European Union: 3 euro customs duty, how should online sellers adapt?

A new 3 € customs duty from 1 July 2026

From 1 July 2026 until 1 July 2028, the European Union will apply a flat-rate customs duty of 3 € on imported goods in consignments with an intrinsic value of €150 or less.

This measure is provided for by Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382¹ and marks the removal of the customs duty exemption previously granted to low-value parcels entering the customs territory of the European Union.

Why is the EU removing the exemption for parcels under €150?

This new regulation is part of the reform of the Union Customs Code, the objectives of which are to:

• modernise customs procedures;
• strengthen the safety of European consumers;
• ensure fairer competition between European companies and sellers established in third countries;
• better control the development of international e-commerce.

According to the European Commission, a significant share of goods imported via e-commerce platforms do not comply with European requirements on safety, conformity or consumer protection. The removal of this exemption therefore aims to strengthen controls while limiting distortions of competition.

Why is this measure being introduced?

The figures published by the European Commission illustrate the scale of the phenomenon. In 2025, nearly 5.9 billion low-value items were shipped directly from third countries to consumers in the European Union without being subject to customs duties.

This situation has enabled many foreign sellers to offer particularly competitive prices, to the detriment of European retailers, who bear greater regulatory and tax obligations.

With the introduction of this flat-rate 3 € customs duty², the European Union aims to restore fairer competition conditions while strengthening controls on low-value imports.

In which cases does the flat-rate 3 € customs duty apply?

According to the explanatory notes published by the European Commission on 2 June 2026³, the flat-rate 3 € customs duty applies to distance sales of imported goods when the intrinsic value of the goods is €150 or less.

This tax is due in the following situations:

• when the iOSS (Import One-Stop Shop) regime is used to declare distance sales of imported goods;
• when the goods are shipped in postal consignments, whether under special regimes or the standard import VAT regime.

Furthermore, the application of this 3 € customs duty is independent of the type of customs declaration used for the importation of the goods. It therefore applies to H1, H6 and H7 declarations.

In other words, as soon as the conditions relating to the value of the goods and the import method are met, the flat-rate duty is payable, regardless of the chosen declaration regime.

What is a distance sale of imported goods?

A distance sale of imported goods refers to the sale of goods shipped from a country or territory located outside the European Union to a final consumer established in an EU Member State.

The concept of distance sale of imported goods is defined in Article 14(4)(2) of the VAT Directive 2006/112/EC. It concerns goods dispatched or transported by the supplier, or on its behalf, including where the supplier indirectly intervenes in the organisation of the transport.

What are the conditions for a sale to be classified as a distance sale of imported goods?

For an operation to be considered a distance sale of imported goods, it must meet the following four conditions:

Condition	Details
Seller status	The seller must be a VAT taxable person.
Buyer status	The buyer must be a non-taxable person (final consumer / B2C) established in the European Union.
Location of the goods	The goods must be located outside the European Union at the time of sale.
Shipment	The goods must be dispatched or transported by the seller (or on its behalf).

However, if the consumer collects the goods themselves or organises their transport without any intervention by the seller, the sale is not considered a distance sale of imported goods.

What is the anti-abuse clause?

The anti-abuse clause enables customs authorities to combat practices aimed at circumventing the application of the flat-rate 3 € customs duty on low-value imports.

How does it work?

When a good passes through several sales before arriving in the European Union, the authorities analyse the entire chain:

• The objective: Identify which transaction constitutes a Distance Sale of Imported Goods.
• The rule: Only the transaction qualified as a distance sale of imported good is taken into account to determine whether the flat-rate customs duty must be applied.

How is the intrinsic value of the goods per consignment determined?

The intrinsic value of a consignment corresponds to the value of the goods themselves, in particular to determine whether a parcel is subject to the flat-rate 3 € customs duty on low-value imports.

How to calculate the intrinsic value of the goods?

The “intrinsic value” for the determination of the value of the consignment is defined in Article 1, paragraph 48, of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446.⁴ :

Type of goods	Method of calculating the intrinsic value
Commercial	The intrinsic value corresponds to the price of the goods sold for export to the European Union. Transport and insurance costs are excluded, unless they are included in the overall price without being separately identified on the invoice. Other taxes and charges that can be verified by the customs authorities on the basis of relevant documents are also included.
Non-commercial	The intrinsic value corresponds to the price that would have been paid if the goods had been sold for export to the European Union.

How does the flat-rate customs duty apply?

Customs duties of €3 are calculated per item and not per parcel.

This means it applies once per article line sharing the same customs nomenclature (and, where applicable for H1 declarations, the same origin), regardless of the number of articles entered on that line.

The examples presented in the tables below illustrate how to apply the flat-rate 3 euro customs duty depending on the customs declaration used:

• H1 :
  • Le code TARIC à 10 chiffres doit être déclaré ;
  • « pays d’origine » doit être déclaré ;
  • The quantity of articles.
• H6 et H7 :
  • Le HS CODE à 6 chiffres doit être déclaré (pour H6, code NC à 8 chiffres) ;
  •  « pays d’origine » n’a pas à être déclaré ;
  • The quantity of articles is not available in H7, and is only available in H6 if that quantity appears in the supporting documents.

Is the flat-rate 3 € customs duty included in the taxable base for import VAT?

The treatment of the flat-rate 3 € customs duty in the taxable base for import VAT depends on the regime used by the seller, in particular whether or not the iOSS (Import One-Stop Shop) single window is used.

Case where the iOSS regime is not used

When the seller does not use the iOSS regime, the flat-rate 3 € customs duty is included in the taxable base for import VAT.

In this case, VAT is calculated upon importation of the goods into the European Union on a base that includes all taxable elements, including this flat-rate duty.

Case where the iOSS regime is used

When the seller uses the iOSS regime, the situation is different:

• the VAT is declared and paid via the iOSS declaration at the time of sale;
• the import VAT is not due upon entry of the goods into the European Union;
• the flat-rate 3 € customs duty is not included in the taxable base for import VAT.

Who is liable for the flat-rate 3 € customs duty?

The person liable for the flat-rate 3 € customs duty is, in all cases, the customs declarant. However, its identity varies according to the customs regime used for the importation of the goods into the European Union.

How is the liable person determined?

Liability follows a precise hierarchy according to the declaration method:

• When the IOSS scheme is used, the declarant is the IOSS VAT identification number holder or their indirect customs representative. In this case, the seller or the electronic interface (platform) using the IOSS is considered primarily liable for the VAT.
• When the IOSS scheme is not used but the goods are declared via the simplified procedure applicable to postal consignments, the declarant is the postal operator or their indirect customs representative.
• When neither the IOSS scheme nor the simplified postal procedure is used, the declarant is the indirect customs representative.
• In the absence of these schemes and an indirect customs representative, the declarant may be any person capable of providing the information required for the customs declaration and presenting the goods to the customs authorities.

Scheme used	Liable party (Declarant)
IOSS scheme	IOSS VAT identification number holder or their indirect customs representative (seller or platform).
Simplified postal procedure	Postal operator or their indirect customs representative.
Other situation	Indirect customs representative.
Default case	Any person capable of providing the necessary information and presenting the goods.

Is the final consumer liable?

In practice, the non-taxable final consumer is almost never liable for the flat-rate 3 € customs duty.

What are the consequences for e-commerce sellers?

The new flat-rate customs duty has a direct impact on B2C e-commerce operators trading with the European Union. These new rules lead to increased costs for low-value goods, necessitating a review of pricing strategies, shipping arrangements, and operational models.

Key points of attention:

• Classification and origin: Product catalogues must be fully and accurately completed (HS codes and origin), as duties are calculated per declaration line.
• Choice of import scheme: The choice between schemes (e.g., H1 or H7) is decisive for the level of duties payable and the reporting obligations.

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1. Regulation (EU) 2026/382 ↩︎
2. douane.gouv.fr (in French) ↩︎
3. Taxation and Customs Union ↩︎
4. Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446 ↩︎