Will they close the shop? - It has been revealed when and what customs duty will be imposed on cheap Chinese parcels 0 25

This is stipulated by changes in EU legislation regarding the application of customs duties to popular e-commerce parcels from third countries received by EU residents, including those in Latvia.

On July 1, 2026, a regulation will come into force that cancels the current exemption from customs duty for shipments valued up to 150 euros. To ensure that the processing of low-value parcels continues to be quick, a simplified method of calculating the duty will be introduced — a fixed customs fee of three euros will be applied to each item in the parcel.

VID explains that an "item" is one or more goods in a parcel that have the same tariff classification, description, and origin. This means that if a parcel contains, for example, different clothing items, the duty of three euros will be applied to each item separately. A dress, men's trousers, children's clothing, and a t-shirt are considered four different items, so for such a parcel, a customs duty of 12 euros will need to be paid.

The rule remains unchanged that VAT must also be paid on all goods in parcels.

If an online store or e-commerce platform, such as "Temu," "AliExpress," "Shein," or "eBay," sells goods under a special VAT regime that allows taxes to be collected at the time of purchase (IOSS regime), then both VAT and customs duty can be paid immediately when placing the order, VID reports. In this case, parcel recipients will not have to go through customs procedures themselves — the delivery service will handle the processing.

In all other cases, taxes will need to be paid during the customs clearance of the parcel arriving in Latvia. As is currently the case, the recipient will be able to choose the most convenient method of processing — either independently through the VID electronic declaration system by filling out a simplified import declaration for postal shipments, or by using the paid services of brokers such as "Latvijas pasts," express mail, or other customs clearance specialists.

Continuing changes in the field of e-commerce, the EU will also introduce a handling fee of two euros for each item in the parcel starting November 1 of this year.

The changes will affect purchases of goods from any third countries — China, the USA, the UK, Norway, Switzerland, and other states outside the EU.

VID explains that the changes in EU legislation are being made to ensure fair competition and eliminate the situation where sellers from third countries have a price advantage over EU companies that fully pay taxes.