European finance ministers approved the change to address mounting concerns over unfair domestic competition, widespread tax fraud, and massive carbon footprints.

The volume of low-value international shipments entering the EU has risen exponentially, skyrocketing from 1.3 billion parcels in 2022 to roughly 5.9 billion in 2025. Officials estimate that more than 90% of these small packages originate from China.

Fast-fashion and discount marketplaces like Temu, Shein, and AliExpress are primary focal points of the new tax rule. The €3 fee is charged per item type rather than per box. If a consumer orders three entirely different types of products—such as a shirt, a toy, and a pair of sunglasses—the total customs levy will be €9, even if shipped inside a single cardboard box.

However, multiple units of the exact same product type will only trigger a single €3 charge. The European Commission said the legal liability for the new duty would fall entirely on the importer, not the end consumer. In practice, platforms are expected to bundle the charge directly into the checkout price to maintain seamless deliveries.

Major retailers like AliExpress have already begun rolling out "price includes duties" item labels across their digital storefronts. The EU argues that digital customs systems have evolved to the point where processing data for small items is no longer an administrative burden.

The flat €3 rate is designed as a temporary two-year bridge running until July 2028. Following this transitional period, the EU plans to launch its centralized Customs Data Hub which will completely replace the flat fee with a highly tailored, five-bracket tariff structure ranging from 0% up to 17%.

Furthermore, international shoppers will face an additional financial hurdle later this year as the bloc prepares a centralised €2 handling fee onto low-value parcels by November 2026 to compensate borders for ballooning processing costs.

Domestic retail associations have widely applauded the legislation, claiming it halts the slow "desertification" of traditional European high streets. By removing artificial price advantages held by foreign digital platforms, Brussels intends to heavily encourage multi-national giants to hold stock inside regional EU distribution warehouses instead.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com