End of the EUR 150 Customs Duty Exemption: What Applies to Consignments from Third Countries from 1 July 2026

From 1 July 2026, every consignment from outside the European Union is subject to customs duty, regardless of its value. The exemption for consignments of up to EUR 150 was abolished by Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382 of 11 February 2026 amending Regulation (EC) No 1186/2009, which applies from 1 July 2026. A transitional regime applies until 1 July 2028: in distance sales, a flat-rate duty of EUR 3 is levied per item, i.e. for each different customs tariff code in the consignment. Whether the new rules apply depends on the date of acceptance of the customs declaration for release for free circulation, not on the date of the order. An EU-wide handling fee is to be added from November 2026. The change affects both shoppers and businesses that import, declare or sell goods from third countries.

Why did the EU abolish the EUR 150 exemption?

The legal basis for the previous exemption was Chapter V of Title II of Council Regulation (EC) No 1186/2009, Article 23 of which granted relief from customs duty for consignments of negligible value up to a threshold of EUR 150. The rule was originally intended to spare customs authorities from collecting trivial amounts. E-commerce, however, turned it into a business model. According to the European Commission, the volume of small parcels arriving in the EU has doubled every year since 2022; 4.6 billion of them entered the Union market in 2024, and 91 percent of small consignments come from China. On top of this came the artificial undervaluation of consignments and their splitting so as to stay below the threshold.

The first step came earlier: since 1 July 2021, VAT has been charged on every import regardless of value, following the abolition of the exemption for consignments of up to EUR 22. Customs duty was the last advantage left to low-value imports. From July 2026, duty applies from the first euro.

How does the flat-rate duty of EUR 3 per item work?

Until the EU’s centralised customs infrastructure is operational, duty is not calculated as a percentage of value but as a flat rate. The transitional flat-rate duty of EUR 3 is levied on each category of goods in a small consignment of up to EUR 150 sent directly to a consumer, from 1 July 2026 to 1 July 2028, with the possibility of extension.

The key word is item. An item consists of one or more goods in a consignment that have the same customs tariff code, the same description and the same origin. Three identical T-shirts in one consignment are therefore one item and the duty is EUR 3; a T-shirt and socks are two items and the duty is EUR 6, because they have different tariff classifications. The Council of the EU gives a similar example: a silk blouse and two woollen blouses in one parcel constitute two items, owing to their different tariff subheadings, and the duty is EUR 6.

The flat rate applies primarily where the seller is registered in the IOSS scheme for VAT purposes, and to goods in postal consignments; in other situations, the standard customs procedure applies, with the rate under the Common Customs Tariff. Nothing changes as regards VAT, which continues to be payable on every import.

When is the flat rate payable and when the standard rate?

The Slovak Financial Administration stresses that the decisive date is the date of acceptance of the customs declaration for release of the goods for free circulation; if the declaration is accepted on or after 1 July 2026, the consignment is subject to the new rules. Neither the date of the order nor the date of dispatch is decisive.

It also matters where the goods are at the time of the order. If the goods are outside the EU when ordered and are dispatched from a third country only on the basis of the order under distance-sales conditions, the duty of EUR 3 per item applies. If the goods were moved to a customs warehouse or temporary storage facility in the EU before the order, this is not a distance sale and the standard tariff rate applies upon release for free circulation. If the goods have already been released for free circulation and are held in the seller’s warehouse in the EU, the customs procedure has already taken place and no further duty is payable.

Two notes for businesses. For B2B recipients registered for VAT, the standard customs rates apply. And goods subject to excise duty were already outside the simplified regime, as the customs declaration for low-value consignments cannot be lodged for excise goods, i.e. alcoholic beverages, perfumes and toilet waters, or tobacco products.

What does this mean for shoppers?

The flat rate hits the cheapest goods hardest. A T-shirt, a cable and a phone case in one consignment are three different tariff codes, i.e. EUR 9 in duty before VAT. A EUR 4 gadget becomes EUR 3 more expensive on duty alone – an increase of three quarters of its price – and 23 percent VAT is added on top. It is therefore worth checking where the goods are actually shipped from. An offer from a European warehouse already includes the duty in the price; an offer shipped from a third country does not.

Costs will rise further. From November 2026, a handling fee to cover the rising costs of customs offices is also to be charged, estimated at two euros per consignment. Its amount will be set by a Commission delegated act and is to be reviewed every two years. In the meantime, some countries have introduced their own fees: Italy, for example, has been charging an administrative fee of EUR 2 since 1 July 2026, and France and Romania have adopted similar measures.

What does a company that imports or sells need to address?

Procedure. First, clarify under which procedure consignments actually reach your company. The flat rate of EUR 3 per item belongs to distance sales to consumers, primarily for sellers registered in IOSS and for postal consignments. Business imports by a VAT payer are cleared in the standard way: the goods are classified under CN codes and duty is assessed at the Common Customs Tariff rate on the customs value. For many codes the conventional rate is zero, and where goods have preferential origin from a country with a free trade agreement, the duty may remain zero with a proof of origin. The real change is therefore not automatically higher duty, but a full customs assessment of every small consignment that has so far passed through without any duty being assessed. Beware of employees placing orders on platforms without company details: such a consignment falls under the consumer flat rate, and the company lacks a proper import document as well as the right to deduct VAT.

Classification. Under the flat-rate regime, the number of different codes in a consignment directly determines the amount of duty; under the standard regime, the code determines the rate. Tariff classification ceases to be an administrative formality and becomes a cost item for every small consignment. Incorrect classification means underpayments and penalties; correct classification means a predictable cost.

Process and contracts. A company must clarify who lodges the customs declaration, who bears the duty and how the cost is passed on in contracts with suppliers, carriers or platforms. IOSS, so far a purely VAT tool, becomes a channel for collecting customs duty on these consignments as well, which changes the obligations of registered sellers and their intermediaries.

Finance. A fixed duty changes the economics of low-value product ranges. For some business models, bulk import into an EU warehouse at the standard rate works out better than distance sales with a flat rate for each code. This is a calculation worth doing before the competition does.

Outlook. The temporary solution may not be short-lived. The Commission assesses every month whether trade flows are being diverted and, if so, may propose extending the flat rate to all goods in consignments of up to EUR 150; by 1 December 2027 it will also assess whether the Union’s centralised IT infrastructure will be operational by 1 July 2028 and, if not, will propose extending the transitional measure. Standard customs rates for all goods are to apply only once the EU Customs Data Hub is launched, which is expected to become operational in mid-2028.

Frequently asked questions

Is duty payable even on a consignment worth a few euros?

Yes. From 1 July 2026, every consignment from a third country is subject to customs duty, regardless of its value. For distance sales of up to EUR 150, a flat rate of EUR 3 per item is charged.

Will I pay EUR 3 for the whole parcel?

Not necessarily. The flat rate is calculated for each different customs tariff code in the consignment. Several units of the same goods are one item; different types of goods are separate items.

Is the order date decisive?

No. The decisive date is the date of acceptance of the customs declaration for release for free circulation. An order placed in June and cleared in July already falls under the new rules.

Has anything changed for VAT?

No. Since 2021, import VAT has been payable on every consignment regardless of value. What is new is the customs duty.

How long will the flat-rate duty apply?

The transitional regime runs from 1 July 2026 to 1 July 2028 and may be extended if the EU’s centralised customs infrastructure is not operational in time.

Does the change also affect business imports?

Yes. For B2B imports by VAT payers, the standard rates apply, which makes correct classification all the more important. For companies with low-value product ranges, the entire economics of the import model changes.

DAC Consulting sets up import processes, tariff classification and customs procedures for companies, represents them in customs and administrative proceedings before the Slovak Financial Administration and trains teams on the new rules. If you would like to calculate what the flat-rate duty means for your product range and processes, get in touch with us.