EU de minimis is ending: What eCommerce brands need to know before 1 July 2026.

The rule that quietly made cross-border eCommerce into Europe so straight forward is gone from 1 July 2026. If your brand ships into the EU, or you work with brands that do, this is the most significant customs change in a generation.

Here is what is changing, what it means in practice, and what needs to happen before the deadline.

What is de minimis?

De minimis is the customs threshold below which imported goods are exempt from duty. In the EU, goods valued at €150 or less have historically entered without attracting customs duty. VAT has applied since 2021, but duty has not.That gap closes on 1 July 2026.

What is changing and when

1 July 2026: The €150 threshold is abolished

The European Council reached political agreement in November 2025 to remove the exemption, and gave final legislative approval in February 2026. From 1 July, every commercial parcel entering the EU from outside, regardless of value, is subject to customs duty.

The interim measure is a flat €3 customs duty, charged per HS code(tariff heading) per consignment. It is not a single flat fee per parcel. A parcel containing products that sit under two distinct HS codes attracts two €3 charges. Three HS codes, three charges.

This €3 rate is a transitional arrangement running until approximately mid-2028, when the EU Customs Data Hub is expected to go live and full standard tariff rates, based on HS code and country of origin, will take over.

Late 2026: An additional EU-wide handling fee

Separate to the duty, a further EU-wide eCcommerce handling fee of approximately €2 per parcel is expected from around November 2026. This is legally distinct from customs duty and is not removed by IOSS registration.

Mid-2028: Full tariff classification

Once the EU Customs Data Hub is operational, the flat €3 rate is replaced by standard percentage-based tariffs. At that point, duty rates vary by product type, HS code classification, and country of origin.

How the €3 duty works in practice

The flat rate applies primarily to shipments processed through IOSS(Import One-Stop Shop), which covers roughly 93% of all cross-border eCommerce parcels entering the EU. Under the new rules, IOSS-registered sellers collect both VAT and the €3 duty at checkout. The duty integrates directly into theIOSS declaration system via the H7 customs declaration.

Without valid IOSS registration and an accurate H7 declaration, the full standard tariff classification process applies to every parcel, which is significantly more complex and costly.

VAT itself is unchanged. It has applied from the first euro since 2021and continues to do so.

What this means for your business

Pricing and landed cost

Orders that were previously duty-free are no longer. For brands selling into the EU at lower price points, fashion accessories, beauty, homeware, and small electronics, the addition of €3 per HS code per parcel can meaningfully affect margins, particularly on lower average order values. Once the €2 handling fee lands in late 2026, the combined charge per parcel rises further.

Pricing strategies built around the assumption of duty-free delivery need reviewing now.

Checkout experience and DDP

Customers who encounter unexpected charges at the door abandon packages, dispute charges, and rarely return. Collecting duties upfront at checkout, DeliveredDuty Paid (DDP), is no longer a premium option for larger operations. It is the standard expected by consumers.

Brands not already on DDP should be modelling the move. The alternative,DAP (Delivered at Place), where the buyer settles import charges on arrival, is an increasing source of post-purchase friction and returns.

Compliance and HS code accuracy

Every shipment into the EU now requires accurate product data: precise HS codes, country of origin, declared values, commercial invoices, and EORI information. Vague product descriptions, "accessories,""miscellaneous goods", are no longer workable. Misclassification means miscalculated duties, customs holds, and potential penalties.

The €3 charge is calculated per HS code line, so accurate classification also directly affects cost. A parcel with three product categories from three different tariff headings carries €9 in duty from day one. Grouping products accurately under shared HS codes where genuinely applicable reduces that exposure.

EU warehousing as a structural solution

Brands that hold stock inside the EU sidestep this entirely for their EU orders. Bulk inbound shipments clear customs once on arrival, at commercial tariff rates based on the full consignment. Individual outbound parcels to EU consumers then ship domestically, with no per-parcel cross-border duty triggered.

For brands with meaningful EU order volumes, this is increasingly the practical answer, not just to the July 2026 change, but to the full tariff environment arriving in 2028.

The UK: a separate timeline

The UK's £135 de minimis threshold is also being removed, but not until March 2029 at the latest. The UK government confirmed this in the Autumn Budget 2025, with HMRC consultation ongoing. No immediate operational changes are required for UK-bound orders from EU sellers, but the direction is clear.

For UK-based eCommerce brands shipping into the EU, the July 2026 deadline is the pressing one.

What needs to happen before 1 July

The checklist for any brand shipping cross-border into the EU:

• Audit HS codes across your full product catalogue. Move from four-digit codes to accurate six or eight-digit classifications at SKU level.
• Confirm IOSS registration is in place and that your carrier can demonstrate IOSS token transmission on the customs declaration. If they cannot demonstrate it, the parcel will not move cleanly through EU customs from July.
• Review your Incoterms. Decide whether to move to DDP and build the duty cost into your pricing and checkout, or accept the customer experience trade-offs of continuing with DAP.
• Model the landed cost impact by market and category. VAT rates vary across EU member states, and national handling fees are arriving in some markets separately.
• Assess whether EU warehousing makes commercial sense given your order volumes and product mix.

How SCEND can help

SCEND operates fulfilment centres in the UK and the EU, including our facility in the Netherlands, positioned to serve the EU market. For brands looking to hold stock inside the EU, we can walk through what that looks like operationally and commercially.

If you want to understand how these changes affect your fulfilment setup, get in touch.

Sources: European Commission Taxation and Customs Union; EU CouncilRegulation 2026/382; KPMG Tax News Flash, February 2026; FlavorCloud; Avalara.

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