Dutch lawmaker Dirk Gotink urged the EU Commission on 7 July to require platforms to absorb a EUR 3 customs duty introduced 1 July 2026, after consumer groups found charges concealed until late checkout or delivery. 

RF Report

Europe’s consumer federation and a senior EU lawmaker are urging the European Commission to ensure that consumers are not required to bear the cost of a new customs handling fee on online purchases. This follows the EU introducing a EUR 3 fee on low-value e-commerce imports that had previously entered the bloc duty-free on 1 July 2026.

BEUC, representing consumer organisations across 31 European countries, found that customs charges often surface late in checkout or not at all, leaving buyers facing unexpected surcharges at delivery.

Postal operators including PostNL and La Poste have also begun collecting duties directly from consumers, sometimes adding substantial administrative fees on top.

Dirk Gotink, the Dutch lawmaker who managed the customs file in Parliament, wrote to EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic on 7 July demanding that platforms take responsibility for the charges rather than shifting them downstream. “Consumers should not receive unexpected charges upon delivery or as a pre-condition for delivery,” Gotink said. The Commission has stated that businesses bear legal responsibility for customs duties and is monitoring compliance.

Chinese e-commerce platforms Temu and AliExpress include customs duties at checkout, while Shein says it absorbs applicable duties in its pricing, with some EU warehouse shipments exempt. The new EU duty aims to address unfair competition from online retailers and manage the sharp rise in low-value e-commerce imports.

The duty itself was partly designed to address unfair competition and manage the surge to 5.8 billion parcels in 2025.

Earlier, the EU had adopted an implementing regulation introducing an interim flat-rate customs duty of EUR 3 on goods in small parcels valued below EUR 150, effective 1 July 2026. The measure was established under Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1200, published in the Official Journal of the European Union.