Topic

Customs and low-value imports

De minimis, the flat duty, the customs debtor, and the road to the EU Customs Data Hub.

Customs is where EU commerce policy is moving fastest. Two things changed in 2026: duty now applies to every consignment entering the EU, and the seller — not the consumer — is the default customs debtor.

Both are transitional. The destination is the EU Customs Data Hub, one EU-level data layer replacing 27 national declaration systems, opening for e-commerce around 2028 and mandatory for all traders from 2034. Platforms become deemed importers along the way.

What this topic covers: de minimis and low-value consignments, the transitional flat duty and handling fee, item-level data requirements, HS classification and origin, IOSS and the H7 declaration, importer-of-record structures, and the Data Hub rollout.

Articles

• 14 Aug 2026The customs reform is agreed: a handling fee by November, and the Data Hub calendar movesCouncil and Parliament settled the customs overhaul on 26 March 2026. A per-parcel handling fee arrives no later than 1 November, platforms become the importer, and the Data Hub dates are no longer the ones from the 2023 proposal.
• 1 Jul 2026The €150 exemption is gone: what the €3 flat duty actually changesFrom 1 July 2026 every parcel entering the EU carries duty. The flat €3 charge is a stopgap until the Customs Data Hub, but the liability shift underneath it is permanent.