One-third of e-commerce packages in violation

Every day, around 3.6 million e-commerce parcels enter Europe via Liège airport. Customs can only check a tiny fraction of these: 30% are found to be in violation, for reasons including counterfeiting and safety.

216 cases per day

Liège Airport remains one of the most important European hubs for e-commerce. Today, no less than 20% of all European online purchases pass through this logistics hub. In 2025, customs registered 1.3 billion e-commerce declarations. That means an average of 3.6 million declarations per day, a number that rose to as many as 4.7 million per day in January 2026, according to a press release from the General Administration of Customs and Excise.

Although the total number of parcels has declined since 2023, individual shipments contain more items on average. Possible causes include the consequences of the war in Ukraine, the energy crisis, and the bundling of multiple products into a single parcel to reduce logistics costs.

Due to the sharp increase in processing volumes, the number of findings also rose significantly. In 2025, customs recorded 25,840 findings of counterfeiting, an increase of 64% compared to 2024. There were also 1,963 findings related to product safety and 1,919 findings for undervaluation. Although only 0.006% of all declarations were actually checked – which amounts to 216 files per day – 30% of the B2C declarations checked were found to be in violation. These infringements resulted in €3.3 million in duties, taxes, and fines.

Measures on the way

In order to continue to monitor the growing flow of e-commerce shipments efficiently, both the federal government and the European Union are taking additional measures. This year, the Belgian government is investing extra in the further development of IT systems, additional customs officers for physical checks, and the strengthening of teams fighting tax fraud.

As part of the European Customs Reform, major structural steps are being taken with the establishment of a European customs authority, the development of the EU Customs Data Hub, and new e-commerce rules. From July 1, the €150 threshold for customs duties will be abolished. In addition, there will be a temporary measure whereby a standard customs duty of €3 per item will be applied to low-value shipments.

Measures still under negotiation include a European handling fee of €2, the concept of the “deemed importer,” whereby online platforms become liable, and a new type of customs warehouse specifically for e-commerce.