Royal Mail have advised all business customers that from today, the 1st of March 2026, the French Government is introducing a small parcel tax known as TPC (Taxe sur les petits colis), for packages with a value of €150 or below sent from outside the EU to France, Monaco, Guadeloupe, Martinique and Reunion. This small parcel tax is applicable for items destined for France regardless of carrier.
TPC is effectively an interim tax until the EU eliminate de minimis across the entire region. While aimed at the large players such as SHEIN and Temu, it will impact all ecommerce sellers who ship to France.
The new €2 TPC tax applies to each classified HS code in your parcel (not per parcel). This is paid by the person responsible for import VAT. Guadeloupe, Martinique and Reunion have a €22 or below exemption for B2C/B2B items.
For France, Monaco, Guadeloupe, Martinique and Reunion a 6 digit HS code (e.g 401199) is sufficient, for all other French overseas regions and departments at least 8 digits are required.
What TPC means for sending customers
Customers sending via IOSS or PDDP Delivery Terms sending parcels under €150 will incur an additional €2 per item classified by HS code in the parcel sent (in addition to the applicable VAT, Duty)
Customers sending via DDU Delivery Term sending parcels under €150 will have the recipient incur an additional €2 per item classified by HS code in the parcel (in addition to the applicable VAT, Duty and handling charge)
What TPC means for recipients
For items sent to France using the IOSS or PDDP Delivery Terms, the French recipient will not incur any additional fees at the time of delivery.
For items under €150 sent to France using the DDU Delivery Term, La Poste (French postal service) will contact the recipient to arrange payment of any applicable taxes and duties. La Poste will also apply a service fee, which is payable directly to them by the recipient. Payment can be made online, although there is also the option to do so upon delivery, or at a local Post Office, at a higher cost.
| Scenario | Who pays the €2 tax? |
| Import One Stop Shop (IOSS) | For senders exporting goods to France using the IOSS scheme, you must either be registered for IOSS in France or otherwise be recognised by the French tax authorities. If you are already IOSS registered in France, the €2 tax will be collected together with VAT through your usual IOSS account. If you are IOSS registered in an EU member state other than France, but have an existing relationship with the French tax authorities, you can subscribe to the “declare & pay” service for the small parcel tax and pay the €2 tax via your French tax account. If you are neither IOSS registered in France, nor already have an existing relationship with the French tax authorities, you must register for the One Stop Shop (OSS), indicating that the registration is for small parcel tax purposes. Once your account is activated and you receive your identification code, you can subscribe to the “declare & pay” service and manage payment of the €2 tax through your French tax account. For more information about registering for the One Stop Shop please visit: The One-Stop Shop for Business Formalities and the National Business Register | INPI |
| Postal Delivery Duties Paid (PDDP) | For senders exporting goods to France using the PDDP Delivery Term, the €2 tax will be passed back to you through the standard invoicing process. For a reminder of the PDDP process, please refer to the relevant user guide: PDDP: See page 16 of the Royal Mail International Business User Guide https://www.royalmail.com/sites/royalmail.com/files/2025-12/International-Business-User-Guide-January-2026.pdf |
| Delivered Duties Unpaid (DDU) | For senders exporting goods to France using the DDU Delivery Term the tax will be charged to the recipient of the parcel. Please note items will be treated as DDU if the requirements for alternative pre-paid Delivery Terms, such as those we have listed above, are not met. |
