The European Union will introduce a €2 handling fee on e-commerce packages arriving from non-member countries, effective November 1, 2026. The measure was announced by the European Commission's taxation unit as part of a broader customs reform aimed at covering the growing costs of inspecting cross-border shipments.
The fee will be calculated separately for each item listed on the customs declaration. If a single package contains multiple product lines, each will incur its own €2 charge. The regulation applies not only to low-value goods but also to e-commerce orders exceeding €150 in value.
The new processing fee is separate from the €3 temporary customs duty that the EU began applying to low-value e-commerce shipments from July 1, 2025. When both measures apply to the same shipment, consumers can expect a combined additional cost of €5 per single-item package.
According to EU data, 5.9 billion low-value items were shipped directly to consumers in member states during 2025, with more than 90 percent originating from China. The reform is widely seen as targeting major Chinese online shopping platforms such as Temu, AliExpress, and Shein, as the EU seeks to strengthen customs capacity and curb the entry of products that do not meet bloc standards.
