As of 1 November 2026, every item entering the European Union as part of a distance sale from a non-EU country is subject to a new €2 handling fee. It comes four months after the €3 temporary customs duty, which has applied since 1 July, and it is easy to confuse the two measures. They are not the same, they do not have the same scope, and they do not pursue the same objective. In this article, we explain how the fee works, who pays it and what distinguishes it from the customs duty.
The handling fee (Union Handling Fee, UHF) is a fixed amount per item charged by customs authorities for the service of processing the application for the release for free circulation of goods sold through distance sales.
According to the European Commission's guidance, the costs it must cover include, at a minimum, data verification, risk analysis, the necessary infrastructure and controls, as well as the services provided by the future EU Customs Authority. The amount of this fee is set at €2 under a delegated regulation.
To understand why these measures have been adopted, we need to put them into context. According to the Commission, in 2024, 4.6 billion e-commerce parcels valued at less than €150 entered the EU, and 91% came from China. Through these measures, Member States aim to strengthen customs and security controls over this volume of goods.
The fee applies to goods sold through what the legislation calls distance sales of imported goods: a supplier, or a platform acting as a supplier, sends or transports goods from a third country or territory to a consumer (or another recipient not entitled to deduct VAT) in the EU. It is important to note that this only applies to B2C.
The fee is not charged per parcel or per physical unit, but per item for customs purposes. According to the Customs Code, an "item" groups together goods in a consignment that share the same tariff classification, the same description and, where required by the declaration, the same origin.
You are an e-commerce business based in a country outside the EU, and a consumer in Barcelona places a single order with you, shipped in one parcel, with a total value of €80, containing:
There are three product categories (toys, coat and shampoo). Although the parcel contains six units, the fee is charged once per category:
| Category | Units | Handling Fee | Temporary Customs Duty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toys | 2 | €2 | €3 |
| Cotton T-shirt | 1 | €2 | €3 |
| Shampoo | 3 | €2 | €3 |
| Total | 6 | €6 | €9 |
The total customs cost for the parcel would be €15 (€6 in handling fees and €9 in customs duties), to which the applicable VAT must be added.
Two important points to bear in mind when counting:
For shipments exceeding €150, the handling fee (€2) continues to be charged per item, but the fixed €3 customs duty is replaced by the ordinary customs duty, depending on the product's origin, classification and value.
Both measures apply simultaneously to shipments worth less than €150. While the customs duty is a tax on imports, the handling fee is payment for a public control service. In other words, the customs duty applies to imports valued at less than €150, while the fee is intended to fund customs authorities and cover the cost of the services they provide when processing goods sold via distance selling.
To better understand the differences between the temporary customs duty and the handling fee, see the following table:
| €3 Temporary Customs Duty | €2 Handling Fee | |
|---|---|---|
| Nature | Customs duty | Fee for the customs processing service |
| Amount | €3 per item category for imports under €150 | €2 per item category |
| Applicable from | 1 July 2026 | 1 November 2026 |
| Duration | Temporary: until 1 July 2028 | Indefinite |
| Shipment value | Shipments worth up to €150 only | Any value, including shipments exceeding €150 |
| Purpose | To offset the removal of the exemption and limit unfair competition | To finance controls, risk analysis and customs services |
| Refundable? | Yes, under the general rules on the repayment of customs duties (the invalidation of the declaration cannot be requested on the grounds that the goods have been returned) | No, once the declaration has been accepted |
| Subject to VAT | Governed by the general VAT rules, which are not amended by the guidance | Yes, it is considered an ancillary expense of the supply and forms part of the taxable amount |
The customs duty is a temporary import tax, whereas the handling fee is a permanent charge for the customs service. For a parcel worth less than €150, both charges must be paid for each item category.
The person liable for payment is the declarant, not the consumer. According to the Council, platforms and sellers that send goods to the EU through distance sales are considered importers, and they are the ones responsible for handling the procedures and payments.
The Commission’s guidance sets out a hierarchy to determine who is responsible for submitting the declaration:
This is the most common question, and there are concerns that some platforms may pass the cost on to consumers during the final stages of the purchase, as has already happened with the €3 customs duty. This would not comply with EU law, which requires the total final price to be disclosed from the beginning of the purchasing process.
This requirement stems from EU consumer protection legislation. Directive 2011/83/EU requires consumers to be informed of the total price, including taxes and, where applicable, additional charges, in a clear and prominent manner immediately before placing the order. Therefore, if this fee appeared at the end of the purchasing process and was not included in the displayed price, this would constitute a breach of European legislation.
One important difference compared with the customs duty is that the handling fee is non-refundable. It becomes payable as soon as customs accepts the declaration, because that is when the verification and risk analysis service begins. For this reason, the Commission's guidance concludes that:
For businesses established in the EU, the €2 fee depends on where the goods are located when they are sold, not on where the business is established.
When does it not apply?
When does it apply?
EU legislation establishes a legal fiction whereby the marketplace is no longer considered a mere technical facilitator or neutral intermediary. For tax and customs purposes, the law treats the transaction as two consecutive supplies:
Consequently, the marketplace legally assumes the status of the direct seller vis-à-vis the tax and customs authorities of the European Union.
A marketplace qualifies as a deemed supplier when it facilitates distance sales of imported goods under either of the following conditions:
An e-commerce business or marketplace established outside the EU cannot act as a direct customs declarant before EU customs authorities. Therefore, in order to operate under the IOSS scheme, it must appoint an indirect customs representative established within the EU.
When a non-EU marketplace processes a sale under the IOSS scheme, its indirect customs representative in the EU submits the import customs declaration. The declaration includes TARIC document code Y126, which automatically triggers the collection of the €2 fee per item category. The customs representative is the direct legal debtor to the customs authority where the goods are cleared.
If the non-EU platform does not use IOSS because the consignment is valued at more than €150, the customs obligation moves to the next level of the legal "cascade": the postal operator, express courier company or customs agent transporting the parcel.
The handling fee will remain in force after the temporary customs duty expires. The Commission must assess, before 1 December 2027, whether the EU Customs Data Hub will be operational on 1 July 2028. If it is not, the Commission could propose extending the transitional customs duty. Once the system is operational, ordinary customs duties will be charged.
At Lawwwing, we care about helping you stay compliant. That is why we update e-commerce legal texts and terms and conditions of purchase to ensure they comply with the applicable tax and fee regulations.
It is a fixed amount per item charged by EU customs authorities for processing the entry of goods sold through distance sales from a country outside the EU. Its purpose is to cover the administrative costs of customs controls.
From 1 November 2026.
It is charged per item category, meaning items that share the same tariff classification.
No. Unlike the €3 customs duty, the fee applies regardless of the shipment's value, provided that it involves a distance sale of imported goods.
The customs duty is a temporary customs charge (until 1 July 2028) that only applies to shipments worth up to €150. The handling fee is the price of a customs service, has no end date and is payable regardless of the shipment's value. For a shipment worth less than €150, both charges must be paid for each item category.
The declarant, who is the person submitting the customs declaration: the IOSS holder or its indirect representative, the user of the special VAT arrangements or their representative, or the indirect representative of the importer. The consumer can only submit the declaration as a last resort, in Member States that offer a free online declaration service and provided that IOSS has not been used.
The legislation does not prevent the cost from being passed on to the consumer. However, doing so could be considered non-compliant with European consumer protection legislation, which requires the total price to be disclosed from the outset.
No. The fee is non-refundable. It becomes payable when customs accepts the declaration and is not refunded even if the declaration is subsequently invalidated or the goods are not released.
It depends on where the goods are located at the time of sale. The Commission's guidance states that goods sold to consumers before being placed in a customs warehouse are considered to have been shipped from a third country. It also indicates that the Commission is amending the legislation so that goods sold while they are in a customs warehouse will also be subject to the fee. If the goods are already in free circulation in the EU when they are sold, the transaction is not considered a distance sale of imported goods.
