Low-value importsEU

EU €3 customs duty on low-value e-commerce imports from 1 July 2026

The EU’s temporary customs duty applies to qualifying distance-sale consignments worth up to €150. The €3 charge is calculated per customs item based on tariff classification—not simply per parcel or physical unit.

By Scott GillettPublished 15 Aug 2026Last reviewed 14 Oct 2026Destination: European Union

WHEN IT APPLIESIn force

Who this affects: UK sellers sending qualifying distance-sale consignments worth no more than €150 into the EU.
Seller action: Check before sending affected goods
Check item grouping and billing. If claiming preference for qualifying origin, confirm the non-IOSS H1 route, evidence, VAT arrangements and total clearance cost with your declarant.
Effective dates / current position: 1 July 2026
Last reviewed: 14 Oct 2026 — an editorial source check, separate from automatic timing.
Official source: Open the primary source ↗

Updates to this article

14 October 2026
Added the Commission’s non-IOSS H1 preferential-rate route and Dutch Customs’ DMS clarification, with UK–EU origin-evidence checks and a warning that IOSS transactions remain subject to the temporary duty. Checked the duty and declaration measures, annexes and listed corrigenda. This is practical clarification, not a new exemption or commencement; original publication date, URL and imagery preserved.

Recorded editorial changes. Automatic timing labels do not change the publication or review dates.

What changed?

From 1 July 2026, the EU removed the general customs-duty relief previously available for imported consignments with an intrinsic value not exceeding €150. A temporary €3 customs duty now applies to qualifying low-value goods sold through distance sales, including online sales from non-EU businesses to EU customers.

The temporary arrangement is due to run until 1 July 2028. Normal customs tariffs are then expected to apply according to the type of goods as the EU’s wider customs reforms develop.

€3 per item does not mean €3 per physical product

For this duty, an “item” is based on the customs declaration. Goods sharing the same tariff classification, description and—where supplied—origin can be treated as one item. The number of physical units is not necessarily the number of €3 charges.

Official examples. Five identical T-shirts declared together attract one €3 charge. A T-shirt and a watch are two items and attract €6 in total. Identical goods entered on separate declaration lines can create separate items, although they may be grouped on one line where the data permits.

This makes accurate classification and consistent product data important. Different tariff classifications in the same consignment can produce more than one €3 charge.

Who is affected?

The measure applies to qualifying distance sales of imported goods in consignments with an intrinsic value of no more than €150. The Commission says it applies regardless of whether import VAT is handled through IOSS, Special Arrangements or the standard VAT collection route.

Can qualifying UK-origin goods use a preferential rate?

Guidance checked 14 October 2026. A preference is not automatic just because a parcel leaves the UK. The goods must meet the relevant agreement’s origin conditions and the importer must make a supported claim.

The Commission’s current guidance, sections 5.4 and 6.2, says that a preferential rate can be claimed through a full H1 customs declaration where IOSS has not been used to collect VAT. Dutch Customs gives the same practical instruction for Special Arrangements and standard B2C imports: use its DMS declaration system to claim the preferential rate instead of the fixed €3 duty.

IOSS sales remain subject to the temporary €3 duty, including when an H1 declaration is used. Changing the declaration form alone does not create a preference. H1 is the EU declaration dataset; DMS is the Dutch system, not a system every EU destination uses.

For a UK–EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement claim, check the product-specific origin rule and appropriate proof, such as a statement on origin or importer’s knowledge. Reselling goods made elsewhere from UK stock does not, by itself, give them UK preferential origin.

Before changing your process, ask the customs representative whether it offers the H1 preference route, what evidence it needs, how VAT will be collected and what its clearance charges are. Compare the total delivered cost; this is not a recommendation to leave IOSS, nor a new blanket duty-free allowance. VAT and other applicable charges remain separate.

Sources for this clarification

Who pays the duty?

The legal responsibility normally sits with the customs declarant—for example the seller or importer, an IOSS or Special Arrangements operator, or an indirect representative. The Commission describes direct payment by the consumer as a residual case in Member States that offer an appropriate declaration facility.

Businesses should still decide commercially whether the cost is included in the selling price, passed on at checkout or collected through the delivery arrangement. Customers should not discover an unexpected charge only when the parcel arrives.

What UK retailers should do now

Review tariff classifications. The number of customs items and therefore the duty can depend on how the goods are classified and grouped in the declaration.
Check carrier and customs-agent processes. Confirm how the duty is calculated, declared and billed for H1, H6 and H7 declarations.
Update landed-cost calculations. Model mixed-product orders as well as parcels containing several identical units.
Check checkout wording. Make it clear who is responsible for duty and avoid unexpected delivery charges.
Keep customs data consistent. Descriptions, classification, origin, quantity and value should agree across the order, invoice and carrier data.
Review preferential claims separately. Confirm eligibility, evidence, declaration route and VAT treatment before assuming an exclusion applies.

This does not replace VAT or product-compliance requirements

The €3 duty is separate from import VAT. Using IOSS does not remove the customs duty. It is also separate from product-safety, packaging, labelling and other EU market requirements.

Product Identifiers can be supplied voluntarily from 1 July 2026 and become mandatory for the relevant distance-sale customs data from 1 November 2026. That is a separate data requirement covered in the site’s Product Identifier briefing.

Official sources

This is general guidance. Check the current EU rules and your carrier or customs representative’s process for the goods and declaration route you use.

Official source

Open the relevant official resource ↗