Starting 1 November, the EU will charge a €2 handling fee on every package entering its market, regardless of value. It is intended to cover customs inspection costs, which officials say are disproportionately high for e-commerce, and to address the surge in low-priced imports, especially from Chinese platforms such as Temu, Shein and AliExpress. The fee is separate from a €3 duty introduced in July on parcels worth less than €150. That duty is temporary and is expected to remain until 2028, when a new customs IT system is due to begin operating. Platforms, sellers or carriers will pay the handling fee; EU member states will collect it, with 75% of the revenue going to the EU budget and 25% retained by national governments.
The earlier €3 duty has coincided with a 60% fall in small-parcel imports between July and September, according to the European Commission, but about five million parcels still enter the bloc each day. In 2024, 91% of those shipments came from China, intensifying competition for European retailers. The EU is also targeting unsafe or non-compliant goods sold online: the Commission has proposed rules that would require an EU-based operator to be legally responsible for products that breach EU requirements. Temu was fined €200 million in May over shortcomings involving dangerous toys and faulty chargers, while Shein is under investigation over illegal products, including child-like sex dolls.
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