Non-EU parcels: €3 customs duty and a new €2 handling fee from November 2026

Checked on 27.10.2026. The €2 fee starts applying on 01.11.2026; that date is still in the future at publication. Existing rules and forthcoming changes are distinguished below.

A small purchase on Temu, Shein or AliExpress now calls for checking more than the product price. Since 1 July 2026, qualifying low-value imported orders have been subject to a temporary €3 customs duty. From 1 November 2026, the Union Handling Fee adds €2 for customs processing. In a typical case, that means €5 for one goods item, before VAT and any separate carrier charge.

These are rules for importing goods from outside the EU, not a tax on a particular app or a shopper’s nationality. For someone living in Poland, the actual dispatch country, the goods’ customs status and the payment terms matter. A Polish-language storefront or a price in zł does not prove that import costs are included.

Customs duty — cło in Polish. This is an import duty. The temporary €3 system covers the distance sales of imported goods specified by the rules, in consignments with an intrinsic value of up to and including €150. That threshold does not mean “no charges below €150”: the former relief has already ended, and VAT is a separate question.

Union Handling Fee — unijna opłata manipulacyjna, or UHF. This is not another customs duty. It pays for processing: data checks, risk assessment, infrastructure and controls. The set amount is €2 per goods item, not a universal €2–4 range per parcel. For two items, UHF alone is €4; for three, it is €6.

VAT. Value added tax is not replaced by these charges. Under IOSS, sellers may collect VAT at checkout. Where UHF is passed on to the consumer, it forms part of the VAT taxable amount under the applicable arrangement, as explained by the Commission and Poland’s Ministry of Finance. Do not mechanically add VAT again if it has already been included.

The key concept is a “goods item”, not the number of boxes or every individual physical object. Current guidance ties it to tariff classification, description and, where required, origin. In practice, charges are applied to the relevant declaration lines.

Several identical products correctly declared as one item may generate one set of charges. But a T-shirt and a watch, or goods with different classifications, do not become one item simply because the seller puts them in the same bag. Customs grouping follows the rules and declaration, not a request left in the order comments.

These illustrations assume a consignment worth up to €150 that qualifies for the temporary duty, with its items already determined in the declaration and no relief or special exceptions. They exclude the product price, delivery, VAT and the operator’s separate services. The final order total may differ; a carrier’s customs representation charge is not the same as the mandatory EU fee.

The relevant declarant handles customs formalities and payment: the seller, importer or representative/operator under the applicable arrangement. That does not guarantee the consumer pays nothing. Businesses can include the expense in prices, show it as a checkout line or arrange collection before delivery.

Check the final amount and delivery terms. Keep any “taxes included” promise alongside your payment confirmation. IOSS alone does not mean customs duty, UHF and every courier service are included: IOSS primarily concerns VAT.

The first reason is scale. The Commission puts low-value e-commerce imports in 2025 at almost 5.9 billion goods. Vast numbers of small consignments put pressure on controls: digital declarations, risk analysis and possible inspection are needed even for a cheap purchase.

The second is unequal competitive conditions. Conventional retailers import bulk stock with customs obligations, while direct low-value orders benefited from relief. This encouraged artificial splitting and undervaluation. The reform aims to reduce an advantage linked to the import model, rather than ban cheap products or particular countries.

The third is safety and traceability. In targeted checks during 2025, over 60% of inspected products in selected groups failed EU requirements. That is a result for goods selected for inspection, not the share of all online purchases. PID, fuller data and supply-chain accountability help identify problem products; paying €3 does not itself make a product safe.

We could not establish a primary dataset with a clear method and scope for the claim “almost −20% in two weeks across the EU”. Nor do we present a forecast of a billion fewer consignments a year as an observed result.

A different, verifiable dataset is available: Dutch Customs publishes DECO e-commerce declaration counts for consignments worth up to €150. Compared with the same months of 2025, the changes in 2026 were:

These are figures from one customs system, not every physical parcel entering the EU. They demonstrate a sharp change in declared flows, but do not prove Europeans reduced their purchases by the same amount. Dutch Customs itself reports retailers moving towards larger consolidated shipments. Routes, consolidation and seasonality can affect the figures; simply extrapolating the percentage across the EU would be misleading.

An ordinary EU warehouse. If the goods have already been released for free circulation and are sold from that warehouse, delivery to a shopper in Poland does not create another import from a third country. But “EU warehouse” alone does not establish that status: a customs warehouse and an ordinary warehouse operate under different arrangements.

A gift from a relative. A private, non-commercial shipment is not a shop’s distance sale. Separate conditions apply to gifts and personal belongings. Neither automatically add €5 nor ask a retailer to falsely label a purchase “gift” to avoid charges.

An order worth more than €150. The temporary €3 formula cannot be applied to every product regardless of value. Higher-value imports use normal tariffs, while UHF covers qualifying distance sales regardless of value. Preferences depend on origin, documentation and clearance arrangements, not simply on dispatch from Ukraine or another country.

Do not pay solely because an SMS displays a postal service’s name. Open the carrier’s official website or app independently and check the tracking number. For a genuine charge, request a breakdown: duty, VAT, UHF, representation services and the basis for the item calculation.

If the seller already collected those amounts, send the operator and shop your payment evidence and ask them to resolve the discrepancy. An automatic refund cannot be promised: first establish what was paid and under which declaration. Share IOSS numbers and other clearance information only through official channels.

An unsuccessful purchase can cost more than the product itself. UHF is defined as non-refundable, so returning an order does not guarantee recovery of every original cost. Duty, VAT and delivery refunds follow different rules; ask the seller and declarant separately about the grounds and procedure. For faulty goods, distinguish a product complaint, withdrawal from a sales contract and correction of a customs charge.

It is wrong to wait until 2028 before treating the €150 relief as abolished: the former exemption already ended on 1 July 2026. The next digital reform stage and a move from temporary €3 duty to normal rates are scheduled for 1 July 2028. Rates depend on the product; “normal tariff” does not mean one identical amount for every purchase.

UHF is a separate mechanism. Launching the Data Hub does not automatically reduce it to zero. A future lower fee is provided for certain sales from customs warehouses, but today’s shopper should not be promised a discount that has not been set for their order.

Our assessment: fixed charges are most noticeable on a very cheap basket containing different items. This creates an incentive to reconsider an impulse order, compare the final price or choose goods already cleared in the EU. Putting everything in one parcel does not eliminate charges on separate goods items.

Platforms face a different incentive: move stock closer to customers, import it in bulk and organise data more effectively. Fewer small declarations may therefore mean redesigned logistics rather than disappearing demand. For consumers, a transparent total price and workable returns matter more than a tempting headline price.

Checked on 27.10.2026 against official materials; news claims without primary confirmation were not used as evidence.

• European Commission — EU Customs Reform
• European Commission — Guidance: €3 duty / Union Handling Fee
• Ministerstwo Finansów — akty prawne i materiały o UHF
• Revenue — Union Handling Fee, 29.09.2026
• Douane Nederland — DECO e-commerce statistics
• Dutch Customs — changes in import procedures, 03.09.2026
• Ministerstwo Finansów — ISZTAR4

• Returns and product complaints in Poland
• How to spot fake messages and financial scams

Illustrative stock photo: Sticker Mule / Unsplash. Not a photograph of a particular customs office or an endorsement of any platform. Sticker Mule / Unsplash · Unsplash License.