New customs duties, product compliance reforms, and data-driven enforcement are transforming the landscape for Australian retailers selling into Europe and the UK, demanding greater compliance and legal oversight.
The long-running assumption that cross-border ecommerce could be switched on with little more than a shipping toggle is rapidly becoming obsolete. According to Lee Bryan, founder and chief executive of Arcus Compliance, the shift is being driven first by customs reform, then by product compliance, and finally by a more aggressive enforcement environment that is making it harder for small overseas sellers to remain invisible. The result is a more fragmented and less forgiving market for Australian retailers selling into Europe.
The first change is already under way. The Council of the European Union agreed in December 2025 to impose a fixed customs duty of €3 on small parcels valued below €150 entering the bloc from 1 July 2026. The measure is temporary, but it marks a clear departure from the previous low-value relief regime and is intended to address unfair competition, safety risks, fraud and environmental concerns linked to duty-free imports. In practical terms, it means retailers can no longer treat low-value entry into the EU as a frictionless channel.
The United Kingdom is moving in the same direction. A policy paper published by the UK government in July 2026 sets out reforms to low-value imports that will remove the £135 customs duty relief and replace it with new customs arrangements designed to improve data collection, payments and compliance. Separate reporting has indicated that ministers are working towards an October 2028 end date for the relief, alongside a structure that would make a UK-based fiscal representative jointly liable for customs debts incurred by overseas sellers. For retailers, that would add both cost and legal exposure well beyond the checkout price.
Compliance pressure is not limited to customs. Bryan pointed to cosmetics as a sector where Australian rules and European rules diverge sharply. In Australia, the introduction of cosmetic ingredients is largely governed through chemicals regulation. In the EU, by contrast, a cosmetic cannot be placed on the market unless a Responsible Person established inside the bloc holds the product information file and completes notification through the relevant portal. The UK uses a separate Responsible Person regime of its own. A product that is lawful in Australia may therefore become non-compliant as soon as it reaches either destination.
That logic now extends beyond cosmetics. Bryan argued that the EU’s General Product Safety Regulation, which took effect in December 2024, has widened the obligation to most goods sold at a distance into the bloc by requiring an EU-based responsible economic operator. The direction of travel is clear: regulators want a named entity inside their jurisdiction that can be held to account before products are sold, rather than after a problem has surfaced.
Enforcement is also becoming more data-driven. Bryan said the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority used an in-house artificial intelligence monitoring system in 2025 to process more than 60 million adverts across more than 30 projects, including campaigns linked to cosmetic procedures outside the UK. European authorities are building similar capabilities, while the EU’s wider customs overhaul includes a central data hub and a new Customs Authority intended to identify risk before parcels reach the border. The practical consequence is that brands can no longer rely on obscurity as a defence.
For retailers, the response is to treat each destination as a separate regulatory market rather than a simple extension of the domestic one. That means checking duties, appointing the correct responsible person or fiscal representative, and reviewing every label, ingredient list and marketing claim before selling into the EU or UK. It also means assuming that anything published online can be searched, stored and audited later. The market is still open, but the era of largely unpoliced global ecommerce is ending, and businesses that do not adapt will discover the cost in their margins, compliance burden and liability.
Disclaimer: This content is intended for informational purposes only. Readers are advised to exercise their own judgement, conduct due diligence, or consult a qualified expert before acting on any information provided.
