Small-parcel tax: €2 more since November

Since 1 November 2026, every parcel sold at a distance from a third country pays a €2 handling fee per item category, on top of the €3 duty.

The small-parcel tax got heavier on 1 November 2026. On top of the €3 customs duty charged since 1 July on consignments of €150 or less, there is now a €2 handling fee, counted per item category and with no value ceiling. It affects sellers and platforms that ship their online sales from a third country directly to the European customer, notably e-merchants dropshipping from China.

Torn between shipping parcel by parcel and holding stock in France? Talk to our storage specialists or request a quote for a groupage import.

What changed on 1 November?

The Union moved in two stages. On 1 July 2026, it abolished the relief that exempted consignments of €150 or less from customs duties and replaced it with a €3 flat-rate duty, scheduled to run until 1 July 2028. On 1 November, it added a €2 handling fee, whose amount, set by the Commission, reflects the cost of customs supervision of these flows. The first measure is temporary; the second is not.

France had got ahead of things: a national €2 tax on small parcels from outside the Union had applied since March 2026. It was repealed on 1 July, when the European duty arrived. Today's €2 therefore has nothing to do with it, even though the amount is the same.

An important difference between the two amounts: the €3 duty only applies to consignments of €150 or less, whereas the handling fee applies whatever the value. A €250 headset shipped from China therefore pays the €2 fee, plus the ordinary customs duties of the Common Customs Tariff.

How is an item category counted?

The calculation is neither per parcel nor per piece. The Commission defines an "item" as all the goods in a consignment that share the same tariff classification. In practice, each line of the customs declaration triggers the amounts, whatever the quantity. The examples published by French customs, excluding VAT and carrier charges:

• a €20 T-shirt: €5 (€3 duty and €2 fee);
• two identical €40 T-shirts: still €5, because they fall under the same category;
• a T-shirt and a toy for €35: €10, two categories;
• a €250 headset: €2 fee, plus the usual customs duties.

For a low-value basket mixing several product families, the bill rises fast. A €30 order covering three categories bears €15, half its value. The handling fees are also included in the import VAT base, as the Commission points out in its guidelines, and are not refundable once the declaration has been accepted.

Who pays the small-parcel tax?

Not the end customer, in principle. Customs collect these amounts from the operator making the declaration: the platform, the seller or the carrier, depending on the case. Each is free to pass them on in its price or to charge them on delivery, and customs warn against fake messages demanding these amounts in the name of the administration.

The scope covers distance sales of imported goods: goods sold online and then shipped from a third country to a buyer in the Union. Goods imported in bulk, cleared and released for free circulation, then sold from stock located in France, do not meet this definition. The Commission's guidelines do, however, include an anti-avoidance clause: consignments grouped to avoid the fee, or stock held in a customs warehouse that in reality corresponds to individual sales, may be treated as so many distance sales.

Should you move from parcels to groupage imports?

For an e-merchant who ships every order from China, the question can now be answered with figures in hand. Before deciding, four checks:

• The average number of categories per order: this, more than the price, determines the extra cost. A single-product catalogue suffers less than a basket mixing textiles, accessories and electronics.
• The cost of a groupage import per unit, including transport, duties and VAT: our post on customs value, line by line shows what goes into the taxable base.
• The right transport mode for your volume: the tipping point between groupage and full container shows when the container becomes cost-effective.
• Cash flow and warehousing: stock in France ties up money and requires order fulfilment, but it also shortens the customer's delivery time.

And it does not end there. The Commission has announced that the EU customs data hub will become mandatory for e-commerce on 1 July 2028, and that the fee will then be lower for goods sold from a customs warehouse. The 2026 rules are a step, not the final state.

What to do now

Go back over last month's orders and count, for each one, the number of distinct tariff lines. Multiply by €5 for baskets of €150 or less, by €2 above that (plus ordinary duties), and compare the total with your margin. If the gap is significant, get a first groupage restock priced, to ship before factory closures for Chinese New Year, prepare the documents that prevent a hold on arrival, then decide on the basis of a full cost rather than a hunch.