Removal of the €150 customs duty-exemption threshold: transitional flat-rate duty on low-value parcels
Date note: Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382 (adopted 2026-02-11, OJ 2026-02-18) deletes the customs duty exemption for consignments up to €150 and imposes a transitional flat duty of €3 per item from 2026-07-01 until 2028-07-01, when the EU Customs Data Hub is due to apply normal, item-specific tariffs instead.
What changes
Until mid-2026, parcels worth up to €150 sent to EU consumers from outside the EU were exempt from customs duty (VAT has already been due on them since 2021). Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382 removed that exemption and, from 1 July 2026, applies a flat transitional duty of €3 per item to such low-value consignments, ahead of full ad-valorem tariffs once the EU Customs Data Hub is operational (targeted around mid-2028).
Who is affected
Online sellers and marketplaces that ship low-value parcels directly to EU consumers from outside the EU, and the consumers who receive them; does not affect goods already inside the EU or ordinary B2B shipments cleared through full customs declarations.
Sizes: micro, small, medium, large · Sectors: E-commerce, Retail · Applies if: We sell online; We import goods into the EU; We sell to consumers (B2C)
What to do
If you ship low-value parcels into the EU from outside, update pricing, checkout and customs paperwork to account for the €3-per-item flat duty from 1 July 2026, and plan for full item-specific tariffs once the Customs Data Hub replaces the flat rate (targeted mid-2028). If you use IOSS for VAT, check with your carrier or customs broker on how the new duty is collected alongside VAT.
Sources
- EUR-Lex – Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382 (eur-lex.europa.eu)
- European Commission – Removal of the €150 customs duty exemption threshold (taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu)
Last verified 8 September 2026. Informational only, not legal advice.