EUR 2 per product type: new handling fee on parcels from outside the EU from 1 November
Photo: Collected
The European Union (EU) is set to impose a handling fee of 2 euros ($2.25) on parcels arriving from countries outside the bloc from 1 November. The aim is to cope with the huge flow of goods coming from China.
News agency AFP reported this.
The fee is being introduced a few weeks before the start of the Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Christmas shopping season. The new fee will be added to the 3-euro duty the EU is already charging on small parcels.
How will the new fee work?
The fee will have to be paid for each type of product in a parcel sent directly to a consumer’s address from a country outside the EU. The value of the parcel does not matter.
For example, if a parcel contains 10 T-shirts, the fee is 2 euros. But if the same parcel contains two caps and 10 T-shirts, the total fee for the two types of product will be 4 euros.
The new handling fee is separate from the 3-euro duty introduced last July on small parcels worth less than 150 euros.
The EU says European consumers will not have to pay this fee directly. The responsibility for payment lies with online marketplaces such as the US’s Amazon, e-commerce platforms such as China’s AliExpress and Temu, sellers and other intermediaries.
However, these platforms or sellers may ultimately pass the extra cost on to buyers by raising product prices if they wish.
According to official figures, about 6 billion small parcels entered the European Union last year.
About 93 percent of these low-value parcels came from China, a large share of them through popular Asian online platforms such as AliExpress and Temu.
Brussels says handling such a huge number of parcels is increasing pressure on customs authorities and raising operating costs. Money from the new handling fee will be used to meet those costs.
Imports have fallen by about 64 percent since the 3-euro duty on small parcels was introduced in July. However, officials have cautioned that it is too early to draw final conclusions about this trend.
Europe has also expressed concern about some unsafe products entering the EU through Chinese e-commerce platforms. These include toys that break European rules.
The 2-euro handling fee will be permanent. The 3-euro duty on low-value parcels will remain as a temporary measure until 1 July 2028.
From that day, the regular duty rates according to the type of product will apply.
The European Union will have to review the amount of the fee every two years to ensure it stays in line with the cost of customs operations.
Background
According to a Reuters report of 12 December 2025, EU finance ministers agreed that day to impose a 3-euro duty on low-value parcels arriving in the bloc; it was part of an effort to curb cheap e-commerce imports from China.
The European Commission announced on 29 June 2026 that a temporary 3-euro duty would be introduced from 1 July on low-value parcels arriving from outside the EU, mainly through e-commerce.
Sources
Original report: BSS
Background sources: Reuters (MarketScreener), 12 December 2025; European Commission, 29 June 2026
