24th June, 2026
Shipping to Europe has always had its complications. From 1 July 2026, there are several new ones.
The EU is scrapping the €150 de minimis customs duty exemption. From 1 July, every B2C parcel worth €150 or less gets a flat €3 customs duty per item classification. That applies to all carriers. Every single one.
But the €3 is not the whole story. There is a handling fee coming. Three member states have already introduced their own charges. And the product identifier requirements are more detailed than most early communications suggested. Here is the complete picture.
The €3 Duty: What You Actually Need to Know
The duty is charged per item classification, defined by HS tariff code, product description, or country of origin. Five identical T-shirts in a parcel: one €3 charge. A T-shirt and a watch: two.
Non-refundable. If the parcel comes back or goes undelivered, the €3 per item classification is gone. Update your pricing and your EU returns policy accordingly.
One more thing: The €3 rate is temporary. It runs until 1 July 2028, at which point full EU customs tariffs will apply based on product category. This is not the end state. It is a two-year bridge to broader EU customs reform.
How Is the Duty Collected?
Three models. Depends on your carrier and service.
PDDP: Postal Delivered Duties Paid
Your default for Tracked and Standard services. You collect duty at checkout and remit via your carrier. Your checkout needs to calculate and display it before purchase. Not optional.
DTP: Delivered Taxes Paid
Continues for Tracked Priority and europriority services. Duties charged through the carrier. The change: €3 now applies where it did not before.
DDU: Delivered Duties Unpaid
Continues for selected EU destinations. The customer pays on delivery. Delays and complaints tend to follow. Know which of your routes this covers.
These are the three models. Which applies depends on your destination and service. Check with your carrier to confirm before July.
The Handling Fee Nobody Is Talking About
The EU is also introducing a customs handling fee, separate from the €3 duty. It is expected in November 2026. The amount is not confirmed yet.
It will apply per item classification, the same way the €3 does. Which means it stacks. If you are recalculating your EU shipping margins, leave a line for this.
Three Countries Already Have Their Own Charges
While everyone has been focused on the July 2026 EU-wide changes, three member states have moved early. These are already live or starting now:
Country | Charge | Live from | Paid by |
|---|---|---|---|
France | €2 per HS code per parcel | March 2026 (live now) | Seller (IOSS/PDDP) or recipient (DDU) |
Romania | RON 25 (~£4.35) per shipment | January 2026 (live now) | Sender |
Italy | €2 per item | 1 July 2026 | Currently recipient; sender-pays in development |
What If You Use IOSS?
VAT: unchanged. Duties: new, on top. For most destinations, duty collection runs through PDDP at checkout. Where PDDP is not available, duties are collected from the recipient. Check with your carrier which applies where.
The Product Identifiers: There Are Three, Not Two
Some earlier communications described two product identifier fields. The underlying EU regulation requires up to three:
Merchant Product ID (SKU): Your product reference, SKU, listing ID or catalogue number
Manufacturer Product ID (MID): The manufacturer's product code or series reference
Standardised Identifier: A standardised globally recognised identifier where one exists: GTIN, EAN, UPC, ISBN or IMEI
Optional from 1 July 2026. Mandatory from 1 November 2026. Not all products will have a standardised identifier. That field is only required where one exists.
What You Should Do
If you ship to France or Romania, you are already behind. Check what is in place for those country charges now.
Confirm your delivery term per EU destination. PDDP, DTP or DDU determines what your checkout and systems need to do.
Redo your EU shipping cost model. €3 duty, handling fee (TBC), plus country-specific charges for France, Romania and Italy. The numbers have changed.
Review your EU returns policy. Duty is non-refundable. Say so, clearly, before customers buy.
Audit your product data for three fields. SKU, Manufacturer ID, and standardised code. Make sure all three flow to your carrier integrations before November.
Using Voila?
We are tracking the carrier and country-by-country guidance as it comes out and will update you on how PDDP, the handling fee and country charges affect your carrier rules and checkout configuration.
