In mid-November, a political agreement was reached to abolish the preferential threshold for customs duties on goods valued up to 150 euros entering the European Union (EU), reports Diena.
Last year alone, 4.6 billion such goods were imported into the EU, 91% of which came from China. A new duty/processing fee of two euros on goods valued up to 150 euros from non-EU countries may be introduced as early as next year, although it was previously planned to be implemented only from 2028. This means that purchases on e-commerce platforms from third countries will become more expensive.
In this way, the EU is trying to combat the mass and cheap Chinese imports sold on platforms like 'Temu', 'Shein', 'AliExpress', and others.
European Commissioner for Economy and Productivity Valdis Dombrovskis noted that levying customs duties on such parcels is an important step towards ensuring a level playing field for European businesses.
The State Revenue Service (SRS) explained to the publication 'Diena' that the processing fee for e-commerce shipments will apply to each individual item in the purchase. For example, if an order contains three pairs of socks and two towels, the fee will be two euros for the socks (regardless of the number of pairs) and two euros for the towels (regardless of their quantity). When asked whether this would lead to an increase in the purchase of bundled goods, the SRS responded that only sets sold as a bundle in the online store—such as a gift set or a bedding set—can be considered a single item. If the goods are sold separately, they are treated as individual items, and this will not significantly affect the overall purchasing process.
The effectiveness of such a duty remains an open question. Alexandre Bompard, President of the French Retail Association and head of the 'Carrefour' supermarket chain, stated in July that a two-euro duty on cheap parcels is a 'joke', according to 'Reuters'. Nevertheless, representatives from various sectors in Europe view this decision positively.
'Although the two-euro duty will not be a universal solution, it will still reduce the advantage of artificially low prices in the small parcel segment, which is actively used by platforms like 'Temu' and 'Shein',' noted Karlis Ozols, Sales Director of '220.lv Marketplace'.
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