European Commission prepares new fee for cheap parcels from outside the EU
In Finland, the European Commission is preparing a proposal for a new processing fee on low-cost goods shipments ordered from outside the EU. It may amount to between €2 and €4 per batch of goods and supplement the €3 fee introduced in July, YLE News reports.
The Commission plans to submit the draft regulation to the European Parliament and the Council of the EU next week. The rules are expected to take effect on November 1. Ismo Mäenpää, an adviser in the customs unit of Finland’s Ministry of Finance, said there is considerable pressure to approve the proposal. Customs inspector Antti Gestbakka, who took part in preparing the initiative as Finland’s representative, also considers its entry into force in November likely.
The cost of low-priced goods
According to Mäenpää, the final amount of the new fee will be determined in the European Commission’s proposal, but it will probably range from €2 to €4. Under these conditions, an item from China that cost around €5 in June could cost approximately €10 at the beginning of November, including additional charges.
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The €3 fee introduced at the beginning of July for online purchases worth up to €150 significantly reduced the number of low-cost shipments from outside the EU. In July, 78% fewer such batches of goods arrived than in July 2025. Finnish Customs will be able to analyze complete data on changes in the total value of these shipments later in the autumn, when it receives EU statistics.
Orders are combined into batches
Antti Gestbakka explained that buyers avoid additional payments by ordering more goods from one category at a time. In that case, the €3 fee is paid once per batch of goods worth up to €150. According to him, the average value of a batch of goods has increased by about twofold, from €5 to €10.
Veli-Pekka Ejari, commercial director of the Finnish discount store chain Tokmanni, said the company has already noticed the positive impact of the customs fee. At the same time, in his assessment, only part of the demand for goods from outside the EU has shifted to the Finnish and European markets: small orders worth one or several euros that were delivered by air cargo may simply have ceased.
