EU’s customs overhaul tightens grip on low-value imports from platforms like Temu and Shein

The European Union has implemented a comprehensive reform to its customs system, making platforms such as Temu, Shein, and AliExpress responsible for compliance and introducing new fees to curb unregulated low-value imports, signalling a shift towards stricter control and higher costs for online shoppers.

The European Union has completed the latest stage of a sweeping customs overhaul that will reshape how low-value goods from non-EU platforms enter the bloc. The changes, adopted by the Council on 3 September, build on the €3 flat duty introduced on 1 July for consignments below €150 and add a new EU-wide handling fee that member states must begin applying by 1 November 2026. The reform is aimed squarely at large cross-border marketplaces such as Temu, Shein, AliExpress and, in some cases, Amazon, as Brussels tries to close a long-standing gap in the single market’s import rules. According to Euronews and the Council, the new framework also makes platform operators, rather than the shopper, responsible for customs compliance.

The practical effect is to end the old assumption that the EU consumer was the importer of record. Under the revised Union Customs Code, non-EU e-commerce platforms are now treated as the legal importer for goods they sell into the bloc, which means they must ensure customs declarations are handled properly, duties are paid and products meet EU safety rules. The Council says repeated failures can trigger penalties of up to 6% of annual import value, as well as loss of customs privileges and possible access restrictions. That shift is significant because it extends liability beyond paperwork and into product safety, including standards enforced under the General Product Safety Regulation.

For shoppers, the pricing model is becoming less opaque. The €3 duty applies per goods category, not per parcel, so mixed orders can attract multiple charges. A parcel with several identical items in one category would still incur a single fee. Euronews reported that a proposed handling charge of around €2 was being discussed earlier in the summer, while the Council has now confirmed that the final figure will be set by the Commission. Officials say the extra levy is intended to cover the cost of screening the flood of small parcels entering the EU, a flow that has grown to billions of shipments a year.

The wider policy drive reflects mounting concern over non-compliant imports. The Commission has cited inspections showing that a majority of tested products in some categories failed EU standards, including cosmetics, toys, electronics and food supplements. That has strengthened the case for tighter control of low-value e-commerce imports and for a more centralised customs system. The Council has also linked the reform to a new EU Customs Data Hub, which will eventually replace a patchwork of national IT systems and give authorities a common digital view of incoming goods.

There is also a geopolitical and industrial dimension to the overhaul. Brussels is building customs rules around a more assertive data and sovereignty model, while the new regime is expected to reward operators that can prove strong compliance and real-time data access. The Commission has already taken enforcement action against some of the same platforms most exposed to the customs changes. In practice, that means the era of duty-free, frictionless bargain shopping from Chinese marketplaces is giving way to a far more expensive and tightly monitored system, with the first costs already in force and more to follow later this year.