The European Union is gearing up for a major overhaul of its customs regime with the introduction of new measures targeting low-value imports, e-commerce flows and customs procedures.
The reform’s main features are the creation of a central EU Customs Data Hub, the establishment of a new EU customs authority, streamlined procedures for trusted traders and measures to manage the ongoing growth of e-commerce.
The changes come as the EU’s temporary €3 per item duty on low value goods coming into the Union starts to generate significant revenue. The European Council has already approved a wider reform of the EU customs framework and discussions at the EU Cross-Border e-commerce Forum’s Navigating the New e-commerce Landscape panel have highlighted further changes to expect this year.
The expected EU Customs Data Hub is one of the main pillars of the upcoming reform. It is expected to facilitate customs procedures between member states and could save them up to €2 billion a year in operating costs.
The reforms follow the introduction of a €3 duty per item on low value goods, mainly e-commerce shipments, entering the Union. The measure came into effect on July 1, after the EU scrapped its duty exemption for goods worth less than 150 euros.
The tax has generated €32 million a week on average since the new rules were brought in. It has pulled in more than €200 million in ticket sales in its first seven weeks.
Alongside the new duty, the wider package of customs reforms will create a new EU customs authority and the EU Customs Data Hub. It will also provide further easing for the most trusted traders and new regulations to tackle the rapid growth of e-commerce.
More changes are also planned later this year. New handling fees are expected to be introduced from 1 November 2026 to cover the additional monitoring and processing costs associated with the increasing volume of goods entering the EU.
The level of these fees will be decided before individual member states start applying them as part of further moves by the EU to adapt its customs system to the growing scale and complexity of cross-border e-commerce.
