End of “cheap parcels” from e-shops outside Europe

The rules are intended to level the playing field: European traders have long pointed out that cheap imports from third countries put them at a disadvantage, as they themselves have to bear the full tax burden. For the time being, the duty will apply during a transitional period from 1 July 2026 to 1 July 2028, unless this period is extended.

The customs duty exemption for consignments of up to EUR 150 is coming to a definitive end and will be replaced by a customs duty of EUR 3 for each item in the consignment. This will typically affect purchases from Chinese and other non-European e-shops, which are very popular in Czechia. The change will affect both end consumers and, in particular, foreign sellers and domestic e-shops competing with cheap imports.

Consignments of up to EUR 150 sent from countries outside the EU have so far been fully exempt from customs duty. Consumers therefore generally paid only the price of the goods and, where applicable, VAT (under IOSS – Import One Stop Shop), with no customs duty to deal with. From 1 July 2026, the customs duty exemption will be abolished and all small consignments of up to EUR 150 intended for end consumers will be subject to a “flat-rate” customs duty of EUR 3 per item.

The flat-rate customs duty applies to each item in the parcel, with an item understood as goods falling under a single customs code (the same tariff classification, description and origin of the goods). In practice, this may mean, for example, that if a customer orders a jumper and trousers for a total of EUR 15, i.e. two different items (two customs subcodes), they will pay an additional EUR 6 in customs duty on top of the price. If they ordered two pairs of trousers, they would pay only EUR 3. The decisive factor for applying the duty is the date on which the goods enter EU territory, not the date of the order.

The IOSS scheme allows a third-country seller to collect VAT at the time of purchase and pay it centrally in the EU. For consignments under IOSS intended for end consumers, the flat-rate customs duty of EUR 3 will replace individual customs assessment under the customs tariff. The aim is to simplify and speed up customs procedures for the vast number of low-value consignments. For entities not registered under IOSS, the EU Common Customs Tariff will continue to apply as standard after 1 July 2026.

A new handling fee is also expected to be added to the flat-rate customs duty, already from 1 November 2026. Its purpose is to cover the costs incurred by customs authorities in processing the growing number of parcels. The exact amount has not yet been determined, but it is expected to be a few euros per consignment.
In practice, consumers making low-value purchases may therefore face a combination of:

• a flat-rate customs duty of EUR 3 per item,
   
• a handling fee charged by customs authorities,
   
• and any additional fees charged by logistics companies.

From October 2026, the European Commission will monitor on a regular (monthly) basis whether trade flows are shifting away from IOSS to other import methods with the aim of avoiding the flat-rate customs duty, or whether the rules are being systematically circumvented (for example through incorrect declarations of parcel contents). If serious issues are identified, the Commission may propose changes to the transitional regime.