Shipments outside the EU

Mini-packages, the tax starts in July (together with European tariffs)

Confetra: 'This is how we lose half of our traffic'

by Lorenzo Pace

21 May 2026

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Key points

The first scenario: Italian tax remains
Second scenario: no tax
Predicted revenue

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

With the tax decree, which was converted into law on Wednesday, the government stalled the tax on mini-packages arriving from non-EU countries. Now, the two-euro fee is scheduled to come into force in July, just when the three-euro European tariffs will be introduced. The 'affected' shipments will be the same, i.e. those with a value of less than EUR 150.

From Confetra, the Italian General Confederation of Transport and Logistics, came - in no uncertain terms - the call for the executive to take a step back: 'The 2 euro tax would be an own goal, because it would lead to a 50% drop in traffic'. To explain why, two scenarios are posed between July and November 2026.

The first scenario: the Italian tax remains

The first is what we could call the current situation, i.e. if the situation were to remain as it is. Maintaining the two-euro tax on mini-packages from non-EU countries could be counterproductive for Confetra: 'When unilateral measures are introduced on global phenomena,' explained director Andrea Cappa at the Customs and Monopolies Agency's General Assembly, 'the real risk is that of shifting traffic elsewhere, without achieving the stated objectives.

If Italia becomes more expensive, is the confederation's thesis, the couriers will move their cargo flights to Germany, Belgium or Holland, and then bring the goods into the country by truck. In numbers, it would mean that Italia loses 50 per cent of its traffic (as already experienced in the first two months of 2026 before the postponement of the rule) and the state collects a total of EUR 70 million, of which only EUR 51 million for the Italian tax.

Second scenario: no tax

Scenario two. Firstly, it should be explained that the European tariffs provide that 75% of the revenue goes to the Community budget and that the other 25% is retained by the Member States as reimbursement for collection costs. In practice, each mini-package arriving from countries outside the EU will produce a 0.75 cent revenue instead of the two euro provided by the Italian tax. The other euro and 25 cents would therefore have to be compensated by other means.

Projected revenue

And here the question arises of the revenue that the government has foreseen with the tax introduced in the last Budget Law. For 2026, the estimated revenue is 122.5 million, which becomes 245 million for both 2027 and 2028. The total for the three-year period makes 612.5 million. With the European tariffs, the revenue would be less. Confetra dwells on 2026 and explains that about 32 million dances: "A minimal economic advantage for the state," said Cappa, "against the enormous risk of losing customers who will never come back. Moreover, since the Italian tax will not expire in November but will be added to the European tariffs, the economic damage to the state coffers will worsen in the years to come'.

Confetra also pointed out that the problem is not only financial: 'If goods destined for Italia land and are cleared through customs in other European countries to avoid the Italian tax, our country loses the power to physically control them. This reduces the possibility of effectively monitoring incoming flows, with serious impacts on security and protection of the internal market. This is why,' Cappa concluded, 'we are asking for a step back and a coordinated approach. Without harmonisation at EU level, every national tax becomes just a competitive gift to our European neighbours'.