E-commerce: flat-rate duty of €3 and introduction of a product identifier

Regulation (EU) 2026/382, effective from 1 July 2026, is the first component of the customs reform proposed by the Commission. It has not only abolished the customs duty relief for 'consignments of negligible value', i.e. up to an intrinsic value of €150 (thereby deleting Articles 23 and 24 of the Customs Duty Relief Regulation), but has also introduced, on a transitional basis for the period from 1 July 2026 to 1 July 2028, a flat-rate customs duty of €3 per item in a consignment, where

• the importation of the goods is exempt from VAT in accordance with Article 143(1), point (ca), of Directive 2006/112/EC [Import One-Stop Shop – IOSS], or
• the goods are in a ‘postal consignment‘ as defined in Article 1, point (24), of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446 [UCC-DA].

To implement and supplement this framework, the Commission has amended the UCC-DA and UCC-IA and published guidance thereon. The most important changes concern the redefinition of 'goods in postal consignments', the shift of the customs debtor from the buyer to the supplier or sales platform, and – from November 2026 – the obligation to provide a product identifier to be indicated in the customs declaration.