Irish consumers are set to pay €3 charge on online orders valued at less than €150 in a bid to protect European retail businesses, following a vote by European Union (EU) member states.
The charge will be placed on small parcels entering the EU – with low-cost platforms like Temu and Shein in line to be hit most – and will be payable from the 1st of July 2026.
The measure is designed to bridge the gap until the EU Customs Data Hub is set up in 2028. EU data suggests as many as 12 million small items would have been liable for the charge every day in 2024.
The duty will be charged by the parcel, so orders of multiple items will not incur the charge multiple times, and could be in addition to an EU handling fee on ecommerce parcels, around which negotiation is under way.
In addition to protecting domestic, retail businesses, the charge is envisaged as a measure to compensate customs authorities for the increasing costs of the growing flow of parcels, the commission said.
“With ecommerce expanding rapidly, the world is changing fast – and we need the right tools to keep pace,” Maroš Šefčovič, the EU trade commissioner said.
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“That is why the decision on customs duties for small parcels coming into the EU is so important to ensuring fair competition at our borders in today’s ecommerce era.”
The volume of small orders into the trading bloc has “surged” in recent years, according to figures published by the EU Commission in March. It noted that volumes are expected to continue growing in volume at a “rapid pace” in the coming years.
Some 4.6 billion orders valued at less than €150 were imported in the EU in 2024, almost double the figure in 2023 at 2.4 billion, and more than thrice the figure in 2022 at 1.4 billion.
The same publication noted that 91 per cent of all ecommerce shipments valued up to €150 entering the bloc came from China.
Mr Šefčovič said the measure is part of the commission’s work to modernise the management of trade into the bloc and is part of its goal to have a “modern, digital environment that keeps international trade flowing smoothly” while protecting the single market.
Irish MEP Barry Andrews described the measure as “very welcome” but warned that “EU Member States must increase it in future if €3 does not prove effective in stemming the flood of cheap deliveries from China.”
He said the “constant buying and disposing of low-cost clothing” is driving environmental pollution, exploitation of workers and is undercutting European businesses.
“The current EU custom rules unfairly favour ‘ultra-fast fashion’ and low-cost online giants, such as Shein and Temu, by allowing millions of low-value parcels to enter the EU without full checks or customs charges,” he said, noting the EU “must be prepared to do more.”
The European Commission welcomed the decision of the member states and noted the need for an urgent solution to protect European retail businesses.