- From 1 July 2026, the EU will impose a temporary EUR 3 customs duty on many low-value e-commerce imports from non-EU countries, ending the current customs duty exemption for goods valued at EUR 150 or less.
- The change is part of a broader EU Customs Reform aimed at reducing undervaluation and fraud, strengthening customs controls, increasing data transparency, and shifting more responsibility to online platforms.
- The Import One Stop Shop (IOSS) system will continue for VAT collection, but imports will no longer be duty-free, adding a new cost element for e-commerce businesses.
- Preferential origin rules may theoretically allow for reduced or zero customs duty under EU free trade agreements, but applying these rules to low-value, high-volume e-commerce shipments is often impractical.
Source: globalvatcompliance.com
Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.
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