EU Council Approves Customs Reform Plan
On September 3, 2026, the Council of the European Union approved a customs reform plan that could make non-EU ecommerce platforms responsible as importers and subject them to stricter penalties.
What are the key facts?
- 1EU Council approved the customs reform plan on September 3, 2026
- 2Non-EU ecommerce platforms may be treated as importers of goods
- 3The most serious non-compliance may result in a fine of 6% of import value
- 4Unified small-parcel handling fee scheduled for November 1, 2026
What happened?
On September 3, 2026, the Council of the European Union approved a customs reform plan. Under the original text, when non-EU ecommerce platforms sell goods to consumers in the EU, they may be treated as the importer of the goods and assume responsibility for customs procedures, duty payments, and ensuring that products comply with EU standards. The reform also introduces stricter penalties. In the most serious cases of non-compliance, fines may reach up to 6% of the company’s import value in the previous year. Businesses may also lose certain customs facilitation measures and could face restrictions on platform access. The reform includes a unified handling-fee plan for small parcels, which is scheduled to be implemented on November 1, 2026; the European Commission will determine the specific amount later. The small-parcel handling-fee plan is separate from the previously announced measure to remove the traditional customs-duty exemption for imported goods valued below €150. The changes mainly affect Chinese and other non-EU sellers shipping to the EU through platforms, platform-based traders, low-value small-parcel direct-shipping models, and businesses lacking product-safety and declaration documentation.
What does this mean for cross-border sellers?
The EU customs reform could make non-EU ecommerce platforms responsible as importers, including for customs procedures, duty payments, and product compliance with EU standards. Low-value small-parcel direct shipping will face greater compliance pressure. Sellers should also monitor the small-parcel handling fee scheduled for November 1, 2026, and potential fines of up to 6% of the previous year’s import value for serious non-compliance.
What should sellers do now?
- 1Create a product-compliance file for every low-value small-parcel listing shipped to the EU through platforms, complete the HS code, declaration documents, and proof of compliance with EU standards for each item, and maintain a traceable folder for every SKU.HS duty estimate
- 2Review direct-shipping orders for imported goods below €150, organize duty and declaration records by platform, country, and SKU, and list the small-parcel handling fee scheduled for November 1, 2026, as a separate cost item; update the cost model once the amount is announced.
- 3Confirm with partner platforms how responsibilities are divided when a non-EU platform is treated as the importer of goods, verify customs procedures, duty payments, and EU standards requirements item by item, and prepare a responsibility checklist identifying missing documents.Compliance