According to the informal agreement, there will be a new handling fee for each item entering the EU from non-EU countries and sent directly to EU consumers, to cover the extra cost of handling an ever-increasing number of individual parcels. This will be paid by the same entity responsible for paying other customs charges for the same parcel, to avoid shifting the cost to consumers.
The Commission will establish the level of the fee and reassess it every two years. Member states will start collecting it as soon as the necessary information technology (IT) system becomes operational, and in any case no later than 1 November 2026.
Platform responsibility
Under the new rules, sellers and platforms that facilitate distance sales of goods from non-EU countries directly to EU customers will be treated as importers. This will oblige them to provide customs authorities with all the necessary data, pay or guarantee any charges, and make sure that the goods comply with EU laws. These companies must be established in the EU or be represented by an EU-based entity having either authorised economic operator (AEO) or trusted trader status. This should prevent the use of shell companies.
To incentivise bulk shipments that are easier for customs authorities to check, non-EU country sellers and platforms are encouraged to operate warehouses in the EU. Their intra-EU client shipments would benefit from a lower handling fee, provided their goods were imported in collective packaging and large enough quantities to make customs checks more efficient.
Companies that repeatedly ignore EU rules could be punished with a fine of at least 1% (and up to 6%) of the total value of goods imported into the EU in the previous 12 months. Additionally, customs authorities may suspend, revoke, or annul their trusted trader or AEO status and flag them as high-risk operators.
Simplification of procedures and IT environment
Import-export companies that follow the rules and agree to cooperate transparently with the customs authorities may benefit from a simplified “trust and check” regime. This would initially require them to go through thorough vetting and grant customs authorities access to their electronic systems. In exchange, their shipments would be checked less frequently and they would have more flexibility regarding the payment of duties and fees. The current AEO qualification will remain in place to keep customs status accessible to smaller economic operators.
The reform also establishes a new customs data hub to be managed by the new EU Customs Authority (EUCA). It will be available for optional use by 2031 and mandatory by 2034. The data hub will replace at least 111 software systems currently used by customs. This will make customs dealings easier and faster, risk analysis more efficient and customs cooperation more effective.
New EU Customs Authority
The reform sets up a new EU Customs Authority. It will be established in Lille, France and is expected to become fully operational immediately . Its main responsibilities will be to coordinate future customs cooperation, ensuring risk management and managing the data hub.
Next steps
The provisional agreement needs to be officially approved by Parliament in plenary as well as by the EU Council, before it will become law.
Quote
Rapporteur Dirk Gotink (EPP, NL), said: “Parliament and Council reached a historic agreement on the most significant reform of European customs legislation since 1968. The new rules address the explosive growth of e-commerce: last year, 5.8 billion low value parcels entered the EU. The new law has four core pillars: e-commerce traders become responsible for goods that they send to consumers, a new levy to cover increased processing costs for our customs, a central EU Customs Authority, and an EU data hub to provide a real-time and integrated overview of the flows of goods. Platforms that structurally fail to comply with our rules will be penalised. Systematic and repeated non-compliance will lead to stricter penalties of up to 6% of annual imports and the suspension of an online e-commerce platform. The goal: an internal market that no longer leaves platforms such as Temu, SHEIN and AliExpress untouched while putting massive amounts of non-compliant goods on the European market and unfairly competing with our businesses. This will make the single market significantly safer and fairer for consumers and businesses.”
Press conference
On Friday at 10.00 Gotink will hold a press conference at the European Parliament. It will be streamed here and journalists interested in joining remotely can do so via Interactio platform.
Background
The Commission initiated the comprehensive Customs Code reform in May 2023 as a reaction to the constantly growing influx of individual parcels from non-EU webshops. These overwhelm the EU’s customs authorities and offer a gateway into the EU for unsafe products. By 2024 the number of such incoming parcels almost doubled,
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