Mini parcels, Customs Agency raises guard: controls will weigh on incentives
Checks on 'low value declarations in the e-commerce sector' jump to 47,000 in 2026, rising to 47,500 in 2027 and 48,000 in 2028
by Lorenzo Pace
Key points
In numbers or in words, the Customs Agency's aim of raising its guard on mini-packages is clear. And it is written in black and white in the agreement signed with the Ministry of the Economy, which defines the Agency's planning for the period 2026-28. Let's start with the number of checks on 'declarations of modest value in the e-commerce sector', which jump to 47,000 in 2026, rising to 47,500 in 2027 and 48,000 in 2028. This is almost double the level planned just a year ago.
He who controls more gets paid more
It is not only a question of volume: the indicator now enters into the incentive system of the Agency's managers, with a weight of 25 points on the performance-related pay component. In short, whoever controls more - and better - gets paid more.
Almost 4 thousand irregularities expected
Little change, however, for the positivity rate. For 2026 and 2027, a level of 8.2 per cent is expected, with a slight increase to 8.3 per cent in 2028. Translated: out of 47,000 inspections planned this year, about 3,850 are expected to end in an established irregularity - downwardly inflated value declarations, incorrect customs classifications, non-application of VAT. A conservative estimate, but out of a much larger number of checks.
Pending parcel taxes
All this comes at a time when the regulatory framework is being rapidly redesigned. As of 1 July, the European tariffs of EUR 3 will be applied to every parcel from non-EU countries with a value of less than EUR 150 - the end of the duty exemption that for years fuelled the boom in low-cost shipments, China in the lead. It is from the Asian country, in fact, that more than 98% of low value shipments to Italia arrive.
The European tax is superimposed - at least for now - by the Italian mini-tax of 2 euros per parcel, whose start-up had been postponed to 1 July by the spring tax decree (Decree 38/2026). The problem, as Confetra has already pointed out, is that the two levies insist on the same perimeter and risk creating a traffic diversion effect from Italian hubs to other European airports, with subsequent transport by road.
