On July 1, a flat €3 customs duty on low-value e-commerce imports came into effect. Until now, goods imported into the EU worth under €150 were exempt from customs duties.
This temporary measure means small parcels entering the bloc, largely through online shopping platforms, will face a fixed customs charge. It addresses what the European Council describes as "unfair competition" for European retailers, as well as concerns over unsafe products, fraud and the environmental impact of vast volumes of cheap imports.
The Council also clarifies that this customs duty is separate from the proposed "handling fee" (expected to be €2) currently being negotiated under the EU's broader customs reform and long-term budget plans, another blow to the Chinese e-commerce sector.
"The urgency was so big that there was deep political consensus", Dirk Gotink, a Dutch MEP for the EPP, told Euronews. But the measure was slow to arrive, "because countries were slow to accept that, to do something about the tsunami of non-compliant [fast fashion] products, you need to integrate European customs."
A juicy tax loophole
