From 1 July 2026, low-value consignments imported from outside the European Union became subject to a customs fee of €3. The charge applies to goods worth up to €150 and is calculated per item category listed in the customs declaration. This means that where a single parcel contains products from several different categories, the total cost may increase several times over.
The new rules primarily affect the direct B2C shipping model from non-EU countries used by platforms selling inexpensive products from Asia. Early market reactions indicate a decline in the number of such parcels, although experience from other countries suggests that this may only be temporary.
Sellers and online platforms may respond by changing their delivery model. Instead of sending individual parcels directly to consumers, they may import goods in bulk to warehouses located within the European Union and then deliver them to customers as domestic or intra-EU shipments.
Mateusz Pycia, CEO of Globkurier, a technology-based logistics partner supporting businesses with domestic and international deliveries, comments on the changes.
“In the short term, the €3 fee may reduce the number of parcels sent directly from third countries to European consumers. A similar trend was observed in Romania, which had previously introduced its own fee of approximately €5 operating on broadly similar principles,” Pycia said.
“Volumes of low-value imported consignments initially fell by as much as 60–70%. Over time, however, once consumers and platforms had adjusted to the additional costs, they began to rise again.”
Cheap Imports Are Unlikely to Disappear
From a logistics perspective, the change introduced on 1 July does not mean the end of trade in inexpensive products from outside the European Union. A change in the route these goods take to reach consumers is much more likely.
The model based on individual air parcels shipped directly from Asia will lose some of its cost advantage. It is likely to be increasingly replaced by bulk imports, customs clearance of larger consignments, storage within the European Union and delivery from the local market.
This trend could have consequences not only for e-commerce but also for the wider logistics industry.
If the largest Asian platforms and logistics operators transfer higher volumes to European warehouses, they may gradually develop their own last-mile delivery capacity or deepen their integration with selected courier partners.
For local operators, this would mean stronger competition not only in import handling but also in domestic parcel delivery.
European Warehouses Will Become More Important
The starting point for these changes is the transfer of goods to warehouses located in Europe.
Shein is expanding its warehousing facilities near Wrocław, while Temu has said that a substantial proportion of its orders are already fulfilled from warehouses within the European Union.
This direction of change mainly benefits platforms that already have warehousing infrastructure in Europe, handle very large parcel volumes and have sufficient resources to redesign their logistics networks quickly.
Smaller sellers will find it much more difficult to adapt at the same pace. This could create an opportunity for Polish and European small and medium-sized enterprises to capture part of the market.
Goods that previously travelled directly from China to consumers will increasingly be imported first into warehouses within the European Union and delivered to customers only at the final stage.
This creates an opportunity for European logistics operators, warehouse service providers, online retailers and companies supporting customs clearance to play a greater role across the entire supply chain.
Polish Companies Could Benefit from the Shift
Polish businesses may also benefit as part of the parcel volume moves into Europe. However, they will need to organise quickly the processes that determine margins and delivery times in cross-border e-commerce.
The key areas include efficient customs clearance, integration between online stores and logistics systems, cooperation with multiple carriers and close control of delivery costs.
The window of opportunity to strengthen market positions is unlikely to remain open for long.
“It is certainly worth taking up the challenge. Otherwise, the largest players will also take control of this stage of the market,” Pycia said.
The new customs fee is therefore unlikely to eliminate demand for inexpensive goods from Asia. Instead, it may accelerate the transformation of the supply chain, with more products entering the EU in bulk, being stored locally and delivered to consumers from within the European market.
For companies that can adapt quickly, this shift may create new opportunities in warehousing, customs services, fulfilment and last-mile delivery.
