From November 1, 2026, the EU charges a €2 handling fee per customs declaration line item on ecommerce imports. Unlike the €3 flat-rate duty, which covers ecommerce imports valued at €150 or less, the €2 handling fee covers ecommerce imports of any value. For low-value shipments, the two charges add up to €5 per customs declaration line item.
The fee is part of a wider set of changes to how the EU handles ecommerce imports:
- July 1, 2026: The EU ended the €150 duty de minimis exemption and introduced a temporary €3 flat-rate duty per customs declaration line item on ecommerce imports of €150 or less.
- September 21, 2026: The European Commission adopted Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/2152, setting the separate €2 handling fee per line item.
- October 22, 2026: The EU published the regulation setting the fee in the Official Journal.
- November 1, 2026: The €2 handling fee takes effect.
See our EU Customs Changes 2026 guide for more on the €3 flat-rate duty, IOSS, preferential origin, product identifiers, carrier and postal changes, and national fees.
What is the EU handling fee?
The €2 handling fee is an EU-wide charge that covers the cost of customs processing for goods sold to EU consumers from outside the EU. It’s charged per item, at any order value, and the customs declarant (usually the IOSS holder, carrier or customs representative) owes it. It applies from November 1, 2026. It’s separate from the €3 flat-rate duty the EU introduced on July 1, 2026, and it stacks on top of that duty for low-value shipments.
When does the EU handling fee apply?
The EU handling fee applies from November 1, 2026. The EU published the regulation setting the fee in the Official Journal of the EU on October 22, 2026.
The fee applies based on when customs accepts the import declaration, not when the order was placed. An order placed in October that clears customs on or after November 1 pays the fee.
What does the handling fee apply to?
The €2 handling fee covers ecommerce imports of any value, as long as the goods are sold to a consumer (a distance sale). B2B imports aren’t covered. That is the key difference from the €3 flat-rate duty, which only covers ecommerce imports valued at €150 or less.
In practice:
- Orders of €150 or less pay the €3 duty and the €2 fee, for €5 per line item. A valid preferential origin claim, declared in a standard (H1) declaration rather than through IOSS, can take goods out of the €3 duty, but not out of the €2 handling fee.
- Orders over €150 don’t pay the €3 duty, but they pay standard customs duty instead, plus the €2 handling fee on each line item.
How is “per item” counted?
Customs charges the fee per customs declaration line item, not per parcel. Products share one line item only if they match on every data point the customs declaration requires:
- Low-value orders (€150 or less, H7 declaration): the same 6-digit HS code and the same product description. Origin isn’t declared here.
- Orders over €150 or preferential-origin goods (standard H1 declaration): the same 10-digit TARIC code, the same product description and the same country of origin.
That means two identical units of the same product share one line item, while different product types in the same parcel each create their own. Bundles are where most brands overpay. A bundle you sell as one SKU often won’t qualify as a “set” for customs. If it doesn’t, each component gets its own line.
The €3 flat-rate duty uses the same counting logic, so it affects both charges at once. Accurate HS classification, country of origin and product data now directly determine how many fees a shipment pays. For more on the product data EU customs expects, see our guide to EU product identifiers.
How the €2 handling fee stacks with the €3 duty
Here’s what the fixed charges look like on typical orders. The €150 threshold refers to the intrinsic value of the consignment, not the order total.
Examples: €3 duty and €2 handling fee by order
Import VAT and any applicable customs duty apply on top, and VAT also applies to the €2 fee itself.
A €20 order with two line items carries €10 in fixed charges, half the order value, before VAT.
How EU import charges reach merchants and customers
Legally, the customs declarant owes both the €3 duty and the €2 fee. That’s usually the IOSS holder, the carrier or a customs representative acting for the seller. How the cost reaches you or your customer depends on the shipping model:
- Express and courier shipments: The carrier typically pays the charges at clearance and bills them back to the seller or shipper.
- Postal shipments (Delivered Duty Unpaid or Delivered at Place, DDU/DAP): The destination post may collect duties, VAT and clearance fees from the consumer at delivery. That raises the risk of refused or abandoned parcels, and the €2 fee is still owed even if the parcel is refused.
- Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) shipments: The merchant or its provider covers the charges and can build them into the landed cost shown at checkout, so the customer sees no surprise fees.
Is the handling fee refundable?
No. The €2 fee is non-refundable, even if the customer refuses the parcel after customs accepts the declaration. The €3 duty generally can’t be recovered on returns either, because the EU removed the simplified route for cancelling low-value declarations. For brands with high return rates, both belong in returns policies and reverse-logistics cost models.
Other EU changes to know about
Two more changes sit alongside the handling fee:
- Product identifiers are mandatory from November 1, 2026. For distance sales of €150 or less, EU customs requires a merchant product identifier (such as a SKU), the manufacturer’s own part number, and a standardized product identifier (GTIN, EAN, UPC or ISBN) where one exists. See our guide to EU product identifiers.
- The €3 duty is temporary. It applies until July 1, 2028, when use of the EU Customs Data Hub, a centralized customs platform, becomes mandatory for ecommerce imports.
What ecommerce brands should do now
With the fee in place from November 1, brands shipping to the EU should:
- Add the fee to landed cost models. Budget €2 per line item on every EU order, including orders over €150, and €5 per line item on orders of €150 or less.
- Review product catalog data. HS classification (6-digit for low-value orders, 10-digit for standard declarations), country of origin and product descriptions decide how many items a shipment creates. Errors can mean paying more fees than necessary or delays at customs.
- Check bundles and multi-category orders. Mixed bundles can multiply both the €3 duty and the €2 fee. Make sure grouping is accurate and defensible, and avoid grouping unrelated products to save fees, which customs may treat as avoidance. See our guide on what counts as avoidance under the €3 duty.
- Decide who absorbs the cost. Show the fee at checkout, build it into EU pricing, or encourage larger baskets. But orders above €150 trade the €3 duty for standard customs duty, and each new product type adds another €2, so model both before you set a free-shipping or bundle threshold.
- Update returns economics. The €2 fee is non-refundable, and the €3 duty generally can’t be recovered on returned or undeliverable shipments.
- Move to DDP where possible. DDP shipping keeps duties, fees and VAT off the customer’s doorstep and lowers the risk of refused parcels.
How Passport handles the EU handling fee
Passport manages the new EU charges on behalf of our merchants and partners:
- Landed cost calculator: Automatically adapts to new EU duty and handling fee requirements as they take effect, helping brands accurately calculate import costs, VAT and applicable parcel fees at checkout. Passport has included the €2 handling fee in the duties and fees shown at checkout since October 26, 2026, so it covers shipments still in transit on November 1.
- Passport Seller of Record®: Acts as the seller of record for your EU sales, managing VAT registration, collection and filing.
- In-Country Enablement: Lets brands stock inventory inside the EU. Bulk B2B imports aren’t distance sales, so neither the €3 duty nor the €2 handling fee applies, and duty is assessed on the import value of your inventory rather than the retail price. Orders then ship to customers as domestic EU deliveries.
For the full picture of EU customs reform, including IOSS, transit and national fees, see our ongoing EU Customs Changes 2026 guide.
Talk to our team about how the EU handling fee affects your landed costs.
Authored by Thomas Taggart
VP of Global Trade | Passport
Thomas Taggart is a cross-border commerce leader with more than 20 years of experience in international shipping and regulatory affairs. As the Head of Global Trade, Thomas helps ecommerce brands go global by simplifying international trade, tax, and product compliance issues. Prior to Passport, he brought international shipping solutions to market through multiple roles in UPS’s product development organization.