Importing Goods from outside EU into the EU ?

[burt]

This may not affect many Phoenix users, but it's worth mentioning just in case.

As of TODAY 1 July 2026, the EU has introduced a temporary €3 customs handling charge on many low-value imports (goods valued at €150 or less) entering the EU from non-EU countries.

A few important points:

• This is not a €3 fee on every product you sell.
• It applies to imports into the EU from outside the EU.
• The charge is generally €3 per customs HS Code (item classification), not simply per parcel.

For example:

• A parcel containing five identical T-shirts would normally incur one €3 charge.
• A parcel containing a T-shirt and a belt would normally incur two €3 charges, as they fall under HS Codes.

The measure is more or less aimed at the huge volume of low-value imports arriving from marketplaces such as Temu, Shein and AliExpress, and is intended to remain in place until the EU's wider customs reforms are implemented.

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I suspect this won't affect many Phoenix shop owners, as most shopowners I think either hold your own stock or source within your own markets, but if you're dropshipping directly from suppliers outside the EU to EU customers, it's worth checking how this change affects your business and pricing.

If anyone here is affected, it'd be interesting to hear how you're planning to handle it.

[14Steve14]

We had an email from Royal Mail about this and the way they are collecting the fees. It would be good to hear how others that do sell into the EU on a B2C basis are dealing with this.

I do see that this is a temporary measure so it will be interesting to see how they change and evolve.

Another reason not to supply to non business customers within the EU. We stopped selling when all the other regulations like the General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR) and the VAT rules came into force, though we didn't sell that much anyway so it was no real loss.

[Philo2005]

This affects my business because I am exporting stamps from Switzerland (non EC) to the EC,
especially Germany.

Yesterday there were additional changes published which affects importing goods to Germany from non EC Countries starting 1.11.2026.

As I am using the regular postal way to ship goods, there will be only PDDP Option of Swiss Post (I will have to pay the duties and the charges billed by the Swiss Post later, but I will bill these amounts in advances on the invoice to the customer. The customer will not be charged for further duties or fees). Currently this is the case for shippings to USA only and handled in the add-on Country of origins.

I will need adjustments in form of an add-on and I am already in contact with my master developer in tax issues .
We are currently defining the needs of the add-on.

If I can't handle this I will no longer be able to export to Germany.

[bonbec]

Also, be aware of the "new parcel tax" in Germany; this actually corresponds to the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) legislation governed by the German *VerpackG* law and reinforced by the new European PPWR regulation that came into force in August 2026.
It costs €150 per year, regardless of the number of parcels sent.
Since I only send two or three parcels a year to Germany, I would lose money, so I am stopping sales to German customers.
The amount payable varies by European country; for Belgium, it is free below a certain number of parcels, whereas for other countries like the Netherlands, it is based on the weight of shipments.