EU ends €150 duty exemption: €3 flat fee on low-value imports from July 2026
The EU is scrapping its long-standing duty-free threshold for low-value imports effective 1 July 2026. Instead of exempting consignments up to €150 from customs duty, shippers will now pay a flat €3 fee per item, regardless of value (up to €150). This change applies to all imports from outside the EU and will remain in effect until 1 July 2028. The shift simplifies VAT collection on e-commerce but increases costs for small-parcel shippers and their customers.
Photo: Nataliya Vaitkevich / Pexels# EU Scraps €150 Duty Exemption, Introduces €3 Flat Fee for Low-Value Imports
Effective 1 July 2026, the European Union is ending its exemption from customs duty on low-value consignments and replacing it with a temporary flat fee of €3 per item on shipments valued up to €150 imported from outside the EU bloc, according to guidance published by EU TAXUD on 9 June 2026.
What's changing
For the past decade, EU importers have benefited from a de minimis threshold allowing duty-free entry of goods valued below €150 per consignment. This threshold was designed to reduce administrative burden and collection costs for trivial duty amounts.
From 1 July 2026, the EU will apply a temporary €3 customs duty per item on low-value consignments (up to €150) imported from outside the EU, abolishing the duty exemption applicable until 30 June 2026.
Under the new regime, every item in a consignment valued up to €150 will incur a flat €3 customs fee. The change is explicitly temporary: it will apply until 1 July 2028, at which point the rules will be reassessed.
Who this affects
This change impacts:
- E-commerce merchants selling goods to EU customers (especially from non-EU suppliers)
- Freight forwarders and logistics providers handling parcel and small-shipment clearance
- Direct-to-consumer exporters shipping low-value items (apparel, accessories, electronics, cosmetics) to the EU
- Consumers who will likely see increased shipping costs or import fees on online purchases from outside the EU
The flat fee applies uniformly across all EU member states and to all non-EU origin countries. Items with a declared value exceeding €150 will continue to follow standard tariff and duty rules based on HS classification and origin.
Rationale
The removal of the exemption is part of the EU's broader effort to combat VAT fraud and ensure consistent tax collection on cross-border e-commerce. The flat-fee mechanism balances revenue collection with administrative simplicity, avoiding the need to assess duty rates individually on thousands of small shipments.
What this means for shippers
You must adjust cost calculations, customer communications, and freight estimates immediately. From 1 July 2026, every low-value import into the EU will incur an additional €3 per item, reducing your margin or forcing price increases. Review your product declarations, consolidation strategies, and supplier terms now—delaying this change to your systems costs you money on every sub-€150 shipment. Use our landed-cost tool to model the new fee structure into your quotes and margins before the deadline.
