by a new provisional rate. The decision was formally approved by the Council of the EU and will have a direct impact on purchases made through e-commerce platforms, especially orders sent from outside the community.
According to the EU Council, the new rules eliminate the current threshold of 150 euros below which goods could enter the EU without paying customs duties. The measure is part of a broader reform of the European customs system, which foresees the creation of a European customs data center, currently estimated for 2028.
End of exemption and new provisional rate
According to the statement released by the Council, the existing exemption created situations of unfair competition vis-à-vis European sellers, since many small orders from third countries entered the community market without customs charges.
With the new decision, all goods entering the EU will be subject to customs duties when the new system is fully operational. Until then, Member States have agreed to apply a provisional flat rate of three euros for each category of item included in orders worth less than 150 euros sent directly to consumers in the EU.
According to the same institution, this transitional solution aims to simplify charging and ensure greater equity in the treatment of low-value imports.
How the fee will be calculated
From July 1, 2026, the rate will no longer be applied in a generic way and will start to be calculated by distinct category of product, identified according to customs tariff subheadings.
In practice, this means that an order with items belonging to different categories may pay more than one fee. For example, if a shipment includes a silk blouse and two wool blouses, they will be considered two different categories, which may involve paying six euros in customs duties.
According to the Council, this methodology will allow for greater correspondence between the type of imported product and the respective customs framework.
Financial impact and order volume
According to data from the European Commission cited by the Council, the number of small parcels arriving in the EU has doubled annually since 2022. In 2024 alone, 4.6 billion shipments of this type entered the European market, 91 percent of which originated in China.
The European institution maintains that the new regime will have a positive impact on both the EU budget and national public finances, as customs duties constitute a traditional EU resource. Part of the revenue is retained by Member States as collection costs.
It is important to emphasize that this measure is distinct from the so-called handling fee, still under discussion within the scope of the global customs reform package.
Structural reform underway
The EU is currently negotiating, between the Council and the , the structural reform of the customs system. Among the proposals is the creation of a European data center supervised by a new community customs authority, which should centralize information and reinforce import control.
While the new system does not come into operation, consumers who make online purchases on platforms outside the EU should bear in mind that the final cost of orders may increase, even when the declared value is less than 150 euros.
The end of the exemption marks a relevant change in the rules of cross-border e-commerce and could change the way consumers plan their international purchases in the coming years.
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