According to figures presented in the Council’s communication, the system for handling small consignments has become overwhelmed to an extraordinary degree. In 2024, member states received 4.6 billion parcels, 91% of which came from China — nearly 12 million parcels per day, double the previous year.
Particular concern has been raised over the scale of under-valuation. The EU estimates that up to 65% of parcels are deliberately undervalued to avoid customs duties. This leads to unfair competition, loss of revenues and environmental impacts linked to fragmented shipments.
As noted by Stephanie Lose, Danish Minister for Economic Affairs: “We ensure that duties will be paid from the first euro.”
Duties from the first euro
Currently, goods valued at no more than €150 are exempt from import duties under Regulation 1186/2009. This exemption is now considered outdated and widely abused given the scale of modern e-commerce.
It is worth noting that under a previous regulation, the possibility of a €22 exemption for B2B transactions was abolished, leaving only the €150 threshold.
Under the Council’s latest decisions:
- the €150 exemption will be abolished,
- duties will apply from the first euro,
- and this will become permanent with the launch of the EU Customs Data Hub in 2028.
The Customs Data Hub will act as a central EU system enabling automated calculation of customs liabilities, with simplified product groups and duty rates.
Reform arrives sooner than planned
The Council has announced an accelerated timetable, stating that immediate action is required. A temporary duty-collection mechanism will therefore be introduced in 2026, ahead of the full system launch in 2028.
This means the e-commerce and logistics sectors will need to rebuild their logistics and IT systems far sooner than expected.
The end of the “few-euro parcel”
Abolishing the €150 threshold will end the current low-cost model. The EU expects parcel prices from China to rise by 20–40%, with duties applied to every shipment and possible delivery delays.
This will particularly affect customers of platforms such as Shein, Temu and AliExpress.
European companies stand to gain
For years it has been argued that Chinese platforms benefit from structural advantages unavailable to EU companies, including undervaluation, avoidance of duties and lower safety standards.
As a result, EU enterprises have been operating in a market where competition is fundamentally distorted, with asymmetrical regulatory and cost burdens.
With the abolition of the €150 threshold, Chinese platforms will need to raise prices, establish EU warehouses and integrate with EU customs systems.
Logistics industry under heavy pressure
With millions of parcels entering the EU daily, logistics operators face one of the largest operational challenges in years. They must rebuild IT systems, expand duty-collection processes and manage significantly more customs declarations.
The reform aims to protect the internal market, increase revenues, limit unfair practices and ensure competition is based on equal rules. Europe is signalling that the era of cheap parcels from China is ending, and the dominant import model of the last two decades is about to undergo major transformation.
About the author
Dr Izabella Tymińska is a customs law expert specialising in complex, high-difficulty cases in international trade. She has worked in the Customs Office and in senior roles in logistics and forwarding companies, and lectures widely in the fields of logistics, customs law and international trade.
