Europe wants fee on small e-commerce parcels

With a two-euro handling fee on every small parcel entering Europe, the European Commission wants to fund customs checks as the influx of parcels from Shein and Temu continues to explode.

Compensating costs

At the moment, packages worth less than 150 euros from third countries escape customs duties, but EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič wants to put an end to that: he proposes charging two euros for each small parcel entering Europe. The money, paid by e-commerce platforms, should help finance customs checks: “That is why I would not call this handling fee a tax”, the Commisioner said, regarding it simply as a compensation for the costs incurred.

Indeed, customs are overwhelmed by the ever-increasing influx of parcels: in 2024, some 4.6 billion parcels worth less than 150 euros entered the EU, which is 145 per second. 91 % of these came from China. Moreover, with the announced increased import tariffs in the United States, Europe expects an additional influx of small parcels via platforms such as Shein and Temu, which currently escape custom checks.

Belgian trade federation Comeos welcomes the plan: “This is an important step towards fair competition”. 2.5 million parcels are sent from outside Europe to Belgium every day, many of which come from China, the trade federation points out. “This year we will end up with a billion parcels, twice as many as last year. Only 0.005 % of these parcels can be checked”, the federation said on LinkedIn.