Shipping small orders to Europe this holiday season now costs more. The EU's €3 parcel duty, the €2 handling fee due Nov. 1, and what sellers outside the bloc should do

For years, a small online order shipped into the European Union from outside it could arrive duty-free as long as it was worth €150 or less. That exemption ended on July 1, 2026. In its place, the EU now charges an interim flat customs duty of €3 on each category of item in a low-value parcel, according to KPMG, which noted that the EU Council formally approved the rules on February 11.

Two further changes are due on November 1, right as holiday orders peak. A new EU handling fee of €2 is expected to apply to e-commerce shipments, and sellers must start supplying product identifier data on consumer shipments. Together they change the math for any small brand, marketplace seller or maker who ships individual orders to European customers.

How does the €3 EU duty work?

The duty is charged per item category, not per parcel or per piece. Retail Gazette offered a simple example: five T-shirts in one package incur one €3 charge, while a T-shirt and a watch incur €6. KPMG's example was a silk blouse and two wool blouses, which fall under two tariff sub-headings and therefore cost €6. FedEx describes the charge as €3 "per line of the customs import declaration" for business-to-consumer shipments with an intrinsic value of €150 or less.

The measure is temporary. It runs until July 1, 2028, after which the EU expects to apply normal duty rates by product type, with a possible extension depending on when the bloc's new customs data hub is ready, KPMG wrote. Business-to-business shipments to VAT-registered buyers pay standard duty rates instead, and some goods from countries with an EU free trade agreement that are not sold through the EU's Import One-Stop Shop may qualify for duty relief, according to FedEx's regulatory alerts.

Who pays is a common point of confusion. "Consumers buying online are not legally responsible for paying the duties," an EU official told The Local. Liability sits with the seller, importer or their representative. Platforms and sellers can still pass the cost on through prices or checkout fees.

What changes on November 1?

A €2 handling fee. In late September, the EU confirmed through a Commission delegated regulation that a temporary EU-wide handling fee on small parcels would be "set a rate of EUR2 per item," VitalLaw reported on September 30. Netherlands Customs, which has published the most detailed public guidance so far, describes the fee as €2 per declaration line and says it is expected to take effect on November 1, 2026. Its guidance gives this example: a parcel with two shirts, three sweaters and a hat has three lines and owes €6.

Dutch customs adds several details sellers should note. The fee is paid by the declarant. It applies when an e-commerce shipment bought from outside the EU is delivered directly to a consumer in the EU, and it applies even when the value is above €150. It is non-refundable, including when a delivery fails or a customer refuses or returns the parcel. FedEx says traders operating an approved customs warehouse for distance sales would pay a reduced fee and that national customs authorities will collect it.

Product identifiers. From November 1, product identifier data becomes mandatory on business-to-consumer shipments, according to Retail Gazette and FedEx, which says it will submit the data as customs broker for its customers. Sellers who ship through a carrier or marketplace should expect to be asked for more detailed product information at label creation.

Illustrative calculation by Action Global News using the per-category duty and per-line fee described by Retail Gazette, KPMG, FedEx and Netherlands Customs. Excludes VAT, carrier charges and any national fees. Actual line counts depend on how goods are classified.

Why the EU made the change

The volume of tiny parcels has exploded. Small packages from outside the bloc rose from 1.39 billion in 2022 to 5.88 billion in 2025, according to figures reported by The Local, up from 4.6 billion in 2024. The European Commission has cited fairer competition for EU retailers and better product safety checks. Commission inspections in 2025 found that more than 60% of checked products in categories such as cosmetics, toys and electronics failed EU standards, Retail Gazette reported. The Commission says the measure is not aimed at any particular country.

The largest cross-border platforms are adjusting. Retail Gazette, citing Reuters, reported that Shein is expanding its EU warehouse capacity and AliExpress plans clearer pricing labels, while Amazon said most of its EU sales are already fulfilled from inside the bloc. Holding stock in EU warehouses, rather than shipping each order from abroad, is one way large sellers are adapting.

National fees are being unwound, unevenly

Several member states introduced their own parcel fees before the EU-wide system. France's €2 domestic fee, introduced in March, ended on July 1, when the EU duty took over, according to The Local. FedEx's alerts say Italy postponed its own €2 fee to December 1, 2026, under a September 17 government decision, and that Romania has applied a 25 lei logistics tax since January 1, 2026. FedEx notes it has no information on whether Romania's tax will be removed when the EU fee applies, so sellers shipping to those countries should check with their carrier.

What sellers outside the EU should do before November

1. Count your lines, not your parcels. Review your top-selling EU baskets and how many tariff categories they contain. Mixed baskets cost more than single-product orders.
2. Get classification right. Accurate tariff codes and product identifiers keep parcels moving and keep line counts honest. Ask your carrier what data it will require at label creation from November 1.
3. Decide who sees the cost. Build duty and handling into product prices or a clear checkout line. Surprise charges at the door lead to refused parcels, and the handling fee is non-refundable.
4. Revisit bundling. Promotional bundles that mix categories may now cost more to ship than single-category bundles.
5. Price returns carefully. A refused or returned parcel still owes the handling fee.
6. Consider fulfillment inside the EU if European orders are a meaningful share of sales; it is the route large platforms are taking.

Europe is not alone. The Local noted that the United States has also lifted a similar exemption, and the United Kingdom has said it will introduce import duties on small parcels worth less than £135 from October 2028, according to Retail Gazette. For the domestic side of the holiday season, including carrier surcharges and marketplace fee changes, see our report on holiday shipping costs for sellers.