Overview
- The EU put a €2 processing fee per item category into effect on Nov. 1, and that fee is added to the €3 flat duty that took effect on July 1 for third‑country parcels valued under €150.
- Under the reform, online marketplaces, sellers or their EU representatives are the importer of record and must declare goods to customs and pay the new fees unless platforms change how they handle imports.
- The €2 fee is calculated for each product category in a parcel so a package with items in three categories will incur three fees, while multiple items in the same category do not always raise the charge.
- Early signs show a sharp fall in direct small‑parcel imports, platforms are altering prices or folding duties into list prices, and some firms report bigger average baskets while others shift inventory into EU warehouses to avoid per‑parcel charges.
- The policy responds to a 2025 surge of about 5.9 billion small parcels into the EU, mostly from China, and raises new enforcement challenges because bulk imports into EU distribution centres can sidestep per‑parcel controls and reshape where oversight occurs.