The European Commission has welcomed the political agreement reached today by EU Member States in the Council to abolish the €150 customs duty exemption threshold for e-commerce shipments. This marks a significant shift in the way e-commerce goods entering the EU will be handled.
Currently, e-commerce consignments benefit not only from the duty-free threshold but also from a simplified data set that differs substantially from a standard import declaration. Removing this exemption aims to restore a level playing field with goods produced within Europe. The measure is also expected to help reduce the overwhelming volume of low-value parcels, which customs authorities across the EU are increasingly struggling to process—putting pressure on capacity and risking delays for regular goods flows. For these reasons, the ESC has consistently supported abolishing the exemption.
In addition, the Commission and the Council have committed to developing a temporary solution to collect customs duties on e-commerce parcels as early as possible in 2026—well ahead of the establishment of the EU Customs Agency and the EU Data Hub planned for mid-2028. The European Parliament also endorsed the abolition in its Resolution of 9 July 2025 on product safety and regulatory compliance in e-commerce and in non-EU imports (2025/2037(INI)).
This agreement, together with the Council’s June 2025 mandate to introduce an e-commerce handling fee as of November 2026, represents a pivotal step toward modernising and simplifying EU customs procedures. It strengthens fair competition and supports a level playing field across the retail and e-commerce sectors.
The abolition of the threshold is the first major outcome of the Commission’s 2023 Customs Reform proposal, designed to address the sharp rise in low-value imports purchased online and shipped directly to EU consumers. Recognising the urgency created by the continued boom in e-commerce, Member States and the Commission agreed to accelerate the implementation timeline, bringing the measure into force already in 2026.
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