A new EU-wide handling fee is coming for small parcels entering the European Union through e-commerce. The measure will apply no later than 1 November 2026 and comes on top of the €3 temporary customs duty introduced in July. But is the widely mentioned €2 fee actually confirmed — and will consumers have to pay it?

Online shopping from platforms such as Temu, Shein and AliExpress is about to face another major change in the European Union.

After years of rapidly growing volumes of low-value parcels entering the EU from outside the bloc, the EU is fundamentally changing the way these shipments are handled.

The latest step is the introduction of an EU-wide handling fee for small e-commerce consignments, which will apply no later than 1 November 2026. On 3 September 2026, the Council of the European Union gave its final approval to the wider customs reform.

There is already a lot of discussion about a €2 handling fee.

However, there is an important caveat: €2 is not yet the officially confirmed amount.

The Council's final approval confirms that the European Commission will set the level of the handling fee. The following day, on 4 September, journalists specifically asked the European Commission whether the fee would be €2. The Commission said that no details would be provided at that stage because the work was still ongoing.

So what exactly is changing — and what will it mean for European consumers and e-commerce platforms?

Is the new handling fee really €2?

Not yet.

The €2 figure has been widely discussed in connection with the upcoming EU handling fee, but it has not been officially confirmed by the European Commission.

What is already confirmed is that:

• an EU-wide handling fee will be introduced;
• it applies to small e-commerce consignments entering the EU;
• member states will apply it no later than 1 November 2026;
• and the European Commission will set the level of the fee.

On 4 September 2026, during the European Commission's midday press briefing, journalists specifically asked whether the future handling fee would be €2. The Commission said that it would not provide details at that stage and that the work was still ongoing.

This distinction matters.

It would therefore be misleading to say that “the EU is introducing a €2 fee on every Temu order” as a confirmed fact.

A more accurate description is that a new EU handling fee is coming, with €2 currently being discussed as a possible level.

The €3 customs duty is a separate charge

Another important point is that the upcoming handling fee should not be confused with the €3 customs duty that already applies from 1 July 2026.

Since July, the EU has applied a temporary €3 customs duty to goods in low-value consignments worth up to €150 imported from outside the EU. This measure is scheduled to apply until 1 July 2028, when the new customs system is expected to replace it with normal tariff rates.

And the €3 duty is not necessarily €3 per parcel.

It is charged according to the different tariff categories of goods contained in the parcel.

For example, if a parcel contains products falling under two different tariff sub-headings, the temporary duty can amount to €6.

The Council of the EU gives a simple example: a parcel containing one silk blouse and two wool blouses falls under two different tariff sub-headings, resulting in €6 of customs duty.

The handling fee comes on top of this

The November measure is separate.

This means that the new system effectively introduces two different concepts:

€3 temporary customs duty
→ already applicable from 1 July 2026

EU handling fee
→ to be applied no later than 1 November 2026

The two charges should therefore not be treated as interchangeable. The handling fee is part of the broader customs reform and is separate from the temporary customs duty.

Will consumers have to pay the new fee?

This is where the new customs framework becomes particularly interesting for e-commerce platforms.

Under the updated EU customs rules, e-commerce platforms selling goods into the EU will take on much greater responsibility for customs formalities and payments.

This is a major change in approach.

Instead of leaving customs responsibilities primarily to the final consumer, the new framework shifts responsibility towards businesses and platforms involved in the import transaction.

For consumers, this means that the new fee is not necessarily going to appear as a separate €2 payment to a courier or customs office.

A platform could instead incorporate the cost into:

• the product price;
• the shipping fee;
• a separate checkout charge;
• or its overall pricing structure.

In other words, the important question for consumers may not be who technically pays the fee, but who ultimately bears the economic cost.

Could a small order become €5 more expensive?

Potentially — but it would be too simplistic to say that every parcel will automatically cost €5 more.

Consider a hypothetical €30 order from a non-EU e-commerce platform.

Under the rules already in force, the parcel may be subject to the €3 temporary customs duty — or potentially more if it contains goods from several different tariff categories.

From November, a separate handling fee will also apply.

If that fee ultimately turns out to be €2, the combined impact could therefore be significant for certain shipments.

But the actual additional cost will depend on:

• the number of different tariff categories in the parcel;
• the final level of the handling fee;
• how the platform structures its pricing;
• and how much of the cost is passed on to consumers.

So the headline “every Temu parcel will cost €5 more” would be inaccurate.

Why is the EU introducing the new fee?

The change is part of a much broader overhaul of the EU Customs Union.

The volume of small parcels entering the EU has increased dramatically in recent years, putting customs authorities under increasing pressure.

According to the European Commission, almost 5.9 billion low-value e-commerce items entered the EU in 2025.

The EU argues that the previous system is no longer appropriate for today's e-commerce environment.

The reform is intended to:

• improve customs controls;
• make it easier to identify non-compliant or unsafe products;
• improve traceability;
• ensure that customs duties are properly collected;
• and create a more level playing field between EU-based businesses and non-EU sellers.

The Commission has also highlighted concerns about the compliance and safety of some low-value e-commerce imports.

Temu, Shein and AliExpress will face greater responsibility

One of the most significant elements of the reform is the shift in responsibility towards online platforms.

Under the new customs framework, e-commerce platforms involved in distance selling into the EU will have significantly greater responsibility for the customs treatment of goods sold through their services. This includes handling customs formalities and ensuring that the relevant duties and charges are accounted for.

This is particularly relevant for large international marketplaces such as Temu, Shein and AliExpress.

The EU is effectively moving towards a model in which platforms have to know more about what is being sold, where it comes from, how it is classified and whether the relevant customs obligations have been fulfilled.

The new framework also introduces stronger enforcement mechanisms for businesses that fail to comply with customs obligations.

November 2026 is more than just a new fee

The handling fee is only one part of the wider changes.

The new customs framework also introduces mandatory Product Identifiers (PIDs) for relevant goods from 1 November 2026, helping customs authorities improve product traceability and risk analysis.

The longer-term goal is even more ambitious.

The EU is developing a central EU Customs Data Hub, which will become a key part of the future customs architecture.

Instead of relying on fragmented national systems, the EU aims to create a centralised, data-driven environment where customs authorities can analyse import and export information, identify risks and target inspections more effectively.

What happens after 2028?

The current €3 customs duty is explicitly a transitional measure.

It applies from 1 July 2026 until 1 July 2028.

Once the new customs framework becomes operational, the temporary €3 system is expected to be replaced by the normal customs tariff system applicable to the relevant goods.

This means that the €3 charge should not be viewed as the final destination of the EU's new e-commerce customs system.

It is part of a transition towards a much more comprehensive customs framework.

What does this mean for European e-commerce?

For consumers, the immediate question is simple:

Will ordering a €5, €10 or €20 product from outside the EU become more expensive?

The answer is likely to be yes in some form, although the exact impact will depend on how individual platforms absorb or pass on the new costs.

For e-commerce businesses, however, the implications go much further.

Platforms and sellers will need to deal with:

• greater customs responsibility;
• more detailed product data;
• stronger traceability requirements;
• customs duty collection;
• product identification;
• and potentially higher compliance costs.

For logistics and customs operators, the increasing volume of low-value parcels also means that data quality, automation and efficient customs processing will become increasingly important.

The bottom line

There are two things European e-commerce businesses and consumers should keep separate.

The €3 customs duty is already here.

Since 1 July 2026, low-value consignments entering the EU from outside the bloc are subject to a temporary €3 customs duty per applicable tariff category.

The new handling fee is coming next.

An EU-wide handling fee for small e-commerce consignments will be applied no later than 1 November 2026, with the European Commission responsible for setting its level.

And the €2 figure is not yet official.

The €2 amount is widely discussed, but on 4 September the European Commission confirmed that the work on the fee was still ongoing and did not confirm that figure.

The bigger story is the structural change behind these measures.

The EU is moving towards a system in which e-commerce platforms carry much more responsibility for customs, data and compliance.

For platforms such as Temu, Shein and AliExpress, that means higher operational and compliance requirements.

For consumers, it may mean that the era of extremely cheap, frictionless cross-border small-parcel deliveries is gradually coming to an end.

And for the European logistics industry, it means one thing above all:

more parcels, more data and much greater importance of efficient customs processing.

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