Union handling fee for distance sales imports into the EU

From 1 November 2026, the European Commission plans to introduce a Union handling fee of EUR 2 per item that is sold through distance sales (irrespective of the consignment value) and is released for free circulation in the customs territory of the EU. The handling fee (as well as the temporary EUR 3 customs duty) is subject to VAT.

• Read all details in the EU Guidance Document on the temporary EUR 3 customs duty and the Union handling fee.

In their Guidance Document, the European Commission clarifies the definition of “item” as follows: 
"In essence and due to the limitations imposed by the IT systems, the UHF and the temporary EUR 3 customs duty will automatically apply per declaration line irrespective of the quantity (number of the articles) in that declaration line"

Why is the fee being introduced?

The handling fee is intended to recover the estimated customs costs associated with the processing of e-commerce imports. The fee is based on the approximated costs and projected import volumes.

How is the handling fee being calculated?

The handling fee applies to all goods sold through distance sales and imported into the customs territory of the EU. The value of the imported goods has no effect on the application of the handling fee. 

For goods sold in transactions qualifying as distance sales, declarants must include the TARIC document code Y126 as Additional Reference Type. The declaration of this code triggers the automatic application of the handling fee.

How are users of AEB's Customs Management affected?

If you are using Customs Management (Import Filing), you must get familiar with these new requirements and make sure to enter the data correctly to prevent your declaration from being rejected by customs.

The What's New in Customs Management document offers detailed guidance on how to declare the new Product Identifiers manually on your declaration, generate them with the help of dynamic value initialization, or transmit them via API.

You can find the document either on the AEB Documentation Center or directly in your Customs Management application via the Help menu (questionmark) or the "Help with your application" widget on the Desktop.