Since 1 July 2026, the European Union has removed the customs duty exemption that covered parcels under €150 imported from a non-EU country: a flat duty of €3 per tariff category now applies from the first cent. If you source stock from a supplier outside the EU (the United Kingdom, the United States or China, among others), your parcels now pay a duty that they used to avoid below €150. On the other hand, if you sell and ship to a buyer outside the EU, this reform changes nothing directly for you: it is a rule that applies on entry into the EU, not on exit. And between two countries of the Union, nothing moves either, the free movement of goods remains intact. This article sets out exactly what changes, what does not, and how to factor it into your margin calculation if you source abroad.
What really changed on 1 July 2026?
Until 30 June 2026, a parcel whose value did not exceed €150 entered the EU without customs duty, even though it was still subject to VAT and a customs declaration; since 1 July 2026, that exemption threshold has disappeared and a flat duty of €3 per tariff category applies in its place, for a transitional period running until mid-2028. This new scheme does not depend on the value of the parcel as long as it stays under €150: whether your bundle is worth €20 or €145, the flat duty is the same per product category.
The stated aim of the European Commission is to end a competitive advantage enjoyed by non-European sellers over businesses based in the EU, in a context where the volumes of small imported parcels have exploded in recent years. The principle of the €3 flat rate is a deliberately simple transitional solution: it spares the Commission from calculating a precise proportional duty for each shipment until the dedicated IT tool (the EU Customs Data Hub) is ready.
How exactly is this €3 duty calculated?
The flat rate applies per tariff category present in the parcel, not per whole parcel: a bundle that mixes a top and a pair of shoes falls into two distinct categories, so €6 of duty, not €3. The more a shipment brings together different product families (clothing, shoes, leather accessories, jewellery), the higher the total, even if the overall value of the parcel stays modest.
For a reseller who imports bundles of several dozen pieces from the same non-EU supplier, this means in practice: customs duty is no longer a negligible line that could be ignored under €150, it becomes a variable to include in the cost price calculation, alongside transport and any currency exchange.
Was there also a French €2 tax on small parcels?
Yes, but it was short-lived: a national tax on small parcels (TPC) of €2 per product applied in France from 1 March to 30 June 2026, before being suspended on 1 July 2026, at the very moment the European €3 scheme came into force, so that the two taxes would not add up. This French tax, separate from customs duties and VAT, targeted the same parcels worth less than €150 imported from a third country.
In practice, if you source abroad today, this French tax no longer exists: only the flat European duty of €3 per category applies to your imports from outside the EU. This is a point that easily causes confusion in the press and on forums, where the two schemes (the French one, now ended, and the European one, in force) are sometimes cited together as if they still added up.
What does it change in practice when you source stock outside the EU?
If you buy bundles or single pieces from a supplier located outside the EU, a duty of €3 per tariff category is now added to your purchase price, to be included in your margin calculation like any other logistics cost. It changes nothing about the customs declaration itself, which already existed for these parcels before the reform: what changes is that an amount that used to be zero becomes a real cost line, even for a small parcel well below €150.
The reflex to adopt: ask your non-EU supplier how their parcels are categorised (a single category or several), to anticipate the real amount rather than discover it on delivery. If a large part of your sourcing is already done within the EU, for example from wholesalers or second-hand clothes shops based in France or a neighbouring country, this reform simply does not concern you: our article on where to source stock to resell details the four channels that exist, several of which remain entirely within the EU.
Does it change anything when you sell to a buyer outside the EU?
No, not under this scheme: this reform concerns goods entering the European Union, not goods leaving it. A sale shipped from France to a buyer located outside the EU, in the United States or the United Kingdom for example, remains an export, governed by the customs rules of the destination country, which have nothing to do with this European scheme. This is a point on which confusion is frequent, because "selling abroad" and "importing from abroad" tend to be put in the same box, when they are two opposite movements of goods, with separate rules on each side.
That does not mean shipping outside the EU is free of constraints: costs and formalities depend entirely on the destination country, and vary from one country to another. If part of your activity already reaches an audience outside the EU, for example through a marketplace with an international audience, our article on selling clothes on eBay details how this international audience works on the selling side, independently of this customs reform which, for its part, only affects your purchases from outside the EU.
Does a sale between two countries of the European Union fall under it?
No, nothing changes: the free movement of goods within the European single market remains intact, reform or not. A sale from France to Germany, Belgium, Spain or any other member country crosses no customs border, exactly as before 1 July 2026. This reform specifically targets flows coming from a third country, outside the EU; it was never meant to affect trade between member countries.
If most of your sales are already made to buyers located in France or elsewhere in the EU, this customs news therefore changes nothing in your daily practice. It is mainly a subject to watch on the sourcing side, if you import stock from a country outside the EU, or if you are considering doing so.
Which milestones are still to come by 2028?
Two further changes are announced but not yet applied to date: a European handling fee from November 2026, and a move from the flat €3 duty to taxation proportional to the real value of the parcel by 2028. This second step depends on the commissioning of the EU Customs Data Hub, the European IT tool meant to allow a more precise calculation than the current flat rate.
Until these texts come into application, the only concrete scheme today remains the flat duty of €3 per category, in force since 1 July 2026. If you source from outside the EU regularly, it is worth keeping an eye on these milestones: they may significantly change the real cost of an import depending on the value of your bundles.
How do you factor this new cost into your margin calculation?
The simplest way is to treat this customs duty like any other logistics cost item (transport, packaging, any currency exchange): you add it to the real purchase price of each bundle imported from outside the EU, before setting your resale price. For a bundle that brings together several product categories, it is better to ask your supplier for the detail upfront rather than discover the exact amount at the declaration.
If a good part of your activity relies on international sourcing, this change deserves close monitoring in your margin table by bundle, whatever tool you then use to manage your sales. If you sell on several marketplaces at once and want to keep a clear view of your profitability by channel, the plan grid is detailed on the StoFlow pricing page.
Sources
- Entrée en vigueur au 1er juillet des droits de douane sur les petits colis à l'échelle de l'UE - accessed 22 September 2026
- E-commerce: 150 EUR customs duty exemption threshold to be removed as of 2026 - accessed 22 September 2026
- Taxe sur les petits colis : point d'information sur sa mise en œuvre - accessed 22 September 2026
