What an e-commerce importer must file in the EU in 2026
This profile assumes a small company that sells online and imports goods into the EU, so it adds the obligations that come with cross-border online sales - customs and import duties, packaging and extended-producer-responsibility fees, consumer rules for online sellers - on top of the standard tax calendar. It also includes EU-wide e-commerce and product rules, such as CE marking or battery regulations, where they apply. Sell only domestically, or manufacture rather than import, and your actual list will look different.
This page assumes a specific starting profile: e-commerce importer, in the EU. It's a starting point, not tailored advice - your actual obligations depend on your exact sector, turnover and how you operate.
Directive (EU) 2024/2853 must be transposed by 9 December 2026 and applies to products placed on the market after that date. Software (including SaaS and AI), digital manufacturing files and related services count as products; missing security updates can make a product defective. Courts can order disclosure of evidence and presume defectiveness in complex cases. Free open-source software outside commercial activity is excluded.
Each EU country must provide at least one certified EU Digital Identity Wallet so citizens and businesses can identify themselves, sign documents with qualified e-signatures and share verified attributes (company registration, licences) across the EU. Public administrations must accept it for online services.
Micro and small companies dealing in the EUDR commodities (cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, rubber, soy, wood and derived products) get six extra months. Small downstream traders mainly need to collect and pass on upstream due diligence reference numbers; small primary producers in low-risk countries file a simplified declaration.
Payment providers in EU countries outside the euro area must offer euro instant transfers and the free name/IBAN check (Verification of Payee) from July 2027, completing the roll-out across the EU.