€2 EU handling fee and product identifiers: what changes for your parcels from 1 November 2026

From 1 November 2026, importing a parcel into the European Union costs even more, and the formalities are more demanding. For a €120 parcel containing a T-shirt, a pair of jeans and a hat, the customs bill rises from €9 to €15 before VAT.

The end of de minimis on 1 July was only the first step of the EU's customs reform. The second affects every brand selling into Europe from outside the EU (the UK, Switzerland, the US, China…): a €2 handling fee per item and mandatory product identifiers.

What changes on 1 November 2026

1. A €2 handling fee per item category

EU customs now charge €2 for each item category in a parcel sold at a distance (B2C) and shipped from outside the EU. A category is a declaration line: products with the same tariff code, the same description and, where applicable, the same origin count once, whatever the quantity (French customs).

Officially called the Union handling fee, this charge covers the cost of checking the surge of small parcels: 5.9 billion low-value items entered the EU in 2025, four times the 2022 volume (European Commission). Unlike the €3 duty, it is permanent and applies whatever the parcel's value, even above €150.

It is owed by the customs declarant, billed back to the seller or platform in practice, and can be passed on in the final price. It is also non-refundable, subject to VAT, and applies by customs clearance date, not order date.

Same amount, different measure: this is not the return of France's €2 small-parcel tax, suspended on 1 July, but an EU fee that comes on top of the €3 duty.

2. Mandatory product identifiers

For B2C parcels worth up to €150, every product must now be declared with its product identifiers (PIDs), so customs can trace products and block unsafe or non-compliant goods. Optional since 1 July, they are now mandatory: without them, the declaration is incomplete and the parcel can be held at the border.

• •M-PID, the merchant product identifier: the reference the product is sold under online (SKU, listing ID, ASIN). Mandatory.
• •NS-PID, the non-standardised manufacturer product identifier: the manufacturer's own reference, such as a model code. Mandatory.
• •S-PID, the standardised manufacturer product identifier: the barcode (EAN/GTIN, UPC, ISBN). Mandatory where one exists.

What it costs: one parcel, three products

In our €120 parcel, the T-shirt, the jeans and the hat fall under three tariff codes: three item categories, so 3× €3 in duty and 3× €2 in handling fees. That's €15 before VAT.

The basket now drives the bill: the more product types in an order, the higher the charge. Returns make it worse, as the handling fee is never refunded and the €3 duty can only be reclaimed through the standard repayment procedure.

What to check before your next EU shipment

• •Complete your catalogue: each variant needs a merchant reference, a manufacturer reference and, where it exists, a barcode. If a product has no barcode, check with your carrier how to flag it.
• •Set HS codes at SKU level: the tariff code determines the number of item categories. A wrong code means a wrong bill, or a parcel held at the border.
• •Test the data flow: check with your carrier that the new fields reach the declaration, before Black Friday.
• •Review your carrier contracts: check how the fee is billed back to you, and whether an admin charge comes on top.
• •Choose between DAP and DDP: under DAP, your customer pays at the door and may refuse the parcel. Under DDP, you absorb the cost in your margin or shipping fees.

The next step: July 2028

From 1 July 2028, the temporary €3 duty is set to give way to standard customs duties, based on each product's tariff code, origin and value. E-commerce imports will go through a single EU Customs Data Hub, and platforms and sellers will become liable for duties and product compliance (European Commission).

The handling fee, however, is here to stay. From 2028, only goods sold from the new customs warehouses for distance sales will pay a lower rate.

How brands are adapting: shipping from stock already in the EU

An order shipped to an EU customer from stock already in the EU stays inside the single market. It never crosses a customs border, so there's no €3 duty, no €2 handling fee and no product identifier to declare.

Customs is handled once, upstream, when the stock is imported in bulk (B2B). Standard duty rates apply, or 0% for goods that qualify for preferential origin, for example under the EU-UK trade agreement.

One condition: stock must be imported and cleared before it is sold. As French customs point out, "only the moment of sale to the consumer determines whether or not the handling fee applies" (DGDDI).

That's the model behind the 600+ brands we operate at Bigblue. Their stock sits in our warehouses in France, Spain, Germany, Italy and the UK, and orders reach customers across Europe in 1.6 days on average.