Introduced on 1 July 2026, the fee applies to goods worth up to €150. Its impact, however, may extend well beyond the final price paid by consumers, reshaping how e-commerce platforms organise customs clearance, stockholding and last-mile deliveries across Europe.
Research commissioned by ID Logistics suggests that shoppers are particularly concerned about predictable prices and clear information on additional charges. Polish delivery platform GlobKurier, meanwhile, expects the rules to encourage more companies to import goods in bulk before storing and distributing them from within the EU.
€3 charged for each product category
The new charge is not necessarily applied once per parcel. It is levied on every separate product category included in the customs declaration.
A package containing goods assigned to several customs categories may therefore attract a charge amounting to a multiple of €3.
The change primarily affects the direct-to-consumer model used by sellers outside the EU, particularly platforms shipping low-cost products from Asia as individual parcels.
GlobKurier expects the fee to reduce the number of such shipments in the short term, although it does not necessarily anticipate a lasting fall in imports. Platforms and sellers may instead bring goods into the EU in larger consignments, clear them collectively and fulfil customer orders from regional warehouses.
More consumers could favour EU-based fulfilment
According to the ID Logistics survey, 25% of respondents plan to choose deliveries dispatched from EU countries more often to avoid additional charges.
A further 23% said they would buy less frequently from sellers shipping goods from outside the bloc, while 12% intend to use only offers fulfilled from warehouses in EU member states.
Another 12% said they would place more products from the same category in a single parcel. Some 10% do not expect to change their shopping habits, while 18% remain unsure about the effect of the new rules.
Taken together, 37% of respondents indicated that they were likely to shift their preferences towards orders fulfilled from EU warehouses.
Predictable costs matter more than origin
The location of a warehouse is not, on its own, the decisive factor for most consumers. The survey indicates that transparent pricing and certainty over the final cost are more important.
Some 48% of respondents considered information about the country of dispatch important. The same proportion expressed a neutral view.
A specific statement that a parcel was being sent from within the EU had an even weaker effect. Only 29% said such information influenced their purchasing decision, while 25% attached little importance to it and 40% were neutral.
More customers are consciously choosing offers fulfilled from warehouses in EU countries because this helps them avoid unexpected charges and makes the whole purchasing process more predictable,” said Marek Kaniera, e-commerce operations director at ID Logistics.
“For the industry, this is a clear signal that the location of logistics facilities and transparent communication are becoming as important to competitiveness as price and delivery time.”
Price remains the leading factor
Despite growing awareness of shipment origin and possible additional charges, price remains the most important consideration.
ID Logistics found that 90% of consumers buying products from outside the EU took price into account. Separate data in the company’s infographic showed that 40% would accept a longer delivery time in exchange for a cheaper offer, while 60% did not express that preference.
The decisive issue may therefore be less about where a parcel is dispatched from and more about whether the full cost is visible before checkout. Charges revealed only at the final payment stage or when the parcel is delivered risk deterring customers.
Consolidated imports could replace individual air parcels
The customs fee could speed up a transition towards a model in which goods enter the EU in larger consignments, undergo collective customs clearance and are then stored and distributed as domestic or intra-EU shipments.
Under this system, the route taken by the goods changes even if consumer demand remains broadly intact.
GlobKurier believes that an individual parcel sent directly by air from Asia could lose some of its cost advantage. The alternative would involve importing larger volumes, holding stock inside the EU and completing deliveries from local warehouses.
The company pointed to Romania, where the introduction of a similar fee of about €5 reportedly led to an initial 60–70% fall in low-value import parcels. According to GlobKurier, shipment volumes later began to recover as consumers and platforms adjusted their behaviour.
A wider move towards bulk imports could increase demand for customs clearance, contract logistics, transport from ports and terminals, warehousing, order picking and last-mile distribution.
Warehouses closer to European customers
A central part of this shift would be the movement of larger volumes of stock into warehouses inside the EU.
GlobKurier said some major platforms were already developing such operations. It cited Shein’s warehousing facilities near Wrocław in Poland and Temu’s stated use of EU-based warehouses to fulfil part of its order volume.
Large platforms with sufficient capital, scale and infrastructure are likely to find it easier to adapt. They can consolidate imports, hold stock in several countries and fulfil orders as domestic or intra-EU parcels.
Smaller sellers that depend on sending individual packages directly from Asia may have far fewer options for quickly restructuring their logistics.
More business, but sharper competition
The transfer of more e-commerce volume into European warehouses could create opportunities for logistics operators, hauliers, parcel carriers and customs agencies.
Goods that previously travelled directly from third countries to individual consumers may instead pass through European ports, terminals, distribution centres and sorting hubs.
GlobKurier warned, however, that the largest e-commerce platforms may gradually build their own last-mile networks or deepen integration with selected parcel operators.
The growing importance of EU warehousing could therefore generate more work for the transport and logistics sector while also increasing competition in customs services, storage and final-mile delivery.
Local operators may find themselves competing with large platforms not only for customs clearance and warehouse contracts, but also for domestic delivery, returns management and the integration of logistics systems with online sales channels.
Consumers see some justification for the rules
Although shoppers generally dislike additional fees, some respondents accepted the arguments behind the regulation.
Protecting the competitiveness of EU businesses was cited by 42% of those surveyed. Support for that argument was highest among people aged 65 to 69, at 52%, compared with 31% among respondents aged 18 to 24.
Reducing excessive waste was seen as a justification by 33%, while 30% pointed to curbing abuse and legal loopholes. A further 24% cited fairer tax rules and 19% referred to improved product safety.
The waste argument was more persuasive among women than men, at 40% and 27% respectively. It was also cited by 40% of respondents aged 18 to 24 and 42% of those aged 25 to 34.
The survey was carried out by K+ Research for ID Logistics in April 2026 using the CAWI online research method. It covered 1,039 Polish consumers who had ordered products from outside the EU for private use during the previous 12 months.
The tariff may change the route, not the demand
The new customs fee may not significantly reduce European demand for low-cost goods from Asia, but it could change how those products enter and move through the EU market.
Consolidated imports, EU-based warehouses and operators capable of combining customs clearance, storage and distribution with transparent cost management are likely to become more important.
GlobKurier believes Polish companies could benefit as some logistics operations shift into Europe. Competition for those volumes, however, is also expected to intensify.
The strongest position may be held by operators that can offer competitive prices, complete visibility over charges and efficient management of the entire logistics process.
