EU €2 handling fee on non-EU parcels expected from 1 November 2026

The €2 handling fee is expected to start on 1 November 2026¹. Under the sources, it applies per item on goods sold to EU consumers from outside the EU, at any order value, and is not refunded. It sits on top of the €3 customs duty¹. Stock already imported into the EU is reported to pay neither charge⁴. The VATtools source is written for UK businesses selling into the EU¹.

What the €2 fee adds to stock shipped from outside the EU

The European Commission's customs guidance, updated on 7 October 2026, sets out the Union handling fee².

The sources set out the following points:

• Counting: An item is each different product line on the customs declaration¹. Three units of one product count as one item¹.
• Duty: The €3 per item duty applies to consignments up to €150 until 1 July 2028¹.
• Import VAT: Import VAT is charged on every import at the destination country rate, with no end date¹.
• Who pays: The declarant owes the fee, usually the holder of an Import One-Stop Shop (IOSS) registration or an indirect customs representative⁴.
• Refunds: The fee cannot be refunded once customs accept the declaration, even if goods come back¹.
• Timing: The fee applies from the tenth day after the delegated act enters into force, which happens on publication in the Official Journal of the EU⁴. The sources reviewed do not confirm that publication has taken place.

The delegated act setting the amount, C(2026) 6694, was still under scrutiny by the European Parliament and Council in early October¹.

The charges follow how the goods reach the customer, not where the seller is based⁴. AX Holding Group lists UK, US and China fulfilment-by-merchant orders shipped straight to EU customers as cases where both charges apply⁴.

Does stock already inside the EU avoid the fee?

AX Holding Group states that orders shipped from stock already imported into the EU, such as FBA inventory in Spain or Germany, pay neither the €3 duty nor the €2 fee⁴. This is a secondary source, and the test it relies on should be checked against the Commission's guidance before a seller depends on it.

AX draws the distinction between goods already released for free circulation in the EU and goods still held outside it⁴. A seller relying on this exemption should keep import entries, clearance records and invoices showing the goods entered the EU before each order was placed.

What about stock held in a customs warehouse?

AX Holding Group reports that from 1 July 2028 there will be a lower fee for goods sold from a new type of customs warehouse for distance sales, and that its amount has not been set⁴. The sources reviewed do not state the fee that applies to customs-warehouse stock before that date.

Where EU-sourced stock fits in the landed cost per unit

For a reseller comparing landed cost per unit, the fee and duty apply to goods imported into the EU for sale to EU consumers^1,4. Import VAT is charged on every import at the destination rate¹; the sources do not quantify it per unit.

Illustrative example, with invented quantities: a reseller ships three units of one product on one declaration line. That is one item, so the fixed charges are €5 (€3 duty plus €2 fee)¹. Three different products on three lines are three items, so the charges are €15, or €5 per item¹. Import VAT is not included in either figure.

Buyers who want stock already inside the EU can look at suppliers that ship from EU warehouses. eany.io, a Vilnius-based B2B wholesale marketplace operated by UAB 1EAN⁷, offers 300+ EU suppliers in one cart⁵. Each supplier must run its own warehouse and ship from it, and must confirm in writing for every purchase order that goods are sourced exclusively within the EU, as set out on Eany's supplier assurance page³. The minimum order is €300 for the whole order, with no minimum per supplier, and delivery to EU addresses is included in the price⁵. For comparison, Qogita's minimum order is €500, according to the 8 October 2026 competitor check, on Qogita⁵.

Our analysis

The fee changes the cost of selling into the EU from outside it. For a single item, €2 plus €3 is €5 before VAT, so the fixed charge matters most for low-value products¹. The number of product lines, not units, drives the total, so a mixed-SKU parcel costs more than a single-SKU parcel of the same value¹.

Buying stock already inside the EU appears to remove both charges, but the test depends on proof that the goods entered the EU before the order was placed. The declarant, carrier and customs authority decide how each shipment is treated, so each supplier's EU-sourcing statement should be matched to invoices and import records before pricing relies on it. Whether a marketplace accepts a given invoice is decided by that marketplace⁶. Our suggestion is to model the fee and duty as a fixed cost per item for any stock held outside the EU, and to use the lower figure only once the paperwork is in place.

What should sellers watch next?

• Official Journal publication of the delegated act C(2026) 6694, which triggers the start of the fee⁴.
• Product identifiers: From 1 November 2026, each item in a distance sale must be declared with product identifiers, according to the Commission guidance as summarised by AX Holding Group⁴.
• Customs-warehouse fee: The lower fee for customs-warehouse distance sales starts on 1 July 2028, and its amount has not been set⁴.
• Customs Data Hub: The EU Customs Data Hub becomes mandatory for e-commerce on 1 July 2028².

The sources were checked on 25 October 2026. Sellers should confirm the current position on the Commission's EU Customs Reform page before pricing.