EU €3 Customs Duty and €2 Handling Fee: What Online Sellers Pay in 2026

For years, goods worth up to €150 entered the EU free of customs duty. That exemption is over. Since 1 July 2026, low-value parcels sent to consumers from outside the EU pay a €3 flat customs duty, and since 1 November 2026 a €2 EU handling fee applies on top. Both are charged per customs item, not per parcel, so a mixed order can cost much more than €5.

This guide explains what each charge is, how they add up, who pays them, how VAT treats them and why many non-EU sellers are now looking at stock inside the EU. That last option removes the per-parcel charges, but it brings VAT obligations of its own.

The short answer

• €3 customs duty: from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2028, per customs item, on B2C distance sales of goods from outside the EU in consignments worth up to €150.
• €2 handling fee: from 1 November 2026, per customs item, on B2C distance sales of goods imported into the EU, whatever the value. It is permanent and not refundable.
• Both apply together on parcels up to €150. Above €150 the normal customs duty applies, plus the €2 fee.
• Both charges are part of the taxable amount for VAT, according to the Commission’s revised guidance of 6 October 2026.
• Goods that are already in the EU when you sell them, for example in an EU warehouse or Amazon FBA, do not pay these charges per order. Holding stock in the EU does create VAT registration duties.

The €3 flat customs duty

The temporary flat duty was introduced by Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382 and applies from 1 July 2026 until 1 July 2028, when the EU’s customs reform is due to replace it with normal tariff rates (European Commission).

• What it covers: distance sales of goods from outside the EU to consumers, in consignments with an intrinsic value of €150 or less.
• How VAT is paid does not matter: it applies whether import VAT goes through IOSS, the special arrangements of the postal or courier operator, or the standard import procedure.
• Per item, not per product or parcel: a customs item is a group of goods with the same tariff subheading, the same description and the same origin. In practice it is one line of the customs declaration, whatever the quantity.

Example. Five identical T-shirts are one item: €3. Five T-shirts and a watch are two items: €6. Splitting goods with the same tariff code into separate lines does not change the count, and goods with different codes cannot be merged into one line.

The €2 EU handling fee

The handling fee comes from the new Union Customs Code and applies in every member state from 1 November 2026 (Dutch Customs). It covers the cost of supervising the flood of small e-commerce parcels.

• Per customs item, counted the same way as the €3 duty.
• No value limit: it also applies to B2C consignments above €150.
• B2C distance sales only: business-to-business imports do not pay it.
• Permanent: unlike the €3 duty, it does not end in 2028.
• Not refundable, even if the customer sends the goods back.

How the charges add up

Order	Value	Customs items	Customs charges
5 identical T-shirts	€60	1	€3 duty + €2 fee = €5
T-shirts and a watch	€120	2	€6 duty + €4 fee = €10
A camera	€400	1	Normal customs duty + €2 fee
A camera and a spare battery	€450	2	Normal customs duty + €4 fee

VAT is charged on top, at the rate of the customer’s country, and the customs charges themselves are part of the VAT base. At 21% VAT, the €10 of the second example becomes €12.10.

Who pays

Legally, the charges are owed by the person who lodges the customs declaration (Commission guidance):

1. the IOSS-registered seller or its indirect representative, when IOSS is used;
2. otherwise, the operator using the special arrangements, usually the postal or courier company;
3. otherwise, the indirect representative of the importer.

In practice the cost reaches the buyer: either in the price at checkout, or as a payment the carrier collects before delivery. A customs declaration with an IOSS number cannot name the consumer as the declarant. What this looks like for your customer, with real carrier fees: import charges on delivery.

VAT on the €3 duty and the €2 fee

The Commission revised its VAT guidance on 6 October 2026: both charges are part of the taxable amount for VAT (VAT addendum). Many articles written before that date still say the €2 fee carries no VAT.

• With IOSS: the import itself is VAT-exempt, so no VAT is collected at the border. If you charge the €3 and €2 to your customer at checkout, they are part of the price of your sale and belong in your IOSS return.
• Without IOSS: the charges are added to the base on which import VAT is calculated.

If you sell through IOSS, read our guides on IOSS for non-EU sellers and the IOSS €150 limit. hellotax does not offer IOSS registrations or intermediary services.

National fees on top

• Italy: a national €2 fee per consignment up to €150, postponed to 1 December 2026, in addition to the EU charges. Italy’s draft budget for 2027 would abolish it, so check before you price.
• Romania: its national fee of 25 lei (about €5) per parcel applied from 1 January 2026 and was repealed on 30 October 2026.
• France: its own €2 fee applied from March to June 2026 and has been suspended since the EU duty started on 1 July.

National fees change more often than EU rules: check the country before you set prices.

Returns

If a customer sends the goods back, the €2 handling fee is lost. The €3 duty can no longer be recovered by cancelling the customs declaration; it can only be reclaimed through the general procedure for repayment of duties. Build this into your returns policy and your prices.

Shipping from outside the EU or storing in the EU?

The new charges hit the model of shipping each order individually from outside the EU. That is why large platforms have moved stock into EU warehouses since July, and why many smaller sellers are now doing the maths.

When you import goods in bulk into an EU warehouse, the import is a business import: it pays the normal customs duty and import VAT once, on the whole shipment. Your later sales to consumers are made from goods already in the EU, so they do not pay the €3 duty or the €2 fee per order. The exception: goods sold to consumers before they are released for free circulation, for example while they sit in a customs warehouse, still count as imported B2C sales and pay both charges.

	Direct shipping from outside the EU	Stock in an EU warehouse
Customs charges	€3 + €2 per item, or normal duty + €2	Normal duty once, on the bulk import
Import VAT	Through IOSS or paid at the border	Paid on import, deductible with a VAT registration
Delivery to the customer	Days or weeks, possible customs delays	Domestic delivery times
VAT registration	IOSS, or none	VAT number in every country where stock is stored

What EU stock means for your VAT

This is the part that is easy to overlook. Moving stock into the EU can cut customs costs per order, but it changes your VAT position:

• A VAT registration in each country where your goods are stored, before the first unit arrives. Our guide on VAT and 3PL warehouses explains when a fulfilment partner triggers it.
• Import VAT becomes deductible: with a local VAT number you recover the import VAT you paid on the bulk shipment in your VAT return.
• Moving stock between countries is reportable. Each transfer of your own goods to another EU country needs to be declared in both countries. See VAT on stock movements.
• Sales from your own shop to other EU countries can be reported through the One-Stop-Shop (OSS) instead of registering in each customer’s country. For a business established outside the EU this applies from the first sale: the €10,000 threshold is only for businesses established in the EU. For many sellers this is the step from IOSS to OSS.
• Sales through Amazon and other marketplaces: when a non-EU seller sells to consumers from EU stock through a marketplace, the marketplace is treated as the seller for VAT and pays the VAT on those sales. You still keep your registrations, your imports, your stock transfers, your B2B sales and the sales from your own shop.
• A fiscal representative may be required in some countries if your business is established outside the EU. See fiscal representation in the EU.

Using Amazon’s Pan-European or Central Europe programme? Read Amazon Pan-EU VAT requirements before you enable it.

Dropshipping from outside the EU? The registration rules for dropshipping are different. Read which countries you have to register in.

How hellotax helps

We register your business for VAT in the EU countries where you store goods, file the returns and the OSS, and keep your stock transfers in order, with our own software and local tax advisors. We do not handle customs clearance or IOSS. If the new customs charges have you thinking about EU stock, book a free consultation and we will tell you which registrations you would need.

FAQ

Is the €3 charged per parcel?

No. It is charged per customs item: goods with the same tariff subheading, description and origin. A parcel with three different kinds of product pays €9.

Does the €2 fee apply to parcels above €150?

Yes. The €2 handling fee has no value limit for B2C distance sales. Above €150 it is added to the normal customs duty.

Do B2B shipments pay these charges?

No. Both charges apply to distance sales to consumers. Imports by businesses follow the normal customs rules.

Do the charges apply to goods in Amazon FBA warehouses in the EU?

Not per order. Goods in an EU FBA warehouse have already been imported and cleared, paying the normal duty and import VAT on import. Orders shipped to EU customers from those warehouses are not imports.

Do I charge VAT on the €3 and €2 if I pass them on to my customer?

Yes. Since the Commission’s revised guidance of 6 October 2026, both charges are part of the taxable amount. Under IOSS, include them in the price you declare.

Will the €3 duty disappear in 2028?

The flat duty is scheduled to end on 1 July 2028, when normal customs duties are expected to apply to low-value parcels through the new EU Customs Data Hub. If the Data Hub is not ready by then, the Commission may propose to extend the flat duty. The €2 handling fee stays.

Official sources: European Commission, €3 customs duty · Customs guidance · VAT treatment, revised 6 October 2026 · Dutch Customs, €2 handling fee. Last checked: November 2026.