Updated Guidance on EU’s €2 Fee

The European Commission has published an updated guidance on the temporary €3 customs duty on distance sales already in effect, as well as information on the €2 Union Handling Fee (UHF), which is set to take effect from November 1.

The guidance also narrows the scope of when product identifiers (PIDs) will be required in customs data for distance sales to the EU. The guidance limits it to consignments with an intrinsic value of €150 or less, with an effective date of November 1. The previous version of the guidance said PIDs applied to all goods sold in distance sale, regardless of the value.

The earlier guidance (from June 2) did not address the €2 handling fee, which this one does. Thus, there is much attention on this new guidance and these notable updates:

• Every distance sale of imported goods pays the €2 fee, with no value threshold. (This is different from the €3 customs duty, which is applied only on consignments valued at €150 or less.)

• There is no end date for the UHF. The €3 duty stops on 1 July 2028; the UHF does not.

  • UHF and the temporary €3 customs duty will automatically apply per declaration line irrespective of the quantity (number of the articles) in that declaration line.

  • Members report that their interpretation of the guidance is that at €150 or less, the €2 fee is based on the HS6 code; when over €150, it is based on HS10 and country of origin.

The Commission’s guidance is explanatory and not legally binding. Official texts are those published in the Official Journal. Still, the guidance expects the fee to apply from November 1, 2026, the tenth day after the delegated act enters into force. Doing the math here, publication by  October 22 would keep the November 1 effective date in play. Any later publication moves the start date accordingly.CB Consulting has a good blog breaking down the guidance, with examples of how the handling fee and the duty apply.