The EUR 2 handling fee is a new EU charge on every item a consumer buys from a web shop outside the EU. The new Union Customs Code introduces it, and the European Commission has set the amount. Collection is due to start by 1 November 2026 at the latest, and the fee does not apply to a company importing by container.
What exactly was adopted?
Two acts were adopted. Regulation (EU) 2026/2108 of 16 September 2026, the new Union Customs Code, establishes the Union handling fee in Article 20. Commission Delegated Regulation C(2026) 6694 of 21 September 2026 sets the amount: "EUR 2 per item".
The Code completed the full procedure. The Council adopted its position on 3 September 2026, and the European Parliament approved the reform on 16 September 2026. The text was published in the Official Journal on 19 September 2026.
An item means goods in one consignment sharing the same tariff classification, description and origin (Article 5, point 78 of the Code). Two units of the same product are one item.
When does the fee apply?
The European Parliament states that member states will start collecting the fee by 1 November 2026 at the latest. Formally, collection starts on the tenth day after the delegated regulation setting the EUR 2 amount enters into force (Article 287(4) of the Code). The exact date depends on when that act is published.
Status on 23 September 2026: the Commission adopted the delegated regulation on 21 September and sent it to the Council and Parliament. Both have 30 days to object (Article 282(7) of the Code). Without an objection, the act enters into force on the day it is published in the Official Journal.
Which consignments does the fee cover?
The fee covers goods sold in distance sales and declared for release for free circulation in the EU. A distance sale here means goods shipped from outside the EU to a customer who does not account for VAT on the purchase. That customer is usually a consumer (Article 5, point 15 of the Code).
- There is no value threshold. The Commission notes in the explanatory memorandum of the delegated act that the fee also covers distance sales above EUR 150.
- It is charged per item, not per parcel. A parcel with three products under different tariff codes is three items and EUR 6 in fees.
- It is not a duty. Article 20 of the Code ties the fee to the cost of checking data, risk analysis and controls. The EUR 3 duty per item on consignments up to EUR 150 is a separate charge.
- Customs warehouses get a lower rate. A lower fee for goods sold from a customs warehouse for distance sales applies from 1 July 2028; its amount has not been set yet.
Who pays the handling fee?
The debtor of the customs debt on the consignment pays it, not the consumer. In practice that is the platform, the non-EU seller or its indirect customs representative, such as the party accounting for VAT under IOSS. The Code expressly rules out the consumer as a debtor of the fee (recital 80).
IOSS (Import One-Stop Shop) is the EU scheme under which a seller accounts for VAT on distance sales of imported goods. The fee is paid to customs at least once a month and is non-refundable (Article 20(5) and (6) of the Code).
Does the fee apply to a company importing a container?
No. A container a company buys into its own warehouse is not a distance sale, so it pays neither the handling fee nor the EUR 3 parcel duty. It pays the normal duty for its CN code plus import VAT, settled at customs clearance in Poland.
The change works in favour of bulk import. A parcel shipped from China straight to the customer pays EUR 3 duty and, from November, a EUR 2 fee per item. Goods imported by container pay the tariff rate, which is 0% for wooden furniture such as dining tables.
If you want goods delivered to your door at one price, with duty and clearance included, see DDP from China.
Legal position verified: September 2026.