The European Fee is making ready to introduce a €2 dealing with price on on-line parcels coming into the EU as a part of a sweeping overhaul of its customs system, geared toward managing the billions of low-value objects flooding into the bloc—primarily from China-based e-commerce giants equivalent to Shein, Temu, and Alibaba.
The proposed price is meant to assist customs authorities in processing and verifying the compliance of products with EU security requirements, significantly on objects equivalent to toys and electronics, and to enhance the effectiveness of border checks.
The dealing with price, equal to $2.27, would apply to parcels shipped on to prospects exterior the EU. For shipments fulfilled from warehouses throughout the EU, a diminished €0.50 price is proposed.
EU customs processed 4.6 billion low-value parcels in 2024—greater than 12 million objects per day—with an estimated 91% of those originating from China. This determine is greater than double the amount recorded in 2023, underlining the size and speedy progress of cross-border e-commerce into Europe.
As a part of broader reforms introduced in February, the Fee has additionally proposed scrapping the €150 duty-free threshold for imports, eradicating the exemption that presently permits many lower-priced merchandise to enter the EU market with out incurring customs duties.
The brand new dealing with cost can be levied on on-line retailers, not shoppers, and wouldn’t seem as a separate value on buyer supply invoices. The purpose, in response to EU officers, is to make main worldwide e-commerce platforms pay a fair proportion for the customs infrastructure they closely depend on.
The proposal, nonetheless in draft kind, will want approval from each EU member states and the European Parliament.
Bernd Lange, chair of the European Parliament’s commerce committee, defended the plans, saying they had been essential to fund extra sturdy inspections and guarantee client security.
“With 4.6 billion packages, you can’t really have proper controls. To introduce them costs money, and therefore it’s fair to ask Alibaba, Temu or Shein to pay their fair share of the cost,” Lange stated.
The proposed reforms mirror rising EU scrutiny of Chinese language e-commerce platforms, amid issues over product security, unfair competitors, and VAT avoidance. The dealing with price is a part of the Fee’s broader ambition to create a extra degree enjoying subject for EU retailers and home logistics companies, lots of whom argue they face larger regulatory and tax burdens.
If authorized, the dealing with price might reshape the fee construction for cross-border e-commerce into the EU and doubtlessly immediate platforms to regulate their pricing or transport methods to soak up or cross on the brand new prices.
The proposal comes because the EU continues to refine its post-pandemic commerce and customs coverage, balancing client entry to international e-commerce with regulatory enforcement, market equity, and security compliance.
