EU Customs Reform 2028 — The End of the €150 De Minimis (What E-Commerce Needs to Plan For)

Short answer: The EU Customs Reform package, agreed politically in 2024 and entering force progressively from March 1, 2028, will abolish the €150 customs duty de minimis, create a new EU Customs Authority (EUCA), launch the EU Customs Data Hub, and make online marketplaces the deemed importer for goods sold to EU consumers. Customs duty will apply from the first euro on every distance sale into the EU, regardless of value.

This is the largest restructuring of EU customs since the 1992 Single Market. If your business ships to EU consumers, the operating model you use today will not work in 2028. Plan now.

What is the EU Customs Reform?

The reform is a package of three interlocking instruments adopted by the European Commission in May 2023 and politically agreed by the Council and Parliament in 2024:

- A new Union Customs Code (UCC) Regulation replacing the 2013 UCC. - A regulation establishing the EU Customs Authority (EUCA), an EU-level decentralised agency that takes over operational functions currently performed by 27 national customs administrations. - A regulation creating the EU Customs Data Hub — a single IT platform that all importers must use to file declarations, replacing the patchwork of national systems.

The operational rollout is staged: the EUCA stands up from 2028; the Data Hub goes live progressively from 2028; and the new responsibilities for marketplaces and deemed-importer rules apply from March 1, 2028.

What changes for importers and sellers

Five things change at once. None of them are minor.

1. €150 customs duty de minimis is abolished

Today (2026), goods with a customs value ≤ €150 are exempt from customs duty (VAT applies from €0). From 2028, the €150 duty threshold disappears. Customs duty applies from the first euro on all imports, including B2C parcels.

The €150 threshold for the Import One-Stop Shop (IOSS) for VAT is also being removed in parallel — IOSS will become available for any value of B2C distance sale, not just shipments under €150.

Practical effect: a €30 Shein-style fashion order from outside the EU will move from "VAT only" today to "VAT + customs duty" in 2028. For a 12% MFN duty rate, that's another ~€3.60 per €30 order.

2. Marketplaces become 'deemed importer'

Online platforms that facilitate the sale of goods imported into the EU become the deemed importer of record. This shifts customs and VAT liability from the third-country seller to the marketplace itself.

Marketplaces will be responsible for:

- Filing the customs declaration via the EU Customs Data Hub. - Collecting customs duty and VAT at checkout. - Maintaining product records and origin information. - Acting as the legal entity that EU customs authorities pursue for compliance failures.

Platforms covered: Amazon, eBay, Etsy, Shein, Temu, AliExpress, Wish, TikTok Shop, and any platform whose business model includes facilitating the sale of imported goods. Direct-to-consumer brands (your own Shopify store, your own .com checkout) remain the importer themselves.

3. Customs declarations move to a 'data-sharing' model

The current model — line-by-line filing of an SAD (Single Administrative Document) for each shipment — is replaced. Importers and marketplaces will submit data into the EU Customs Data Hub, where customs uses risk algorithms to decide which shipments to physically examine.

The declaration becomes a structured dataset rather than a discrete filing event. The transitional period for full Hub adoption runs through 2032, with all importers required to use it from 2032 onwards.

4. Trust & Check Traders — a new compliance tier

The reform introduces a new authorised status called Trust & Check Trader that goes beyond the current AEO (Authorised Economic Operator) regime. Trust & Check operators get faster clearance, fewer physical examinations, and the ability to "self-release" goods on arrival without waiting for an active customs decision.

For large e-commerce platforms and 3PLs serving the EU, becoming a Trust & Check operator will be the de-facto standard. Smaller importers will continue under the standard regime with more friction and longer release times.

5. Origin and product-safety data integration

Customs data will be cross-referenced with EU product-safety regulators (RAPEX, market surveillance), CBAM declarations, and forced-labour due-diligence (CSDDD) data. The EU Customs Data Hub becomes the central index for cross-cutting compliance, not just duty collection.

For sellers, this means classification accuracy and origin documentation become more important: a wrong HS code or origin in 2028 doesn't just risk a duty under-payment — it triggers cross-references to other regulatory frameworks.

Timeline at a glance

Concrete dates from the agreed reform package:

What e-commerce sellers should do now (2026–2027)

Two years out, the operational changes are knowable enough to plan for.

1. Re-classify your catalogue. Wrong HS codes cost ~5–15% on duty today, but in 2028 they also trigger cross-references to product safety and CBAM data. Get classification right — use the [HS code lookup](/tools/hs-code-lookup) and validate borderline calls against EU EBTI rulings.

2. Document country of origin per SKU. Origin determines duty preferences (FTA rates) and Section 301 / IEEPA equivalents. Build supplier-attestation workflows now; they'll be mandatory by 2028.

3. Decide your platform vs. direct strategy. If you currently sell through marketplaces that handle compliance for you, the marketplace shoulders more responsibility in 2028 — your costs may go up via marketplace fees. If you sell direct, you remain the importer of record and need a customs broker relationship in the EU.

4. Pilot IOSS and Trust & Check now. IOSS already exists for low-value VAT collection. Trust & Check builds on AEO. Get the precursor authorisations in place so the 2028 transition is incremental, not a step change.

5. Reprice for duty-from-€0. A 12% duty on €30 orders is material. Update your landed-cost models — use the [landed cost calculator](/tools/landed-cost-calculator) — and decide whether you absorb, pass through, or shift the channel mix.

Bottom line

The EU Customs Reform is the most consequential change to EU import operations in 30 years. The €150 de minimis ends, marketplaces become legal importers, and a single EU customs IT system replaces the 27 national patchwork. Sellers who plan for 2028 in 2026 will have two years to migrate operations. Sellers who don't will discover in March 2028 that the model they used to scale into the EU no longer exists.