EU Customs Reform 2026: What Non-EU Sellers Must Know

EU Customs Reform 2026 is the most significant overhaul of cross-border e-commerce rules in years. From 1 July 2026 the EU abolishes the long-standing €150 duty-free exemption for low-value parcels and replaces it with a temporary €3 flat customs duty. The reform levels the playing field for EU retailers and, crucially, shifts compliance responsibility directly onto online marketplaces and sellers. For any business shipping from outside the EU to European consumers, the time to restructure is now.

Where things stand today

All goods entering the EU are already subject to import VAT, but parcels under €150 have been exempt from customs duties. The 2026 reform removes that customs exemption.

When goods are imported into the EU, two charges arise at the border: VAT and customs duties. The VAT position changed in 2021, when the old €22 exemption was scrapped, so all goods entering the EU are already subject to import VAT regardless of value. To keep this manageable, the EU introduced the Import One-Stop Shop (IOSS), which lets sellers charge VAT at checkout and declare it through a single monthly return. Today IOSS covers the large majority of low-value e-commerce imports. Customs duties were different: parcels with an intrinsic value below €150 remained exempt from customs duty — and that is precisely what the EU Customs Reform now removes.

EU Customs Reform 2026: the core changes and timeline

From 1 July 2026 the €150 exemption is abolished and a temporary €3 flat duty per item type applies, a new European Customs Authority is created, and marketplaces become responsible as the deemed importer.

The headline measures were formally adopted by the Council in February 2026 and confirmed in the broader reform package agreed between the Council and Parliament in March 2026. For non-EU sellers, four points matter:

• Abolition of the €150 exemption. From 1 July 2026, parcels under €150 that previously escaped customs duty are taxed. Every consignment becomes dutiable regardless of value. (European Commission)
• Temporary €3 flat-fee duty. From 1 July 2026 to 1 July 2028, a flat customs duty of €3 applies per item type on low-value consignments. A parcel containing two different items is subject to €6 in duty. (EU legal text & guidance)
• Handling fee from November 2026. A €2 handling fee per low-value parcel is expected to be introduced from 1 November 2026, on top of the €3 duty, to cover customs processing costs.
• A new European Customs Authority. The reform establishes a central European Customs Authority to oversee risk management and enforce safety and compliance standards consistently across all EU borders.

Summary timeline

How the €3 duty works in practice

The €3 duty is charged per item type (tariff sub-heading), not per parcel. A parcel with two different product categories therefore carries €6 in duty, and import VAT is calculated on the goods value plus the duty.

The official worked example: a parcel containing one silk blouse and two wool blouses holds two distinct item types, because silk and wool fall under different tariff sub-headings, so €6 is payable. Several identical items under the same code attract a single €3 charge. Take a consumer in the Netherlands ordering a USB cable and a pair of trousers in one parcel, value below €150. The cable and trousers sit under different HS codes, so the parcel carries €6 of flat duty. Import VAT is then calculated on a broader base — the value of the goods plus the customs duty — so the duty also nudges up the VAT due. For a business shipping thousands of small parcels a month, that is a structural increase in landed cost on every shipment.

Impact on marketplaces, sellers and consumers

The reform makes major online marketplaces the deemed importer, expands IOSS for VAT, and means unprepared sellers pass surprise charges to customers at the door.

• Increased accountability — the deemed importer. Major e-commerce platforms and online marketplaces are treated as the deemed importer, making them responsible for ensuring the correct data, customs duties and taxes are applied. (Council press release)
• IOSS expansion. Sellers will rely on an expanded, simplified Import One-Stop Shop (IOSS) to manage VAT and the new flat-fee declarations more smoothly. IOSS handles VAT; it does not remove the separate €3 duty or handling fee.
• A surprise at the doorstep. If nothing is restructured, the duty, handling fee and any remaining VAT are collected from the consumer on delivery, alongside the courier’s own admin charge. Customers who paid one price at checkout, then face an unexpected bill at the door, frequently refuse the parcel or dispute the order. The goal of any sound structure is the opposite: a Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) experience, with everything settled in advance.

The European Customs Authority and the 2028 Data Hub

The 2026 measures are the first step in a wider modernisation. The reform creates a central European Customs Authority for EU-wide risk management, and lays the groundwork for the unified EU Customs Data Hub, scheduled to centralise and standardise data requirements across member states by 2028. When the Data Hub goes live, the temporary €3 flat duty is replaced by normal, classification-based tariffs. In other words, the structure you build now needs to work both for the 2026 interim regime and the permanent post-2028 system.

A complicating factor in the meantime: while the EU-wide handling fee is finalised, several member states have moved first. France, Italy and Romania have each introduced national handling charges on low-value imports, creating a fragmented landscape where the same product shipped to three countries can meet three different charging regimes. Consolidating through a single point of entry neutralises much of that fragmentation. Official legal texts and guidance on the temporary fee are published on the European Commission Taxation and Customs Union portal.

The solution: the Dutch gateway and fiscal representation

Importing in bulk through the Netherlands and using the Article 23 licence consolidates many small parcels into one customs entry, defers import VAT, and largely removes the per-parcel duty and national handling fees.

For non-EU businesses, the smartest response is logistical as well as fiscal. Instead of shipping thousands of individual parcels directly to consumers across 27 member states, consolidate: import goods in bulk into the Netherlands, hold them in a local warehouse, and fulfil EU orders from there. Duty is then assessed on a single bulk import rather than on each parcel, so the per-parcel €3 duty and the patchwork of national handling fees largely fall away, and customers get faster, domestic-style delivery. This is why the Netherlands is so often called the Gateway to Europe.

Any non-EU company can obtain a Dutch VAT number, but to use the Article 23 licence — the Dutch import-VAT deferment scheme — you must appoint a fiscal representative holding a general licence. Under Article 23, import VAT is deferred into your periodic VAT return rather than paid at the border, effectively a nil cash-flow event that frees up working capital. Oakhill acts as your local “boots on the ground”, handling the registration, the general fiscal representation, the Article 23 application and your ongoing filings. Where a lighter setup fits better, a limited fiscal representative may be the right route.

Scaling across Europe with the OSS

Once goods are in free circulation in the Netherlands, onward EU sales run through the One-Stop Shop (OSS). Since the 2021 reforms, a single EU-wide threshold of €10,000 applies: below it you charge Dutch VAT; above it you report all your EU B2C sales through a single quarterly OSS return filed in the Netherlands, and the Dutch tax authority distributes the VAT to each member state. One registration, one quarterly return — no web of local advisers across 27 jurisdictions. For groups also facing Dutch corporate obligations, this connects neatly with Dutch corporate tax compliance.

How Oakhill helps

We take the Dutch setup off your plate: confirming the right structure for your volumes, applying for the Article 23 licence, arranging general or limited fiscal representation, registering you for VAT and OSS, and managing your ongoing VAT and reporting. Local, bilingual, and connected to your wider Dutch accounting and CFO-level reporting — so you can run an EU operation without building a tax function of your own.

R.C.J. de Ruijter RC

Managing director, Oakhill Financial Services

Helps international groups set up and stay compliant in the Netherlands.

Related reading

Frequently asked questions

This article is general information about the EU Customs Reform and Dutch VAT/customs rules as of June 2026 and is not tax advice. Rules, rates and dates can change — the €2 handling fee in particular is still being finalised at EU level. Please confirm your specific situation with a qualified adviser before acting.