From 1 July 2026, the EU ends the customs duty relief for low-value parcels: e-commerce goods in consignments worth up to EUR 150 now pay a flat EUR 3 duty per item, counted by tariff classification, until 1 July 2028. The new EU low-value parcels customs duty is a fiscal measure, not an anti-counterfeiting one, but it changes how small consignments are declared. For brand owners, the tool that actually stops counterfeits at the border is still an active customs application for action.
Key takeaways
- Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382 deletes the EUR 150 duty relief and applies a EUR 3 duty per item from 1 July 2026 to 1 July 2028.
- The flat duty applies to sellers using the VAT Import One-Stop Shop (IOSS) and to postal consignments; other operators pay the normal Common Customs Tariff.
- Items are counted by tariff classification: five T-shirts pay EUR 3, three T-shirts and a watch pay EUR 6.
- The duty does not check intellectual property. Customs can only detain suspected fakes on your behalf if you hold an approved application for action.
What changes on 1 July 2026?
Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382 of 11 February 2026 removes the relief that let goods in consignments worth up to EUR 150 enter the EU without customs duty. Its recitals explain why: the threshold had been systematically abused “through undervaluing and artificially splitting consignments”. The Commission’s announcement of 29 June 2026 adds that the seller or importer is responsible for declaring and paying the duty.
| Element | Rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Amount | EUR 3 per item, by tariff classification | Reg. 2026/382, Art. 2; Commission, 29 June 2026 |
| Scope | Consignments with an intrinsic value of up to EUR 150, imported through IOSS or as postal consignments | Reg. 2026/382, Art. 2 |
| Other operators | Normal Common Customs Tariff | Reg. 2026/382, recital 6 |
| Period | 1 July 2026 to 1 July 2028 | Reg. 2026/382, Arts. 2 and 4 |
| Review | Monthly check for trade diversion from 1 October 2026; by 1 December 2027, assessment of the new EU customs IT infrastructure | Reg. 2026/382, Art. 3 |
Why does the EU low-value parcels duty matter for counterfeits?
Volume is the problem. The Commission reported in February 2025 that around 4.6 billion low-value consignments entered the EU in 2024, about 12 million a day and twice as many as the year before, with many goods non-compliant with EU rules. Counterfeits travel in the same flows. In 2024, according to the EU enforcement results published in October 2025, customs detained about 20 million articles worth EUR 1.5 billion at the border, a ten-year high, while noting the surge in e-commerce volumes.
The new duty helps indirectly. Declarations must identify goods by tariff classification to calculate the duty, and the incentive to split or undervalue consignments falls. Better data improves customs risk analysis. But the duty is paid on fakes and genuine goods alike: it does not, by itself, stop a single counterfeit.
How does an application for action work for small parcels?
Under Regulation (EU) No 608/2013, a rights holder files an application asking customs to act on goods suspected of infringing its rights. It can be a national application or a Union application covering several Member States, and an approved decision applies for up to one year, renewable (Article 11).
For small consignments, defined as postal or express consignments with three units or fewer or a gross weight under 2 kg, Article 26 offers a simplified route:
- You must ask for the small consignments procedure in your application.
- Customs notifies the declarant or holder of the goods within one working day of detention.
- The declarant has 10 working days to object; silence can be treated as consent to destruction.
- If the declarant objects, customs informs you, and you have 10 working days to start proceedings or the goods are released.
Without an application, customs may still detain goods on its own initiative under Article 18, but the rights holder then has to file one at very short notice to keep them detained.
What this means for your business
- Check that your application for action is approved, in force and covers every relevant right: EU and national trade marks and designs.
- Opt in to the small consignments procedure if your products are sold through marketplaces that ship directly to consumers.
- Update product identification guides and contact points so customs can confirm suspected fakes within the deadlines.
- Give customs the tariff classifications of your genuine products; declarations by tariff line make anomalies easier to spot.
If you need an application for action filed or refreshed, our team for customs enforcement and anti-counterfeiting can coordinate it with your EU trade mark portfolio.
Where brand owners get customs enforcement wrong
- Assuming the new duty stops fakes. It is a tax on imports, not an IP check.
- Letting the application lapse. Decisions last up to a year and must be renewed.
- Not requesting the small consignments procedure, which leaves parcel-by-parcel cases on the slower general route.
- Slow responses. Ten working days pass quickly when no one is assigned to answer customs.
Frequently asked questions
What is the EU’s EUR 3 duty on low-value parcels?
From 1 July 2026 to 1 July 2028, goods in consignments worth up to EUR 150 imported through the IOSS scheme or as postal consignments pay a flat customs duty of EUR 3 per item, counted by tariff classification, under Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382. It replaces the previous duty relief for these consignments.
Does the EUR 3 duty help against counterfeits?
Only indirectly. It reduces the incentive to split or undervalue consignments and improves the data customs receive, which supports risk analysis. It applies equally to genuine and fake goods. To have customs detain suspected counterfeits, a rights holder needs an approved application for action under Regulation (EU) No 608/2013.
What is the small consignments procedure?
It is a simplified procedure under Article 26 of Regulation (EU) No 608/2013 for postal or express consignments with up to three units or under 2 kg. If the rights holder requested it in its application, customs can destroy suspected counterfeits when the declarant agrees or does not object within 10 working days.
Can IP Global Guard manage our customs applications in the EU?
Yes. We prepare and coordinate national and Union applications for action, the product guides customs need and the responses to detentions, acting directly where our professionals are entitled and through qualified representatives otherwise. We align this with your trade mark portfolio and enforcement in Latin America and Africa from a single point of contact.
How IP Global Guard can help you stop counterfeits at the border
The new duty changes the paperwork for small parcels; an application for action is what puts your rights in front of customs. IP Global Guard, the IP services line of META Channel Corporation Limited, coordinates customs, marketplace and court action with one strategy and one billing relationship across more than 25 jurisdictions; see our coverage in Europe, Latin America and Africa.
Send us the marks you need protected and where you see copies entering the EU. We will check your customs coverage and file what is missing. Get in touch with our anti-counterfeiting team.
This article is general information, not legal advice, and reflects the position on its date of publication.
Sources
- EUR-Lex, Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382 of 11 February 2026
- European Commission, Ensuring fairness and safety: EUR 3 customs duty on low-value parcels (29 June 2026)
- European Commission, Tackling the challenges of e-commerce imports (5 February 2025)
- European Commission (DG TAXUD), EU detains 112 million counterfeit items worth EUR 3.8 billion in 2024 (1 October 2025)
- Regulation (EU) No 608/2013 on customs enforcement of IP rights, Article 2, as adopted
- Regulation (EU) No 608/2013, Article 26 (small consignments), as adopted
