EU ecommerce handling fee moves closer, but the rate is not yet known
The fee is due to apply from 1 November 2026, but its amount remains unset. French Customs says the draft EU acts are under negotiation and expected to be adopted on 21 September.
- Who this affects
- UK businesses making distance sales of goods to EU consumers.
- Seller action
- No immediate general seller change
Do not add a fixed charge yet. Wait for the final fee amount and adopted EU acts; ask carriers or brokers clearing through France how they are preparing.
- Effective dates / current position
- Scheduled for 1 November 2026
- Last reviewed
- 7 Sept 2026 — an editorial source check, separate from automatic timing.
- Official source
- Open the primary source ↗
Update: 7 September 2026
French Customs reports that the European Commission has sent Member States the draft delegated and implementing acts needed for the EU Union Handling Fee. The acts are being negotiated and are expected to be adopted on 21 September 2026, ahead of the fee applying from 1 November 2026.
This is a further step in the process, not confirmation of the fee amount. UK sellers should not add a fixed handling charge to quotations or checkout calculations yet.
French DELTA H7 change
French Customs also says the DELTA H7 update used to calculate the handling fee will remove the option to use additional procedure code F53 for CO consignments. From the date that system update enters production, CO consignments will instead use F15.
The production date has not yet been published. This is principally a system and declaration requirement for carriers, brokers, platforms and other declarants clearing affected consignments through France. Sellers using those routes should ask their provider how it will update its French H7 mappings.
Where the proposal stands
The Council of the EU has published its first-reading position on the new Union Customs Code. The text includes a new EU customs handling fee for goods sold to EU consumers through distance sales.
The Council and European Parliament reached a provisional political agreement in March 2026. Parliament must still complete its second reading before the Regulation can be formally adopted and published.
What is the proposed handling fee?
EU customs authorities would collect a fixed handling fee for each customs “item” released into free circulation following a distance sale. The fee would help cover customs work including checking shipment data, risk assessment, controls and support for the new EU customs systems.
The fee amount has not been set. The handling-fee provision itself does not contain a €150 consignment-value limit; it refers more broadly to goods sold through distance sales. The Council text also says the fee would be non-refundable.
What does “per item” mean?
An item does not always mean each physical product in a parcel. One customs item can contain one or more goods sharing the same customs classification, product description and—where required—country of origin.
- Three identical T-shirts with the same description, classification and origin may form one customs item.
- A T-shirt and a leather belt would form separate customs items because their classifications and descriptions differ.
A mixed parcel could therefore attract several handling fees. Several identical products would not automatically attract a separate fee for every unit.
Who would be responsible?
The person responsible for the import customs debt would also be responsible for the handling fee. Under the planned distance-sale model, this would be the importer for distance sales, such as the seller or a business facilitating the sale.
During the transitional period, responsibility would normally sit with the customs declarant—typically the person entitled to use IOSS or an indirect customs representative. The EU consumer would not be the legal debtor, although a seller, marketplace, carrier or representative could recover the cost through prices or delivery charges.
When could the fee start?
The fee is not being charged yet. French Customs says it will apply from 1 November 2026, while the draft EU acts needed to set and operate it remain under negotiation.
- The final Union Customs Code must be adopted and published.
- The Commission must adopt the act setting the fee within 10 days of publication.
- Parliament and Council would normally have 30 days to object, unless both approve it sooner.
- The handling-fee provision would apply 10 days after that delegated act enters into force.
French Customs reports that the fee will apply from 1 November 2026. The draft acts are expected to be adopted on 21 September, but the fee amount remains unconfirmed.
How does this relate to the temporary €3 customs duty?
The temporary €3 customs duty and the proposed handling fee are separate charges. The €3 duty is an interim customs tariff for qualifying consignments with an intrinsic value of no more than €150 using the relevant IOSS or postal route. Under current legislation it runs from 1 July 2026 until 1 July 2028.
Once the handling fee starts, a qualifying shipment could face both charges. That overlap could continue until 1 July 2028. The handling fee is intended to continue beyond that date alongside the normal customs tariffs that replace the temporary €3 measure.
What changes in July 2028?
From 1 July 2028, importers for distance sales and businesses choosing to use IOSS would begin supplying customs information through the new EU Customs Data Hub. For those e-commerce movements, this would replace the current customs declaration process.
What UK e-commerce sellers should do now
- Do not add an estimated handling fee to quotations yet.
- Continue providing accurate product descriptions, classifications and countries of origin.
- Confirm who acts as importer and customs declarant within the delivery arrangement.
- Wait for the final fee amount and start date before changing customer prices.
A further update will be needed when the EU adopts the final legislation and confirms the fee.