Handling fee

For parcels from outside the EU, the handling fee will be 2 euros: this will be added to the 3-euro tariff

Tariffs and handling fees remain separate measures. The former is a levy on goods. The latter serves to cover the costs incurred by customs authorities in managing the flow of consignments

by Lorenzo Pace

25 September 2026

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3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

The missing piece of the jigsaw has fallen into place. The European Commission has set the handling fee – the charge levied on goods purchased online and imported from non-EU countries – at two euros per consignment.

The figure is set out in the delegated act published on 21 September, as reported in advance by ANSA, and falls at the lower end of the range of between two and four euros that had been circulating in recent weeks.

The 3-euro tariff remains

The new commission will come into effect by 1 November and will be added to the €3 tariff in force since 1 July, which applies only to parcels valued at less than €150 and which, as Roberto Alesse, Director of the Customs Agency, told *Il Sole 24 Ore*, in the first two months brought in 83 million euros for the Italian treasury and coincided with a 39 per cent drop in imports compared with the previous two-month period.

The calendar

The delegated act must still be approved by the European Parliament and the Council, which have 30 days from the date of notification to raise objections. If no objections are raised, the regulation will be published in the Official Journal of the EU and will enter into force on the same day.

The tax will come into effect ten days later. Hence the date of 1 November, which coincides with the deadline set by the new Union Customs Code (Regulation 2026/2108), published in the Official Journal last week.

Two withdrawals, two purposes

As mentioned, tariffs and handling fees remain separate measures. The former is a levy on goods. The latter serves to cover the costs incurred by customs authorities in managing the flow of consignments: data collection and verification, risk analysis, checks on goods and infrastructure.

According to the Commission, the two euros correspond to the approximate costs of the customs supervision required to release goods sold online for free circulation. In 2025, there were around 6 billion items contained in small e-commerce consignments processed in the EU, 90 per cent of which originated in China. Inspections carried out in the same year across the 27 Member States found that over 60 per cent of the products checked did not comply with European standards.

Who pays

The tax will not be collected from the consumer upon delivery. Under the new Code, customs liability for online sales passes to the operator who sells or facilitates the distance sale. This covers major platforms such as Shein, Temu and AliExpress, as well as non-EU sellers on other marketplaces, including Amazon. Operators will, however, be able to pass on the cost to the final prices.

The amount is not final. The Code stipulates that the Commission must draw up a report every two years on the costs incurred by customs authorities, on the basis of which the two euros may be revised.

From 1 July 2028, a second handling fee will also come into effect for goods passing through customs warehouses prior to sale; the amount of this fee has not yet been set by the delegated act. This is the same date on which the flat-rate tariff of three euros, introduced by Regulation 2026/382 as a temporary measure, will expire.

The Italian node

At national level, the two-euro delivery charge provided for in the 2026 Budget Act remains unresolved. It was due to come into effect on 1 July, then was postponed to 1 October and now, following the decree suspending the motor vehicle tax, to 1 December.

The government must therefore find a way to avoid overlap with the EU tax without losing revenue. The two postponements have already cost just over 102 million in funding, and from 2027 the public finances will be short of 245 million a year.

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