EU introduces permanent two-euro handling fee on low-value parcels from outside bloc

The European Union will introduce a permanent handling fee of two euros per line item on parcels arriving from outside the bloc starting Sunday, November 1, the Danish Customs Agency announced on Friday. The fee, equivalent to about 15 Danish kroner, will apply regardless of a parcel’s total value. Items with the same commodity code count as one line item, meaning three cotton T-shirts would incur a two-euro fee, while a T-shirt and a pair of jeans would count as two line items and cost four euros.

The new handling fee will be added to a temporary customs duty of three euros per line item already in place for parcels worth less than 150 euros. That temporary measure was introduced this summer and remains in force until July 1, 2028. European Commission figures show that around 5.9 billion extra-EU parcels were registered in 2025, or roughly 15 million per day.

“With the handling fee, we are stepping up efforts even further to strengthen member states’ opportunities to inspect the contents of parcels.”

Danish customs registered 68 million line items in low-value parcels in 2025 alone. A count showed that more than 90 percent of parcels entering Denmark contained Chinese goods. Since the temporary duty took effect in July, imports of parcels under 150 euros into the EU have fallen by 64 percent, though about five million parcels still arrive daily.

Christian Lützen, director of the Danish Customs Agency, said the number of low-value parcels sent to consumers from outside the EU had fallen since the duty took effect. He described the rise in goods from Chinese online shops as a major problem across EU countries and said the duty should help make shopping with Danish businesses more attractive. Shein and Temu were among the ten online shops most used by Danish consumers in a recent survey by the Danish Chamber of Commerce.

The handling fee is intended to finance customs controls needed to detect illegal products entering the European market. The European Commission says the measure also aims to end unfair competition faced by traditional retailers because of large digital platforms. The fee will be paid by sellers or importers rather than final consumers.

The European Commission will review the permanent fee at a later date, though no specific review date was provided. Businesses have already adapted their models since the temporary tariff began, with growth in the use of European distribution centers and a decline in direct factory-to-consumer shipping.