The customs challenge of small packages

Over the past thirty years, trade practices and consumer habits have changed radically, thereby transforming the work of customs authorities. Whereas they previously focused mainly on inspecting containerized goods, they now devote most of their efforts to managing small parcels (known as “mail parcels”), and for good reason: the flow of mail parcels is primarily directed at consumers and exposes them directly to numerous security risks.

A European inspection campaign targeting imports via e-commerce, conducted from April to June 2025 as part of a priority control area (PCA), revealed that of the 20,040 toys and small electronic devices inspected during that period, more than half did not comply with European regulations. Among the products selected for laboratory testing, 84% were found to be hazardous to consumers, highlighting significant risks of asphyxiation, electrocution, exposure to hazardous chemicals, and suffocation[1] .

Inspecting postal packages is therefore an absolute necessity, but the resources available for this purpose are insufficient, especially since these shipments do not contribute to the Union’s financial resources and, in most cases, are exempt from customs duties for shipments valued at less than €150 (de minimis exemption). In 2025 alone, 97% of parcels shipped via e-commerce benefited from this exemption.

Faced with the growth in e-commerce traffic—which now amounts to nearly 180 imports per second! [2] —action was needed.

Consequently, the European Union has decided to eliminate the de minimis threshold effective July 1, 2026 (Regulation 2026/382, Article 1[3] ), which means that low-value shipments will now also contribute to the Union’s budget.

To optimize the administrative management of the relevant trade flows, this fee will initially take the form of a flat-rate customs duty set at 3 euros per line of items falling under the same tariff heading.

In an H7 declaration, there are as many lines of items as there are units of items, since the “quantity” data is not available. In an H1 declaration, the “quantity” data is available, and a single line of items can cover multiple units. Thus, an H1 package containing four mugs falling under a single tariff heading will be subject to a single customs duty of 3 euros. On the other hand, an H1 package containing both four mugs and a phone case—falling under separate tariff headings—will result in the application of two flat-rate duties, for a total amount of 6 euros.

This flat-rate fee—intended to be temporary—will apply until July 1, 2028, and may be extended if necessary.

At the same time, France sought to supplement the system with a specific tax on imports of low-value shipments declared using H7 declarations with reduced data sets. This national tax of 2 euros per line of items was established by Section 82 of the 2026 Finance Act and takes effect on March 1, 2026.

Applied exclusively within France, this tax has had the effect of diverting all “small package” air freight to France’s neighboring countries, where the packages land before being transported onward to France by road.

Ultimately, this tax is intended to be replaced by a similar EU-wide tax that the European Union plans to introduce on November 1, 2026.

February 19, 2026

by Evguenia DEREVIANKINE, founding partner,

and Matthieu LEVASSEUR, lawyer.

[1] https://taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu/document/download/42c872b9-a4ce-455b-8b5f-91cd76bd11bb_en?filename=PCA.pdf&prefLang=fr

[2] https://taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu/news/large-scale-eu-customs-control-action-shows-most-third-country-e-commerce-goods-do-not-follow-2026-01-07_en?prefLang=fr

[3] COUNCIL REGULATION (EU) 2026/382 of 11 February 2026 amending Regulation (EC) No 1186/2009 as regards the elimination of the threshold-based customs duty relief (article 1& 2).