Overview
- EU finance ministers approved a flat €3 charge for parcels worth under €150 entering the bloc, taking effect on 1 July 2026.
- The charge is assessed per shipment regardless of how many items are inside, so split deliveries are charged for each package.
- The measure serves as a bridge until a 2028 reform that will abolish the €150 low-value exemption.
- Authorities point to roughly 12 million low-value parcels arriving daily and an estimated 65 percent rate of under‑declaration as justification.
- Marketplaces such as Shein, Temu and AliExpress are singled out as most affected, with Germany’s HDE trade group praising the move as a step toward fairer competition.