Europeupdated 52m ago3 min read
European Union Imposes €2 Handling Fee On Non-EU Parcels From Sunday
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EU imposes €2 handling fee on non-EU parcels starting November 1, atop €3 per category. Fee applies per category of items in each package from outside the EU.
EU fee on non-EU parcels
The European Union will from Sunday slap a €2 handling fee on packages from outside the 27-nation bloc in a bid to curb the influx from China. The €2 fee will apply to each type of item in a package sent directly to consumers from outside the EU regardless of the parcel’s value, and it will come on top of the EU’s €3 fee on small parcels. The European Commission is tightening charges on shipments arriving in the European Union from a third country, with “EU processing fees” applying to all shipments from “distance selling” with no minimum value condition.
The fee calculation will charge by category of items present in the package rather than per item, so twenty identical caps will cost only 2 euros in fees while a parcel mixing caps, T-shirts, and belts will rise to 6 euros. The EU says the handling fee is permanent while the €3 duty on low-value packages is a temporary measure in place until July 1, 2028, when standard, product-specific customs tariffs will apply.
Who pays and how
The European Union insists that European consumers will not pay the handling fee, while online retailers and sellers can add a two-euro charge before a sale. The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) said it was "concerned that some platforms may try to pass these new costs onto consumers at the final stages of the purchase." The European Union says the handling fee will apply to each type of item in a package sent directly to consumers from outside the EU regardless of the parcel’s value, with 10 T-shirts in a package triggering a two-euro handling fee.
The European Union also frames the levy as a response to nearly six billion small packages entering the EU last year, with 93 percent of the cheap packages arriving from China. The European Union says the handling fee will compensate customs authorities for the strain of managing an influx of small parcels, while officials warn it is too early to draw firm conclusions after the three-euro duty imposed in July.
Detours and enforcement
France Télévisions reported that Chinese platforms changed routes after the March 1, 2026 €2 tax on small non-EU parcels came into effect, with a tracking test showing a landing at Liège Airport before parcels arrived in France by truck. The airport director Fabrice Pauquet estimated a 75% drop in activity since March, and he said the director lamented that they were now “playing with the crumbs.” The departmental council president Jean-Marc Roze said the French tax was the only one applying this levy and that many shippers and platforms circumvented the airport, adding that “it caused a lot of harm.”
The French government’s initial target for the tax was around €400 million per year, while the director general of Customs estimated it at €2.3 million per month. The article said the French tax was suspended on June 30 and replaced by a European tax, and it added that new EU handling fees of €2 are to apply starting November 1 to parcels imported from third countries.