The EU has applied a EUR 3 customs flat charge to low-value B2C consignments since 1 July 2026.

The EUR 3 flat charge is described as taking effect on 1 July 2026.

Publishers Weekly reports that a EUR 3 customs flat charge on low-value consignments entering the European Union took effect on 1 July 2026 . The article links that start date to the removal of the de minimis exemption applicable to parcels valued at EUR 150 or less .

The European Commission states, in a publication on e-commerce, that EU Member States reached a political agreement in the Council on removing the EUR 150 customs duty exemption threshold from 2026 . The same publication presents the measure as concerning the customs duty exemption threshold applicable to e-commerce consignments .

Retail Gazette describes a temporary EUR 3 flat charge applied to goods valued at up to EUR 150 imported into the bloc from third countries . The outlet states that this flat charge entered into force on 1 July and replaced the previous de minimis exemption for low-value parcels .

Publishers Weekly adds that the cited scope covers low-value B2C flows from countries outside the Union, including the United Kingdom .

The cited scope covers B2C flows from third countries.

Publishers Weekly states that the EUR 3 customs flat charge that entered into force on 1 July 2026 applies to low-value parcels entering the European Union after the removal of the de minimis exemption for consignments valued at EUR 150 or less . The same article specifies that the scope covers low-value B2C consignments dispatched from countries outside the Union, including the United Kingdom .

Retail Gazette describes the measure as a EUR 3 duty on low-value e-commerce parcels imported into the Union from third countries and mentions Shein, Temu and AliExpress in its coverage . The outlet also states that the temporary duty applies to goods valued at up to EUR 150 imported into the bloc from outside the Union .

The Directorate General of Customs and Indirect Taxes states that a parcel sent from a country outside the European Union constitutes an import into the national territory and is subject to customs formalities .

Publishers Weekly reports that four UK book-sector organisations wrote to Chancellor Rachel Reeves . The request followed the entry into force, on 1 July 2026, of a EUR 3 flat charge on low-value B2C consignments entering the European Union from third countries . The letter asks the UK government to press the European Union for an exemption covering books, newspapers, magazines and other printed media .

The organisations cited are the Publishers Association, the Professional Publishers Association, the Booksellers Association and the European Publishers' Council . According to the organisations cited by Publishers Weekly, the flat charge would make access to European customers "that much more difficult" for UK publishers, particularly smaller independent houses .

Publishers Weekly cites Publishers Association data showing that the United Kingdom exported GBP 521.6 million of printed books to the European Union in 2025, compared with GBP 517 million the previous year . The letter also invokes UNESCO's 1950 Florence Agreement, described by the organisations as a text intended to reduce or remove customs barriers on educational, scientific and cultural goods .

The Publishers Weekly article does not report any response from the UK government or any position from the European Commission on that exemption request .

The available sources do not publish the consolidated text of the measure.

The European Commission source available in the file is a news page on the political agreement reached by Member States in the Council on removing, in 2026, the EUR 150 customs duty exemption threshold for e-commerce . That page does not reproduce the consolidated text of the measure or its implementing provisions .

The EUR 3 flat amount, the 1 July 2026 entry into force and the exemption request covering books, journals, magazines and other printed media are reported by Publishers Weekly . The article attributes that request to four organisations from the UK book sector .

Retail Gazette describes the measure as a EUR 3 duty on low-value e-commerce parcels imported into the Union, with entry into force on 1 July 2026 . Euronews covers the same issue through the lens of Shein, Temu and AliExpress .