Circumvention of future EUR 3 customs duty on e‑commerce parcels

Priority question for written answer P-001065/2026
to the Commission
Rule 144
Yvan Verougstraete (Renew)

From 1 July 2026, the EU plans to introduce a flat-rate customs duty of EUR 3 on e­­-commerce packages worth less than 150 EUR, as part of the EU Customs Code reform. This measure aims to re-establish a level playing field between European companies and certain non-European platforms which ship their products directly to European consumers.

However, a number of stakeholders are already discussing strategies to artificially reclassify business-to-consumer sales as business-to-business imports in order to avoid this duty. In this way, packages sold to European consumers could be declared as stock imports to a company based in the EU before their final delivery.

This practice appears to be at odds with the VAT Directive and the EU definition of distance sales of imported goods.

In view of this:

• 1.Does the Commission consider that such reclassification constitutes an infringement of EU VAT and customs law?
• 2.How does the Commission intend to ensure consistent interpretation by Member States' customs authorities?
• 3.Is it considering specific measures to prevent these circumvention strategies?

Submitted: 16.3.2026