EU Customs Reform: the €3 Duty Now, the End of the €150 De Minimis in 2028
The EU customs reform was adopted on 16 September 2026. Low-value parcels already pay a €3 duty per item; from 1 July 2028 normal duty applies from the first euro through the EU Customs Data Hub. Dates and what sellers should do.
By Dawid · Published 5 May 2026 · Facts checked 3 October 2026 · How we source rates
Short answer: the €150 customs duty exemption for low-value parcels is being phased out in two steps. Since 1 July 2026 every parcel worth €150 or less sold to EU consumers pays a flat €3 customs duty per item (per tariff heading, not per unit). From 1 July 2028, when the EU Customs Data Hub opens for e-commerce, normal duty rates apply from the first euro. The wider reform — a new Union Customs Code, an EU Customs Authority and the Data Hub — was adopted by Parliament and Council on 16 September 2026 and published in the Official Journal on 21 September 2026.
VAT does not change: it has been due from €0 since July 2021 and is collected at checkout through IOSS for parcels up to €150.
Timeline at a glance
Dates from Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382 and the European Commission's customs reform pages, checked 3 October 2026.
| Date | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 1 July 2021 | VAT due on all imports from €0; IOSS opens for parcels up to €150 |
| 1 July 2026 | €3 customs duty per item on consignments up to €150 sold in distance sales |
| 16 Sept 2026 | Parliament and Council adopt the customs reform |
| 21 Sept 2026 | Reform published in the Official Journal and enters into force |
| 1 Nov 2026 | Additional item data in low-value declarations becomes mandatory |
| 2027 | EU Customs Authority (EUCA) starts its first activities |
| 1 July 2028 | Data Hub opens for e-commerce; €3 duty ends and normal duty applies from €0 |
| 2031 | Other businesses can use the Data Hub voluntarily |
| 1 March 2034 | Data Hub mandatory for all importers |
Step 1, in force now: the €3 duty
Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382 replaced the duty exemption with a temporary flat duty. The rules, from the Commission's guidance:
- It is a customs duty, not a handling fee, of €3 per item.
- "Item" means each different tariff classification in the parcel, not each unit. Five identical T-shirts pay €3; a T-shirt and a watch pay €6.
- It applies to all goods in consignments up to €150 sold in distance sales, whatever VAT scheme is used — IOSS, the special arrangements or standard import VAT.
- Goods that qualify for a preferential rate under a trade agreement are excluded, as long as VAT was not collected through IOSS and they are declared on the full H1 declaration.
A separate EU handling fee per parcel has been proposed; its amount and start date were still to be decided in autumn 2026.
Worked example: a €25 order
A customer in Germany buys a €20 cotton T-shirt and a €25 quartz wristwatch from a store outside the EU, in one parcel worth €45:
- Customs duty: two tariff headings (6109 and 9102) × €3 = €6. Before July 2026 this was €0; from July 2028 it becomes the normal rates — 12% on the T-shirt (€2.40) and 4.5% on the watch (€1.13), €3.53 in total.
- VAT: 19% on the value plus duty, collected at checkout if the seller uses IOSS.
For low-priced goods the flat €3 is the bigger change: on a single €8 item it is a 37.5% duty, far above any normal rate. Sellers of very cheap goods should bundle items of the same heading into one parcel or raise the minimum order.
Step 2, from 1 July 2028: duty from the first euro
When the EU Customs Data Hub opens for e-commerce on 1 July 2028, the temporary €3 duty ends and low-value parcels pay the normal duty rate for their tariff classification. The €150 threshold disappears for duty purposes.
At the same time the reform makes online platforms and sellers in distance sales responsible as importers — they handle the customs formalities and pay the duty, rather than the consumer or the carrier. Marketplaces such as Amazon, Temu, Shein and AliExpress carry that liability for sales they facilitate; a brand selling from its own store is the importer itself.
The EU Customs Authority and the Data Hub
The reform creates an EU Customs Authority (EUCA), which starts its first activities in 2027 and coordinates risk management across the 27 national administrations, and the EU Customs Data Hub, a single platform that replaces national declaration systems over time.
Instead of filing a declaration for each shipment, traders provide data to the Hub, and customs uses it for risk analysis. E-commerce operators come first (July 2028), other businesses can join voluntarily from 2031, and the Hub is mandatory for all importers from 1 March 2034.
The reform also introduces Trust and Check traders, a status beyond today's AEO that allows goods to be released without active intervention by customs for operators with transparent, compliant supply chains.
What sellers should do now
1. Classify every SKU. The €3 duty already counts tariff headings, and from 2028 the heading decides the rate. Use the HS code lookup and check borderline calls against EU EBTI rulings.
2. Register for IOSS if you sell to EU consumers directly. It keeps VAT at checkout and avoids carrier fees for your customers.
3. Document origin per SKU. Preferential origin can take goods out of the €3 duty today and lowers the duty after 2028.
4. Reprice low-value products. Model the €3 per heading now and the full rate from July 2028 in the landed cost calculator.
5. Decide marketplace vs direct. From 2028 marketplaces carry importer liability for the sales they facilitate and will price it into their fees; selling direct keeps the liability, and the paperwork, with you.
Bottom line
The EU's low-value exemption is already gone in practice: €3 per item since July 2026, normal duty from July 2028. The longer reform, adopted in September 2026, moves customs to a single data platform and makes platforms and sellers the importer for e-commerce. Sellers who classify, register for IOSS and reprice now will treat 2028 as a rate change rather than a new operating model.
Related HS Code References