New EU €2 Customs Handling Fee Adds More Costs For International Marketplace Orders
The European Union's new €2 customs handling fee took effect November 1, adding another cost for international marketplace orders just four months after the EU introduced a separate €3 customs duty on low-value imports.
The new handling fee applies to ecommerce purchases shipped from outside the EU, regardless of value, and is charged based on the different types of goods in a shipment rather than as a flat fee per package. It comes on top of the €3 duty introduced July 1 for qualifying shipments valued at €150 or less, meaning some imported goods now face €5 in combined charges before applicable VAT or additional carrier fees.
The EU has been pursuing the two separate charges as part of broader customs reforms aimed at addressing the massive volume of low-value ecommerce imports and increasing costs of customs supervision.
Liz Morton
While much of the attention has focused on China-based platforms like Temu and Shein, the fees are not specific to those marketplaces and also affect independent sellers and small businesses shipping orders to EU consumers through eBay, Etsy, Amazon and other platforms.
The cumulative cost can be particularly significant for inexpensive goods or orders containing several different types of products. According to Ireland's Revenue Commissioners, a €10 package containing a pen, notebook and key ring would incur €9 in customs duties and another €6 in handling fees, bringing the total to €15 in charges before applicable VAT.
However, multiple quantities of the same item can generally be grouped together for customs purposes, so a package containing two identical pens would incur just €5 in combined charges. The calculation is based on customs declaration lines for goods sharing the same tariff classification and description, rather than automatically charging for every individual product in the package.
Unlike the temporary €3 duty, the new €2 handling fee also applies to purchases over €150, which may already be subject to standard customs duties based on the type of goods being imported. The fee is intended to cover costs incurred by customs authorities for processing imported ecommerce shipments, including reviewing customs data, conducting risk assessments and carrying out inspections when necessary.
Under EU rules, the handling fee is paid by the ecommerce seller or business delivering the goods, but those costs can be passed along to buyers, with the final amount and timing of collection depending on how the order is shipped.
That's where the practical complications identified when the €3 duty took effect in July remain relevant. Buyers may see the additional charges at checkout, have them included in the shipping costs paid to the seller, or receive a separate payment request from the carrier before their package can be delivered.
eBay's latest announcement says buyers using eBay International Shipping will pay applicable import fees at checkout. For orders shipped directly by sellers using other services, buyers may be charged at delivery if the seller has not already paid the carrier. The company is advising sellers to check with their shipping providers about EU requirements and review their pricing and shipping arrangements to account for the new charges.
Etsy is also warning sellers that the additional €2 fee may affect international orders, saying it will be accounted for when sellers purchase shipping labels through Etsy. Sellers using outside shipping providers are being directed to their carriers for details about collection and any associated costs.
The handling fee is also nonrefundable, even when an item is faulty or returned, according to Irish customs authorities. That creates another potential complication for international marketplace returns, where buyers or sellers may already be responsible for return shipping and other import-related expenses.
The November 1 implementation also brings new customs reporting requirements, with the European Commission confirming November 3 that product identifiers are now mandatory for goods sold through distance sales to EU buyers.
The requirements include merchant product identifiers linking goods to their online listings, manufacturer-level identifiers and standardized codes such as UPC, EAN or ISBN when available. Etsy says it will automatically populate the required merchant and non-standardized manufacturer identifiers using listing IDs and seller-provided SKUs for orders shipped with Etsy labels, while sellers using outside carriers may need to provide the information themselves.
That could create problems for sellers of used, vintage and one-of-a-kind goods that may not have conventional manufacturer product identifiers, potentially causing customs delays or delivery disruptions.
Liz Morton
The €3 temporary customs duty is currently scheduled to remain in place until July 2028, when the EU plans to begin transitioning ecommerce imports to its new Customs Data Hub and normal tariff rates. The €2 handling fee is a separate measure that is not scheduled to expire at that time.
