EU de minimis removal: how to stay compliant and competitive in 2026

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As of 1 March 2026, France has introduced a €2 fee on items imported into France from outside the EU.

The EU is reshaping how low-value cross-border ecommerce shipments are taxed and cleared. As part of that shift, the long-standing €150 customs duty exemption for low-value shipments, known as De minimis, is being removed.

As part of this transition, the EU has approved an interim €3 flat-rate customs duty on items in low-value shipments entering the EU from 1 July 2026 until 1 July 2028, ahead of broader customs reform. In parallel, the European Commission is discussing a separate handling fee for ecommerce imports delivered directly to consumers.

Key dates

The EU is taking a phased approach to ending its customs duty exemption:

What this means for ecommerce merchants & 3PLs

With de minimis relief ending, all EU shipments will require accurate duty treatment. This affects margins, pricing, checkout conversion, carrier choice, returns, and customer service. Merchants relying on static duty tables, manual HS code mapping, or broad cost buffers risk under-collecting at checkout, overpaying at import, or creating post-purchase surprises.

The interim €3 duty also makes shipment composition more important. Because charges depend on item category, mixed baskets can produce different customs outcomes depending on how products are classified and grouped.

If a handling fee is added, merchants will face even greater cost and routing pressure. For low-AOV orders, direct-to-consumer shipping may become less attractive than EU inventory placement or consolidated import models.

How Dutify's Landed Cost Calculator can help

Our Landed Cost Calculator calculates the total import cost of an order in real time using product, shipment, and destination data. In the context of the EU reforms, that matters because costs will increasingly depend on classification accuracy, shipment composition, order value, destination, and route-to-market.

Duties and taxes at checkout

Capture accurate duty, VAT, and other import charges at checkout, helping merchants offer more reliable DDP-style pricing and reduce post-purchase surprises.

Classification at the SKU level

EU import charges will depend on the specific HS code of each product, not just order value. We handle the classification of your product catalog to ensure the correct rates are applied.

Accurate calculation methodology

While the EU de minimis rules are shifting, the duty and tax rates change frequently. Our customs data is up-to-date and we apply exact customs calculation formulas to ensure our calculations are accurate.

Getting started on WooCommerce or Shopify

1. Set up and configure your account

• Sign up for a plan with API access and obtain your API key via Account → API Access.

2. Install the WooCommerce or Shopify plugin

• Contact us and our team will send through the relevant plugin.
• Follow the setup guide for WooCommerce, orShopify.

3. Display and collect at checkout

• Show the breakdown clearly to your customer (e.g. “Product €X + Shipping €Y + Duties & Tax €Z = Total €…”).
• Collect this full amount - covering full IOSS and duty requirements so customers pay nothing at time of delivery and your shipments don't face delays.

4. Generate accurate customs data

• When creating shipping labels, include:
  • Dutify provided EU CN codes for product classification
  • Product value and total charges collected at checkout

Getting started with our API

1. Set up and configure your account

• Sign up for a plan with API access and obtain your API key via Account → API Access.

2. Landed cost calculation

• Optionally pre-classify products via GET /api/v1/product_classifications or allow auto-classification.
• From your cart or checkout send a POST /api/v1/landed_cost_calculator request including:
  • Origin country, destination country
  • Product information (e.g. descripton, value, weight, classification)
  • Shipping and insurance cost
• Parse the response for:
  • Duties, VAT/GST, import taxes breakdown
  • Total “landed cost” (i.e. all charges combined)
  • Notes on thresholds, exemptions, or trade agreements

3. Display and collect at checkout

• Show an itemized breakdown or the combined duties and taxes to your customer.
• Collect this full amount to cover EU requirements so customers pay nothing at time of delivery.

4. Generate accurate customs data

• When creating shipping labels, include:
  • Dutify provided EU CN codes for product classification
  • Product value and total charges collected at checkout

References

• Introduction of €3 interim fee.
• European Commission.