The European Commission has published an updated version of its customs regulations and guidance to prepare businesses and customs authorities for a major change affecting low-value imports into the EU. This follows the announcement that starting from July 1, 2026, the EU will remove the current customs duty exemption for imported consignments valued at EUR 150 or less and replace it with a temporary fixed customs duty of EUR 3 per item.

The Scope and Reporting Requirements

The temporary EUR 3 customs duty will apply to each item or product category included in low-value consignments with an intrinsic value of up to EUR 150 that are sold through distance sales into the EU. The measure primarily affects B2C imports processed through the Import One-Stop Shop (IOSS) system, which non-EU sellers and e-commerce platforms commonly use to simplify VAT reporting for cross-border online sales.

The responsibility to pay the EUR 3 duty falls on the party that submits the customs declaration in its own name. Depending on the business model, the responsible party may be the e-commerce marketplace, the remote seller selling directly to EU consumers, or a customs representative acting on their behalf. Notably, the duty will be collected through the standard customs duty collection process.

While IOSS importers will generally continue using the simplified H7 declaration dataset, the Commission clarified that certain goods under EUR 150 will still require the more detailed H1 dataset.

The new customs rules also introduce product identifier reporting requirements for certain cross-border e-commerce imports that fall under the scope of the new duty. Importantly, these requirements do not apply to other transactions, such as B2B, as they specifically target B2C transactions. Relevant identifiers are the merchant's product identifier (M-PID), the non-standardized manufacturer product identifier (NS-PID), and, where available, the standardized product identifier (S-PID).

Conclusion

The European Commission’s guidance clarifies that new customs rules will affect a wide range of participants involved in cross-border online sales, including marketplaces, digital platforms, postal operators, express carriers, customs representatives, and remote sellers. Businesses involved in in-scope transactions should review how the new duty impacts their customs declaration procedures, product data management, operational workflows, and pricing structures.