There is no longer an EU duty-free threshold for low-value parcels. The €150 customs-duty exemption ended on 1 July 2026. In its place, a temporary flat customs duty of €3 applies to each item in an in-scope consignment worth up to €150. Import VAT is a separate charge, and it has applied to every parcel since 2021. If you search for "EU de minimis", this change is the answer you are looking for.
This guide explains what changed, which shipments are covered, how the €3 is counted, who pays, and what to do before your next parcel leaves for Europe.
TL;DR
- The EU's €150 customs-duty exemption was abolished by Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382, effective 1 July 2026.
- Until 1 July 2028, a flat €3 customs duty applies per item (per tariff category) in in-scope consignments of up to €150. After that, normal duty rates are expected to apply.
- The €3 is counted per item category, not per parcel. A parcel with two different product types costs €6 in duty.
- Import VAT is separate and was never covered by the €150 exemption. A further Union Handling Fee is expected from 1 November 2026.
- Occasional personal gifts between private individuals follow different rules and may remain exempt.
Table of Contents
- What the EU duty-free threshold was, and what replaced it
- Which shipments are covered
- How the €3 is calculated
- Duty is not the same as VAT
- Who pays the duty
- Gifts, returns and personal parcels
- What the change means for different senders
- Perspective: what we see on the sender's side
- A checklist before you ship to the EU
- Shipping to Europe with Simply Parcel
- Frequently asked questions
- Sources
What the EU duty-free threshold was, and what replaced it
For decades, goods imported into the EU in consignments with an intrinsic value of €150 or less were exempt from customs duty. People often call this the EU de minimis threshold. It let low-value e-commerce orders and small personal parcels enter without duty.
That is over. Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382 eliminated the €150 customs-duty relief from 1 July 2026. Until 1 July 2028, a €3 customs duty applies to each item in a consignment with an intrinsic value not exceeding €150, where the importation is VAT-exempt under Article 143(1)(ca) of the VAT Directive, or where the goods travel in a postal consignment as the regulation defines it.
The Council announced its agreement on this measure in December 2025. It is described as a temporary step that stays in place until the permanent arrangement for such parcels takes effect.
Why the EU ended it
The European Commission describes the old exemption as an outdated loophole. Senders could exploit it by undervaluing goods or splitting shipments, which disadvantaged traditional retailers and created unfair competition, according to its Customs Reform page. The scale is large: the same page reports that 5.9 billion low-value e-commerce items entered the EU in 2025.
What "temporary" means
The €3 duty is a transitional, flat-rate measure. The Commission's guidance and legal text says that after 1 July 2028 normal customs duties will apply, depending on the type of good. It ties this to the wider Customs Reform and the Customs Data Hub becoming operational. So the "flat €3" is not a long-term price. For planning beyond mid-2028, assume the tariff rate for your product category will apply instead.
Which shipments are covered
The rules are aimed at business-to-consumer distance sales: a seller outside the EU sells to a buyer inside the EU, and the goods ship in a consignment worth up to €150. The Commission's guidance states that the rules apply regardless of whether the seller uses IOSS, special arrangements, or standard VAT.
Two points define the scope:
- Value. The ceiling is €150 of intrinsic value per consignment. Above that, goods were never covered by the exemption and ordinary duty rates apply.
- Type of import. The €3 applies where the import is VAT-exempt under Article 143(1)(ca) (the route used with IOSS), or where goods move in a postal consignment. The regulation's definition of postal consignment excludes goods that benefit from preferential measures, such as those under customs union agreements, and goods whose importation is VAT-exempt under Article 143(1)(ca).
Some commercial shipments outside IOSS and not sent by post are handled differently. They can clear through a simplified declaration with duty calculated at the normal tariff rate rather than the flat €3. The exact route depends on how your carrier declares the goods, so confirm it before you ship a commercial order.
How the €3 is calculated
The most common mistake is to read "€3 per item" as "€3 per product unit" or "€3 per parcel". It is neither.
The Commission's guidance says the duty is calculated per item category based on tariff classification, not per parcel and not on total value. If a parcel holds several distinct categories, the duty multiplies. Two distinct categories mean €6.
The regulation gives a formal definition. An "item" is one or more goods sharing the same tariff classification and description and, where the data provides it, the same origin. This definition exists so the €3 applies to each item declared separately.
Worked examples
These examples apply the guidance's rule to typical parcels. They are illustrations, not customs rulings. The tariff classification that your carrier or customs broker assigns decides the final count.
| Parcel contents | Distinct item categories | Flat duty |
|---|---|---|
| Five identical T-shirts, same description | 1 | €3 |
| A phone case and a charging cable | 2 | €6 |
| A candle, a ceramic mug and a notebook | 3 | €9 |
| Ten units of one skincare product | 1 | €3 |
The lesson for senders is practical: a precise, accurate commercial description matters. Vague wording such as "gift items" or "accessories" can cause the declaration to be split or queried. Our guide to what you need for a customs declaration covers how to describe goods so they clear without questions.
Duty is not the same as VAT
Readers often mix up three different charges.
- Customs duty. A tax on the goods, set by tariff classification. This is what the €150 threshold used to waive and what the €3 now replaces.
- Import VAT. The EU's import VAT exemption for low-value goods was abolished on 1 July 2021. If you shipped to Europe after that date and thought the parcel was fully tax-free because it was under €150, that was never correct for VAT.
- Handling and carrier fees. Couriers and postal operators may charge for customs clearance and for collecting duty and VAT from the recipient.
A new, separate charge is coming too. A Union Handling Fee is expected to apply from 1 November 2026 to cover customs processing costs for distance sales of imported goods. The Commission's guidance on the €3 duty says it covers costs such as checking data, carrying out risk analysis, and providing the infrastructure and controls. Check the Commission's customs reform page for the current amount before you price an order.
Excise duties on alcohol and tobacco are a fourth, separate matter and have their own allowances and rules.
Who pays the duty
The EU's approach is to place responsibility on the party that declares the goods. The Commission's guidance says the declarant, such as the seller or the importer, is responsible for paying the duty, with the consumer responsible only in residual cases. The Commission's reform page says responsibility for payment and compliance shifts toward platforms, sellers, or carriers involved in the transaction.
In practice, that gives you two models:
- Seller pays (delivered duty paid). The seller or its platform builds the €3, VAT and fees into the checkout total. The buyer sees no surprise at the door.
- Buyer pays on delivery. The courier collects duty, VAT and a clearance fee from the recipient. This is more likely to cause refused parcels and unhappy reviews.
If you sell to EU customers, choose deliberately. Our article on Incoterms for ecommerce explains how the terms you choose decide who bears these costs.
Gifts, returns and personal parcels
Gifts between individuals
The new duty is aimed at commercial distance sales. Occasional gifts sent from one private person to another, for personal use, follow different rules and may remain exempt. For import VAT, such gifts need to be occasional, for personal or family use, sent without payment, and valued at no more than €45. Mark the parcel clearly as a gift, state the real value, and do not use the gift route for items you sold. Sending birthday presents to relatives is a normal case. Sending ten parcels a month to different addresses is not.
Returns
Returns are where the new duty bites. Goods returned after release for free circulation are not eligible for invalidation of the customs declaration for the purposes of the €3 duty, so the duty paid cannot be reimbursed through that facilitation. For a seller, that means each returned order carries a sunk cost. Include it in your return policy and margins.
What the change means for different senders
Individuals and expats
If you are sending your own belongings, a gift, or documents, the main questions are whether the parcel counts as a commercial sale and what value you declare. Describe contents honestly and in plain terms. Keep receipts for anything new. For a move, rules for used personal effects differ from the rules for goods sold online, so check the destination country's customs page.
Small businesses and e-commerce sellers
Your checkout is where this change lands. Review each product's tariff classification, because it decides both the count of items and, from mid-2028, the actual duty rate. Group your catalogue by classification and work out the duty for your typical basket. A seller whose average order holds one category pays €3. A seller whose average basket holds three categories pays €9, which can be significant on a €30 order.
Splitting orders into several parcels no longer avoids anything, because the duty follows item categories and the exemption is gone. Our shipping regulations guide for SMEs sets out the compliance checks a small exporter should run.
Dropshippers and bulk senders
If you ship many small orders, the number of declarations multiplies the effect. Accurate data per order is now a core operating requirement, not an optional extra. Product identifiers become mandatory from 1 November 2026, and sellers may provide them voluntarily from 1 July 2026. If you send in volume, a clear fulfilment process helps you keep data and packing consistent, and this bulk order fulfilment guide is a good starting point for planning that workflow.
Perspective: what we see on the sender's side
We built Simply Parcel around one idea: the customs paperwork should not be the hard part of sending something abroad. When a threshold disappears, the practical problem does not change. Senders still need a correct description, an honest value, a clear label and a decision about who pays at the destination.
Our view is that the biggest risk after 1 July 2026 is not the €3 itself. It is inaccurate data. Parcels with vague descriptions are the ones that get held, queried or charged more than the sender expected. Spending five minutes on a precise description saves days of delay.
We also think senders should treat the duty as a cost to plan for, not an obstacle. For an individual, €3 on a parcel is minor. For a seller with thin margins, it is a line in the pricing model. Build it in once, quote the buyer a duty-inclusive price where you can, and keep shipping.
Finally, watch the dates. The flat duty is temporary, and the Union Handling Fee is expected to start on 1 November 2026. We recommend checking the European Commission's customs pages before each peak season rather than relying on last year's assumptions.
— SP
A checklist before you ship to the EU
- Decide whether the parcel is a gift or a sale. Only occasional, personal, unpaid gifts between private individuals follow the gift rules.
- Write a specific description per product type. One clear description for each tariff category keeps the duty count accurate.
- Declare the real value. Include the item price, and keep an invoice. Value shown on the customs documents should match what the buyer paid.
- Separate customs value from insured value. They are not the same number, and mixing them up leads to errors. Our guide to customs value versus insured value explains the difference.
- Choose who pays. Pre-pay duty and VAT if you want a smooth delivery. Leave it to the recipient only if they agree.
- Label the parcel properly. Address details, contact numbers and a printed invoice reduce delays. See our parcel labeling guide.
- Check restricted goods. Batteries, liquids, food, cosmetics and some electronics face their own rules, whatever the value.
- Confirm the current rules. Rates, fees and data requirements are changing through 2026 and 2028, so check the official EU pages.
If this is your first time exporting, our step-by-step international shipping guide walks through the full process, and our overview of customs in shipping explains what happens to a parcel at the border.
Shipping to Europe with Simply Parcel
If you are sending a parcel or documents from Singapore to Europe, we make the booking side simple. You compare couriers, book a pickup online, and we generate your shipping label and customs documentation automatically. You can choose Priority, Connect Plus or Economy depending on how fast you need delivery and what you want to spend, and you can follow the parcel with real-time tracking. Pickup at your door is free, and there is no monthly volume commitment.
To see options for your destination, get a shipment quote or view the Priority, Connect Plus and Economy services.
Frequently asked questions
Is the €150 de minimis threshold still in effect?
No. The EU abolished the €150 customs-duty exemption with effect from 1 July 2026. A temporary flat duty of €3 per item category now applies to in-scope consignments of up to €150, until 1 July 2028. After that, normal customs duties are expected to apply by type of good.
Do I still pay VAT on parcels under €150?
Yes. The import VAT exemption for low-value goods was abolished on 1 July 2021, so VAT is due on commercial parcels regardless of value. The €3 customs duty is a separate charge on top of VAT. Only narrow cases, such as occasional personal gifts of limited value between individuals, may qualify for relief.
Is the €3 charged per parcel?
No. It is charged per item category based on tariff classification. A parcel with one product type costs €3 in duty, while a parcel with two distinct product types costs €6. Items sharing the same classification and description count as one item.
Does the new duty apply to the US $800 threshold or to other countries?
No. The €3 duty is an EU rule for goods entering the EU. Other countries set their own thresholds, and each has different values and conditions. Check the destination country's customs authority before you ship.
Who is responsible for paying the €3?
The declarant, usually the seller or importer, is responsible for paying, and the consumer pays only in residual cases. If the seller does not pre-pay, the carrier may collect the amount from the recipient on delivery, together with VAT and any clearance fee. Agree the arrangement before you ship.
Sources
- Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382, Official Journal of the European Union
- Commission regulation with definitions of item and postal consignment
- European Commission: Guidance and legal text on the temporary flat fee on low-value imports
- European Commission: EU Customs Reform
- European Commission: Customs Guidance on the €3 customs duty
- European Commission: Customs guidance on low-value consignments
- Council of the EU: press release on the customs duty on small parcels