In partnership with
01 - The Brief
There's a second EU parcel charge coming, and it's separate from the €3 duty
Since 1 July 2026, low-value parcels into the EU have carried a €3 customs duty. But a second, distinct charge is under negotiation: an EU-wide "handling fee," widely reported at around €2 per parcel, intended to offset the administrative and supervisory costs customs authorities bear from the flood of small parcels. It is a different measure, with a different purpose, from the duty already in force, and the two are frequently, and mistakenly, treated as the same thing.
The framework is now agreed, but the exact fee still has to be set
This is the distinction that matters. The €3 customs duty is fully adopted and in force. The handling fee sits within the wider EU customs reform package, which the European Parliament and Council agreed in 2026, and it is now expected to be in place by 1 November 2026. But the precise amount has not been finally fixed in legislation: the European Commission is responsible for setting the charge before member states implement it. So "a handling fee is coming, targeted at November" is now solid, while the widely-cited "€2" figure remains the expected number rather than a legally confirmed one.
The open questions are the ones that decide your costs
With the framework agreed, the details the Commission still has to set are exactly the ones that determine the impact on sellers: the precise amount, and whether it's charged per parcel or per item. National fees already introduced by countries like France, Italy and Romania have varied on this point, some apply per customs-declaration line rather than per parcel, and whether the EU fee lands per parcel or per line item makes a large difference to anyone shipping multi-item orders.
02 — The Deep Dive
Untangling the €3 duty from the €2 handling fee, and preparing for a charge that's still being written
Back in Issue #3, we covered the EU's new €3 customs duty on low-value parcels in detail. Since then, a lot of coverage, and a lot of seller anxiety, has blurred that duty together with a second charge that works differently: the handling fee. This issue is about drawing that line clearly, because understanding which charge is which, what each is for, and exactly how far each has been finalised is the difference between preparing sensibly and reacting to a single blurred headline number.
Two different charges, two different purposes
The €3 customs duty, in force since 1 July 2026, is exactly that: a customs duty. It replaces the old duty-free treatment of parcels under €150 and is charged per item by tariff heading, applying to goods sold by non-EU sellers registered in the IOSS (about 93% of e-commerce flows into the EU). It's a transitional measure running until mid-2028, when the EU Customs Data Hub is due to replace it with normal product-by-product tariffs.
The handling fee is a separate instrument. Rather than being a duty on the goods, it's designed to cover the administrative and supervisory cost to customs authorities of processing the enormous volume of small parcels, billions a year, entering the Union. It sits within the wider EU customs reform package that Parliament and the Council agreed in 2026, the same reform that will create a new EU Customs Authority (to be based in Lille) and the EU Customs Data Hub. The Council has been explicit that this handling fee is distinct from the €3 duty, delivered through the customs reform rather than the separate legislation that delivered the duty.
The €3 duty is law and in force. The handling fee is now agreed in principle within the customs reform package, targeted for November, but the exact amount is still for the Commission to set. Treating the widely-quoted "€2" as legally fixed, or as simply "part of" the duty, is the most common mistake in the current coverage.
What's confirmed, and what the Commission still has to set
Confirmed: the €3 customs duty, its 1 July 2026 start, and its per-item basis. Also now confirmed in principle: an EU-wide handling fee is part of the agreed customs reform package and is expected to be in place by 1 November 2026, with the European Commission responsible for setting the actual charge before member states implement it. It has strong political backing, several member states, including France, Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, actively pushed for it.
Not yet fixed in law: the precise fee amount, and whether it's charged per parcel or per item. The widely repeated "roughly €2 per parcel" figure comes from the negotiating position and industry reporting, and remains the expected number rather than a Commission-set, legally confirmed one. Until the Commission sets the charge, treat that figure as a well-grounded planning assumption rather than a settled line item, and note the per-parcel-versus-per-item basis in particular is still to be pinned down.
Why the per-parcel-versus-per-item question matters so much
The single most important open detail for sellers is the charging basis. If the handling fee is levied per parcel, a multi-item order carries one €2 charge. If it's levied per item or per customs-declaration line, as several national fees already are, and as the €3 duty itself is, a parcel with several different products could carry multiple €2 charges. For sellers of bundles or multi-item orders, that distinction could multiply the cost several times over. This is precisely why it's worth watching the final text rather than planning around a single headline number now.
How this stacks with everything else
For a non-EU seller shipping a multi-item parcel into the EU, the potential combined picture, once everything is in force, is: the €3 customs duty (per item), plus VAT (via IOSS), plus, if adopted as proposed, a €2 handling fee. On top of any national fees in specific countries during the transition. None of this is designed to be catastrophic on a single order, but it compounds, and it changes the landed-cost maths that made ultra-cheap cross-border parcels viable. The strategic direction the EU is signalling is consistent: the era of frictionless, cost-free small-parcel imports is ending, deliberately.
Action plan, if you ship low-value parcels into the EU
Separate the two charges in your own planning. Model the €3 duty as a real, current cost. Model the handling fee as a confirmed-but-not-yet-priced future cost, expected around November, with the exact amount still to be set, and keep it distinct from the duty.
Treat the November target as firm but the amount as provisional. The fee's arrival and timing are now agreed; the precise charge isn't. Plan for it landing, and use the expected "€2" as your working figure while watching for the Commission to set the real one.
Stress-test the per-item scenario. Model both cases, €2 per parcel and €2 per item, especially if you ship multi-item orders. The worse case tells you your real exposure if it lands per line.
Watch for the Commission to set the charge. The reform package is agreed; the specific fee amount and mechanics come from the Commission before member states implement it. That announcement is what turns the expected figure into your real cost.
Revisit your landed-cost and pricing model as a whole. Duty plus VAT plus a possible handling fee plus any national charges compound. Make sure your pricing reflects the full, combined picture rather than any single line item.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax or customs advice. The handling fee framework has been agreed but its exact amount and mechanics are still to be set by the European Commission and may differ from the figures reported here. Confirm the current position with a qualified adviser before making pricing or compliance decisions.
03 — The Stack
The Council of the EU's press and policy pages
Given this week's topic is a measure that's agreed in principle but still being finalised, the most useful resource is the primary source tracking it, not a third-party summary.
Free to access ✓Primary source ✓Official positions ✓Dated press releases ✓EU-wide ✓
The Council of the EU's own press releases (consilium.europa.eu) are where the actual, dated positions on both the €3 duty and the handling fee are published, in the regulator's own words. For a measure that's agreed in principle but whose exact charge the Commission has still to set, and which is heavily paraphrased across the trade press, going to the primary EU sources is the only reliable way to tell what's actually been fixed from what's still expected or reported.
The one limitation worth noting: official EU press releases lag the negotiation, they tell you what has been formally agreed at a given step, not the live state of closed-door talks. So they're authoritative for confirmed facts but won't give you a running commentary on where the handling fee will land. For that, you're watching for the next formal announcement, not a live feed.
Not a sponsored placement. No affiliate relationship.
04 — The Number
€2
The commonly reported expected amount of the EU's planned per-parcel handling fee, a charge now part of the agreed customs reform package and targeted for 1 November 2026, though the exact amount is still to be set by the European Commission and is separate from the €3 customs duty already in force.
Source: EU customs reform package agreed by Parliament and Council, 2026, via Council of the EU and trade reporting; exact fee amount to be set by the European Commission
The most important thing about this number is that it isn't fixed yet. The handling fee's arrival and its November target are now agreed, but the precise charge is the Commission's to set. For sellers, the discipline is to treat €2 as a well-grounded planning figure to stress-test against, while watching for the Commission's actual number. The direction is settled, a second charge is coming, but the exact figure and per-parcel-versus-per-item structure are what the coming weeks will confirm.
AI made PMs faster. Multiplayer mode is still broken.
A PM can summarize research, draft a PRD, and mock up a prototype before lunch. The hard part starts when the team has to decide what actually gets built.
Jira Product Discovery gives product teams one place to capture insights, prioritize ideas with consistent frameworks, and build living roadmaps stakeholders can rally around.
And because it’s connected to Jira, the context behind every decision stays with the work—so developers and their agents know not just what to build, but why.
AI helps PMs move faster. Jira Product Discovery helps the whole team build with confidence.