From July 1, the EU is scrapping the duty-free exemption on cheap parcels from outside its borders and replacing it with a temporary €3 customs duty per item.
Your cheap hauls from Shein and TEMU will soon become far less cheap as the EU implements what it calls a “flat fee on low-value imports”.
The European Commission confirmed the change this June, publishing both the legal text and a guidance document for businesses. This marks the end of a long-standing rule that let parcels under €150 slip into the EU without any customs duty at all.
So if you’ve grown fond of ordering €4 phone cases and €6 dresses from abroad, here’s what’s actually changing, and how much lighter your wallet might get.
What exactly is changing on July 1?
Until now, low-value parcels under €150 entered the EU duty-free, thanks to an exemption known as the de minimis rule (a threshold below which customs duties weren’t charged).
However, from July 1, that exemption disappears.
In its place comes a flat €3 customs duty, which the European Commission (EC) has confirmed will stay in force until July 1, 2028. After which, normal customs tariffs kick in, depending on the type of product you’ve ordered.
How much more will your order cost?
Because the duty is charged per unique item, what you order matters more than how much.
The EC offers two handy examples:
- A parcel containing five identical T-shirts counts as one item, so it’s charged €3.
- However, a parcel with one T-shirt and one watch counts as two items, bringing the total duty to €6.
The takeaway? Ordering several of the same thing is cheaper than mixing your basket.
Wait, is this new tax levied on me?
Well… technically, no.
The European Commission is adamant that the €3 is a customs duty on businesses, not a tax on consumers. Officially, the people responsible for paying are the sellers, importers, or their representatives, and only in rare cases would a consumer be billed directly.
In practice, we all know how businesses love passing the buck along, so don’t be shocked if that €3 customs duty pops up while you’re at the checkout.
Why is the EU implementing a new customs duty?
According to the EC, almost 5.9 billion “low-value items” were shipped directly to EU consumers from non-EU countries in 2025 alone — all without paying customs duty.
But, financial aspect aside, there’s also an argument to be made about safety.
Targeted inspections on cosmetics, toys, electronics, food supplements, and protective equipment imported from outside the EU in 2025 found that over 60% of these products failed to meet EU standards. In addition to minor issues like missing labels, some products also contained banned ingredients and lacked safety paperwork.
To help customs spot dodgy goods, product identifiers will become mandatory from November 1, 2026, though sellers can start using them voluntarily from July 1.
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