Our friends at GFS are reminding brands and retailers that from the 1st of July 2026, the EU will remove the €150 duty exemption on imported goods. That means low-value shipments entering the EU will no longer be duty-free. Instead, a €3 duty per item is expected to apply.
For UK brands shipping large volumes of products to EU customers, this could quickly increase the cost of cross-border fulfilment. See what the July 2026 EU duty change means for UK brands in more detail here.
Why the EU is changing the rules
The €150 threshold, known as the de minimis rule, was originally designed to simplify customs processes. However, the rise of cross-border e-commerce led to huge volumes of low-value parcel shipments entering the EU. Some sellers were also undervaluing goods to stay below the threshold. The EU has now decided to remove the exemption as part of wider customs reforms.
What this means for UK eCommerce brands
The duty is expected to apply per item based on tariff classification. So a single order containing multiple products could incur the charge several times. Depending on the Incoterms used, the cost will either be paid by the shipper or the customer. Either way, brands relying on cross-border shipping from the UK will face higher costs and greater operational challenges.
How many brands are responding
One increasingly common approach is moving inventory into the EU and fulfilling orders locally. By storing stock within the EU, businesses can consolidate customs procedures into larger shipments rather than paying duty and handling costs on every order.
GFS’ parent company ILG operates an EU fulfilment centre in Wroclaw, Poland, providing fast access to major European markets while maintaining the same service standards as our UK facilities. If you would like to learn more, you can contact GFS here.
One Response
As a small seller, we were quite happy with Royal Mail and DHL Global Mail to Italy and Spain and other EU destinations. But in the past few months it’s gotten worse and worse to Italy.
Italy’s 2euro local tax means that customers don’t get notified that Poste Italian hasn’t bothered to deliver to their home. The customer just gets notified by amazon or ebay that “Job Done”, Delivered.
When I get the “Wheres my item” messages, most customers don’t bother reading my replies on Amazon so I resort to whatsapp, and looking on alternate tracking sites, tells me the Post Office location.
Some customers are grateful, others just can’t be bothered and demand a refund. It’s an absolute mess already, and only going to get worse with other countries wanting in on the Taxes!!
If all these taxes were linked to IOSS then the customer could make an informed decision as to whether to pay or not AT THE START.
Although I would love to keep sending orders to the EU, it’s just getting ridiculous and taking more and more time with the fallout from the buyer, which is understandable.