EU adopts a €2 handling fee for online orders

The European Commission adopted a €2 Union handling fee on September 21, 2026 for customs items sold in distance sales into the EU. The amount is set, but collection has not started. As of September 23, the act still needs to complete the EU objection and publication steps before an exact start date can be calculated.

September 29 was the Commission’s deadline to adopt the amount. It met that deadline early. It was not the date when buyers would begin paying the fee.

What did the EU adopt?

The new Union Customs Code establishes a handling fee for goods sold in distance sales and released into the EU. A distance sale is typically an online order sold to an EU customer and shipped from outside the EU.

The Code created the fee, but left the amount for the Commission to set. The Commission’s September 21 delegated act sets it at €2 per customs item. Its explanatory memorandum says distance sales above €150 are covered too.

“Per item” does not simply mean per parcel

Under the Code, one customs item can contain one or more goods that share the same tariff classification, description and, where required, origin. The count therefore follows the customs data for the consignment. It is not automatically one fee for every physical unit, and it is not always one fee for the whole parcel.

If a supplier, platform or carrier gives you a fee estimate, ask how many customs items it expects to declare and how it arrived at that count.

Is this the same as the €3 customs duty?

No. They are separate charges.

Once the €2 fee starts, a qualifying low-value order can face both the €3 duty and the €2 handling fee. VAT, ordinary customs duties and carrier charges may also apply under their own rules.

Does this cover bulk inventory imports?

Not automatically. The fee is tied to goods sold in distance sales. If you import stock in bulk before selling it, ask your customs representative whether that entry falls within the distance-sale rules instead of assuming that every e-commerce business pays the fee on every import.

When will the €2 fee start?

There is no exact collection date yet. The European Parliament and Council have up to 30 days to object to the delegated act, unless both say earlier that they will not object. The act then needs to appear in the Official Journal of the European Union.

The delegated act enters into force on the day it is published and applies ten days later. The Commission says the fee will be introduced by November 1, 2026. That is the latest planned date, not a confirmed collection day.

What should I ask my platform or shipping provider?

• Does this order count as a distance sale under the EU rule?
• Who will be the customs debtor or declarant for the shipment?
• How many customs items will appear in the declaration?
• Will the €2 fee appear at checkout, in the shipping price or on a later invoice?
• Which Official Journal date is the provider using to start collection?

The Code ties the legal fee to the person responsible for the customs debt. During the transition, that can be the customs declarant. The final consumer is not intended to be the legal debtor, although a seller, platform or shipping provider may still build the cost into its price or service charges.

What is still unsettled?

The €2 amount is adopted. The exact start date is not. The adopted act also does not set the lower fee planned from July 2028 for qualifying goods released from a customs warehouse for distance sales.

It does not tell each platform, postal operator or carrier how to display the fee to customers. Their billing arrangements may differ. Recheck the Official Journal and your provider’s terms before changing checkout or landed-cost calculations.