EU removes customs exemption for small purchases from Chinese platforms

The European Union has changed the rules for small imports from third countries, putting an end to the customs exemption that until now allowed low-value shipments to enter duty-free. As a result, consumers in Europe will no longer buy from well-known Chinese platforms such as Shein, Temu and AliExpress under the previous conditions, which often made these products noticeably cheaper than goods produced within the EU.

The European Commission announced that from July 1, online orders from outside the EU worth up to 150 euros will no longer benefit from the customs exemption.

According to Brussels, the change is intended to create fairer competition for European companies while also increasing consumer protection.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the new measure is designed to ensure fairer market conditions for EU companies and stronger protection for citizens.

She stressed on X that a large number of these goods do not comply with EU safety standards, exposing consumers to risks.

The European Commission’s announcement states that goods bought online in third countries and shipped directly to consumers will now be subject to a customs fee of 3 euros for each product category.

Formally, payment of this fee falls to the online platforms or companies that sell and import the goods. However, the European Commission has acknowledged that it cannot predict whether this additional burden will be passed on to consumers through higher prices.

European Commission spokesperson Arianna Podesta clarified that the 3-euro fee should not be paid by consumers, but by sellers or online platforms, which are already obliged to pay it. She added that the Commission cannot speak on behalf of sellers or platforms about the possibility of price increases, but responsibility for the payment does not fall on buyers.

The fee will not be calculated for each package, but according to the type of product. This means that if several pieces or sizes of the same item are purchased, for example five identical T-shirts in different sizes, only a single 3-euro charge will apply.

On the other hand, when different categories of goods are included in a single shipment, for example a T-shirt, a watch and a toy, then a separate 3-euro fee will be charged for each category, even if all the products arrive in the same package.

Podesta recalled that the exemption was originally created to avoid high administrative costs for low-value purchases, but stressed that current conditions are entirely different, as millions of such packages arrive in the European Union every day.

She also stressed that EU companies importing goods in bulk pay customs duties, while large online platforms from third countries have been able to send products directly to consumers without those costs. According to her, this has harmed fair competition in the market, while removing the exemption creates equal conditions for European businesses.

According to European Commission data, in 2025 alone, 5.9 billion items in low-value packages from third countries entered the EU market without paying customs duties.

This translates into more than 16 million packages passing through European customs every day for consumers. Today, low-value shipments account for 97 percent of all items imported into the EU, but only 2 percent of the total value of imports.

The EC statement says that, with changing trade patterns, competition in this sector is no longer equal. According to the Commission, the exemption rule has been regularly abused through the undervaluation of goods or the artificial splitting of orders into several packages in order to remain below the 150-euro threshold.

Brussels estimates that the new rules will create a level playing field between European traders importing goods in bulk and major online platforms outside the EU.

At the same time, these measures are also expected to help address environmental problems linked to the rapid expansion of e-commerce, including growing packaging waste and emissions generated by transport.

The new system will also include product identifiers (PID) for imported goods, which will give customs authorities an easier way to detect unsafe products and goods that do not comply with EU standards. Their use will be voluntary from July 1, 2026, and mandatory from November of the same year.

The European Commission says research carried out during 2025 showed that more than 60 percent of low-value goods entering the EU do not comply with European safety standards or product quality rules, raising concerns about the presence of toxic substances and inaccurate labeling.

Under the new rules, online platforms will be treated as a “deemed importer,” meaning they will bear legal responsibility for product safety and may be penalized if the goods do not meet EU standards.

The 3-euro customs fee is envisaged as a temporary measure and will remain in force until July 2028, when the new European Union Customs Data Hub is expected to become operational. After that, standard tariffs will apply, depending on the tariff classification, origin and value of the product.

This initiative is part of the broader reform of the EU customs system, approved by the European Parliament and member states in March 2026. The reform also предусматриes the introduction of a special fee for processing e-commerce shipments from November 2026, with the aim of helping customs services cope with the rising costs caused by the ever-growing number of packages./REL