The EU De Minimis Exemption was Removed on 1st July
If you ship orders with a value of less than €150 into the EU from the UK or US, new customs duties are now in effect. Make sure you understand the changes and how they could significantly increase your shipping costs.
Use our EU shipping cost calculator and download the free guide to understand the impact and how to adapt.
New Cross-Border E-Commerce Rules Are Now in Effect
From 1st July 2026, the EU removed the €150 duty-free de minimis threshold for imported goods. This means shipments that previously entered the EU without customs duty now face new charges at the border.
For brands shipping high volumes of small parcels into Europe, the impact could be significant.
Under the changes:
- A €3 duty applies per item (with different tariff classification codes)
- Orders containing multiple products may incur multiple charges
- Additional handling fees may be introduced
- Customs administration could increase
For many e-commerce businesses, this could dramatically change the cost of serving EU customers.
What This Means in Practice and What Waiting Could Cost
How the EU de minimis changes would impact real e-commerce brands
To illustrate how the duty changes will impact retail brands, we reviewed order numbers of two of our customers from January and February 2026 (combined), whose fulfilment we already handle in our EU facility.
Customer One
Shipped 5,667 orders to EU based customers, with an average of 1 HS code per parcel. The additional duty, if they were fulfilling these orders from the UK, would cost €17,000. Over a full year this would cost an additional €102,000.
Customer Two
Shipped 6,333 orders to EU based customers, with an average of 2 HS codes per parcel. The additional duty, if they were fulfilling these orders from the UK, would cost €38,000. Over a full year this would cost an additional €228,000.
Even small per-item duties quickly become six-figure annual costs for brands shipping thousands of orders per month.
With the changes now in effect, the sooner you understand your exposure, the sooner you can adapt and reduce the impact. See what the changes mean for your business, use our calculator to estimate your potential EU duty costs.
Estimate Your EU Shipping Costs After 1st July 2026
Enter a few simple details about your order volumes and average items per order (with different tariff classification codes) to see the potential monthly impact on your EU shipping costs.
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Find out what to do now in our free guide below
Free Guide: The EU De Minimis Changes
Download our practical guide explaining:
- What the EU de minimis rule was before 1st July 2026
- Why it is being removed
- How the new rules will affect brands shipping into the EU
- The true cost implications for direct-to-consumer shipping
- Why many brands are moving fulfilment inside the EU
- Why Poland is emerging as a leading fulfilment hub
Download the Guide
We partner with some of the brightest stars in e-commerce
EU Fulfilment for Growing Brands
Founded in 1990, ILG is a market leader in outsourced order fulfilment and delivery. With the latest technology, state-of-the-art facilities and expert, highly trained staff, we specialise in retail and e-commerce fulfilment for beauty, fashion, wellbeing, lifestyle and homeware brands. We serve over 350 customers worldwide, from fast-growth e-commerce businesses to high-profile retail brands. Our fulfilment centre in Wroclaw, Poland allows brands to simplify their EU logistics, save costs on additional duties and keep their EU based customers happy.
Find out how we can help you
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