EU Sets €2 Handling Fee on Non-EU Parcels, Expected From 1 November, on Top of €3 Duty

The European Commission set a €2 handling fee on low-value parcels from outside the EU in a delegated act published on 21 September 2026. The fee is expected to apply from 1 November 2026, on top of the €3 customs duty that has applied since 1 July 2026.

Il Sole 24 Ore reports that the €2 fee is added to the €3 tariff. Il Sole 24 Ore also said on 25 September 2026 that the act still needed approval from Parliament and the Council before publication in the Official Journal.

How the €2 Fee Stacks on the €3 Duty

Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382 applies from 1 July 2026, alongside Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/1022, which was published in the Official Journal on 30 June 2026, according to Baker McKenzie's customs blog. The €3 duty replaces an exemption that applied until 30 June 2026. The blog says the duty runs until 1 July 2028. Il Sole 24 Ore describes it as applying to parcels valued under €150.

Its 25 September 2026 article cites figures from Roberto Alesse, Director of the Italian Customs Agency: the €3 duty brought €83 million to the Italian treasury in its first two months, and coincided with a 39% drop in imports compared with the previous two-month period.

Agence Europe reports that the Commission links the fee to the approximate costs of customs supervision for goods sold in distance sales. OCS Worldwide says the fee is meant to compensate national customs authorities for the workload of inspecting cross-border packages.

Per Item, Per Consignment or Per Tariff Line

Sources do not agree on how the €2 is counted. Agence Europe says it applies per product sold in a distance sale. Il Sole 24 Ore says it is charged per consignment. OCS Worldwide says it is charged per HS6 tariff code at line-item level, so a consignment with products under several tariff codes incurs a separate €2 for each code.

The €3 duty is counted differently. Baker McKenzie says it is charged per item based on tariff classification rather than per parcel, so five T-shirts incur one €3 charge, while one T-shirt and one watch incur €6.

The value scope also differs. Agence Europe describes the fee as covering small parcels valued up to €150, while OCS Worldwide says it applies to all business-to-consumer consignments regardless of total value.

What It Means for U.S. Sellers and Marketplaces

The fee is tied to distance sales of goods imported from outside the EU, so U.S. sellers shipping direct-to-consumer parcels into the bloc fall within its described scope. Baker McKenzie names the seller or importer, including an IOSS holder or an indirect representative, as the liable declarant for the €3 duty.

OCS Worldwide says the entity that lodges the electronic customs declaration must pay the €2 fee, and that the fees are non-refundable even if a customer returns the goods. Il Sole 24 Ore says that under the new Union Customs Code, customs liability passes to the operator selling or facilitating the online sale, including large platforms and non-EU sellers on marketplaces, and that operators can pass the cost on to customers.

Agence Europe also reports a separate handling fee for goods placed in a customs warehouse for distance sales. It applies from 1 July 2028, and its amount has not yet been set.

Timing, Approval and Next Steps

Il Sole 24 Ore says Parliament and the Council have 30 days from notification to object to the delegated act. If there are no objections, the regulation is published in the Official Journal and takes effect that day, and the handling fee applies ten days later. It says that date is 1 November, which matches the deadline in the new Union Customs Code.

OCS Worldwide's service notice gives 1 November 2026 as the start date. It says final adoption is scheduled for 22 October 2026, whereas Il Sole 24 Ore, on 25 September 2026, said the act still needed approval from Parliament and the Council.

Agence Europe cites Articles 20(4) and 287(5) of Regulation (EU) 2026/2108, the Union Customs Code reform, as the basis for a separate handling fee on goods placed in customs warehouses for distance sales. Baker McKenzie says the €3 duty applies until 1 July 2028.

Il Sole 24 Ore also reports that a separate €2 delivery charge in Italy's 2026 Budget Act has been postponed from 1 July to 1 October, and then to 1 December. It says the government needs to avoid overlap with the EU fee.