EU Plans to Remove €150 Duty-Free Limit on Parcels from China — What It Means

If you regularly shop on AliExpress, Temu, or Shein — or run an e-commerce business importing goods from China — this change affects you directly. The EU is preparing to eliminate a customs exception that has allowed hundreds of millions of cheap parcels to enter Europe duty-free. Here’s what the change means in practice.

The current situation: the €150 de minimis rule

Under current EU rules, goods imported from outside the EU are exempt from customs duty if the declared value is below €150. This “de minimis” threshold was designed for low-value personal imports — gifts, small purchases from overseas.

However, platforms like Temu, AliExpress (operated by Alibaba), and Shein have turned this exception into a business model. By splitting orders into sub-€150 parcels and shipping directly from Chinese warehouses, they send hundreds of millions of duty-free packages per year into the EU. A single platform (Temu) was reportedly sending 100 million+ parcels per year into Europe below the threshold.

Note: VAT already applies from €1 since July 2021 — the €22 VAT exemption was removed. The proposed change targets customs duty specifically, which currently doesn’t apply below €150.

What the proposed change would mean

Under the proposed reform:

• Customs duty would apply from €1 — no minimum threshold
• The rate depends on product category (HS tariff code): typically 12% for clothing, 5–17% for footwear, 0% for laptops/tablets/phones under ITA agreements
• Combined with existing VAT (20–21%), the total import cost on a €20 item from Temu could rise by €2–4

For a €15 T-shirt from a Chinese platform: current cost = €15 + VAT (€3) = ~€18. Under new rules: €15 + VAT (€3) + 12% duty (€1.80) = €19.80. Plus carrier customs handling fee (€5–15 if the carrier processes the declaration).

Timeline and current status

As of April 2026, the de minimis reform is in the EU legislative process. The European Commission proposed the change as part of broader customs reform. Member states are reviewing the proposal. A specific implementation date has not been confirmed.

The UK removed its own de minimis threshold in 2021 — all goods imported into the UK are now subject to duty from £0 (though a £135 simplified customs procedure applies below that amount). This provides a precedent and operational template for the EU.

Who is affected — and who isn’t

Most affected:

• Consumers buying frequently from Temu, AliExpress, Shein, and similar platforms (price increases of 10–15% on affected product categories)
• Sellers on these platforms (margin pressure, potential price increases)
• Carriers handling large volumes of small-parcel China-to-EU traffic (increased customs processing burden)

Not significantly affected:

• Shoppers on European-based platforms (no change — EU-to-EU shipments are not affected)
• Business imports using formal customs procedures (these already pay full duty)
• Imports of 0%-duty goods like electronics (ITA agreement means no duty regardless)

How to prepare

If you regularly buy from non-EU platforms:

• Check the duty rate for your product categories — electronics (0%), clothing (12%), accessories (2.7–5%), footwear (17%) have very different impacts
• Consider consolidating orders before the rule changes — fewer, larger orders reduce the number of handling fees
• Compare EU alternatives — for some product categories, EU-based retailers may become price-competitive once duty is added to imports

For e-commerce businesses importing goods from China for resale in the EU, the proposed change has no direct impact — formal import duty was always payable. The change primarily affects direct-to-consumer platforms shipping individually to EU buyers.

Quick facts

EU Plans to Remove €150 Duty-Free Limit on Parcels from China — What It Means

schedule Updated 09/04/2026

Summary

The EU is preparing to eliminate the €150 customs duty threshold for parcels from China and other third countries (AliExpress, Temu, Shein). Under current rules, goods under €150 are exempt from customs duty (though VAT applies from €1). Under the proposed change, duty would apply from the first euro — same as VAT since 2021. The change is targeted at platforms like Temu and Shein that exploit the threshold at massive scale. Expected timeline: 2025–2026, legislative process ongoing.

Current EU customs duty threshold

€150 (goods under this amount: 0% duty)

Current EU VAT threshold

€0 — VAT applies from €1 since July 2021

Proposed change

Remove €150 duty threshold — duty from €1

Who is affected

Shoppers buying from Temu, AliExpress, Shein, and other non-EU platforms

Typical duty rate on clothing

12% of declared value

Typical duty rate on electronics

0–5% depending on category

Expected implementation

Under review — legislative process ongoing in 2026