Customs to charge a €2 handling fee per item on online orders from outside the EU from 1 November

Online orders from outside the European Union face a further charge. From 1 November 2026, customs will collect a Union handling fee of €2 per item when a seller ships goods from a non-EU country to customers in the EU (a distance sale). The German government listed the fee in its overview of new rules for November, published on 29 October. Unlike the €3 flat-rate duty in force since 1 July, the fee applies whatever the value of the goods, so also to consignments worth more than €150.

An item is each line of the customs declaration; under the definition in the new Union Customs Code, it covers all goods in a consignment with the same tariff classification and description, and where required the same origin. German customs gives an example: if a parcel holds ten pairs of socks, two cable ties and four pairs of trousers, the three items together attract €9 in flat-rate duty and €6 in handling fees. The duty and the fee also form part of the amount on which import VAT is charged.

Who pays the fee

The fee is owed by whoever declares the goods to customs. According to the European Commission's guidance of 5 October 2026, that is first and foremost the platforms, sellers, carriers or agents acting for them; consumers can declare the goods themselves only as a last resort. Under the reform, responsibility for paying duties and complying with the rules no longer lies with consumers, the Commission says. Where sellers charge the fee to their customers at the point of sale, the guidance provides that it then forms part of the amount subject to VAT.

Why the EU is charging the fee

According to the Commission, the fee is meant to cover the rising costs of customs authorities, for example for checking data, risk analysis and document and physical checks. In 2025, it says, 5.9 billion low-value e-commerce items entered the EU, four times as many as in 2022, and many of them did not meet EU rules and standards. The German government names further aims of the EU customs reform: less packaging waste, more protection against fraud and a level playing field for all retailers.

The legal basis of the fee is the reformed Union Customs Code, adopted by the European Parliament and the Council on 16 September 2026, which entered into force on 20 September. The Commission set the amount of €2 in a delegated regulation. The Council had already introduced the €3 flat-rate duty in a regulation of 11 February 2026, which abolished the customs duty exemption for consignments worth up to €150.

The flat-rate duty has already slowed the flood of parcels

According to a preliminary assessment the Commission published on 30 October, 555.33 million parcels entered the EU in the third quarter of 2026, on average across the EU more than 60% fewer than the trend before the flat-rate duty would suggest. Customs authorities still have to process at least 5 million items a day sent directly to consumers, it says, against fewer than 0.4 million in conventional bulk trade. Some goods now appear to be imported in larger quantities with duty paid and shipped from warehouses in the EU. The Commission plans to work with the member states so that such goods are declared correctly and have a responsible importer in the EU.

What else applies

Also from 1 November, declarants must give a product identifier for consignments worth up to €150, such as the platform's article number, a model number or a standardised manufacturer code such as a GTIN, EAN or ISBN. German customs says a transitional arrangement is being examined. The €3 flat-rate duty applies only until 1 July 2028; after that, according to the Commission's guidance, goods from distance sales will be subject to the normal customs duty rate whatever their value. The handling fee, by contrast, has no end date.