Last year, around 4.5 billion low-value e-commerce parcels (valued under €150) were shipped to Europe—double the number recorded in 2023. In 65% of cases, the declared value of these parcels is deliberately understated to avoid customs duties, a practice that EU institutions consider unfair competition. Many of these products also fail to meet European safety and environmental standards, sparking debates on how to tighten control over imports.
The Growing Challenge of Low-Value Imports
During the July session of the European Parliament, MEPs discussed how to manage the surge of cheap, potentially unsafe, and non-compliant goods arriving from non-EU online stores. Concerns were raised about the safety risks, consumer rights, and environmental impact of such goods, which are often non-recyclable.
“For some time now, we’ve observed threats from global trade practices that are unfair to European businesses. A clear example is e-commerce, particularly shipments coming from China. Over 4.5 billion low-value parcels arrive in Europe annually, with around 90% coming from China,” said Piotr Müller, MEP from Poland’s Law and Justice Party (PiS). “Chinese companies do not always follow European environmental, labor, and technical standards, putting European competitors at a disadvantage.”
Customs authorities across the EU are overwhelmed by the need to process 12 million small e-commerce parcels per day. Proposed solutions include requiring non-EU e-commerce platforms to establish warehouses within EU territory, enabling batch checks and improving parcel safety.
New Measures Under Discussion
The report also suggests supporting customs services with modern technologies, such as AI and blockchain, and calls on EU member states to increase investment in these tools.
The Parliament has backed a €2 handling fee for each e-commerce parcel originating outside the EU. The European Commission has been asked to analyze the measure’s proportionality, its compliance with World Trade Organization (WTO) rules, and whether it would unfairly burden EU consumers.
Another key proposal is to abolish the current customs exemption for goods valued under €150, as approximately 65% of parcels are deliberately undervalued to exploit this threshold. This practice not only distorts competition but also leads to a loss of customs and tax revenues.
Customs Union Reform
These measures form part of a broader reform of the EU Customs Union and Customs Code, presented by the European Commission on 8 July. The reform includes the creation of an EU Customs Data Hub, integrating national customs systems into a single digital platform. This will allow businesses to declare goods via a unified online portal, reducing the time required for customs procedures.
The reform also proposes simplified tariff classifications and the introduction of the status of “trusted importer.” The changes will be rolled out gradually from 2028, though the Chamber of Digital Economy has urged that the €150 exemption be abolished earlier, starting in 2026, alongside the rapid implementation of the EU Customs Data Hub and the creation of a European Customs Authority.
“There is ongoing debate on how to structure customs reform. Some want a new central EU customs authority, while we believe in strengthening national customs services but with improved EU-level coordination—such as synchronized importer databases, shared blacklists of dishonest importers, and unified control standards,” Müller explained. “We’ve also received signals that some Western ports allow goods intended for Central and Eastern Europe to enter with less thorough checks than for goods destined for their own markets.”
