Questions and answers on the EU Customs Reform

The reform also establishes a new partnership with businesses. A ‘trust and check' approach allows established supply chains to import and export seamlessly as trusted partners. The systemic supervision allows customs to be more strategic about checks and controls.  

In the future, e-commerce operators will bear more responsibility. As ‘importers for distance sales', online platforms and sellers will inform customs through the EU Customs Data Hub about their sales to Union consumers immediately after they happen. This will allow customs to react before the goods arrive at the border, supported by the EU Customs Authority risk analysis at Union level. These platforms and sellers will become liable for financial obligations (customs duties and other fees) and for ensuring compliance of their products with EU legislation (for example identifying a responsible economic operator in the EU). This is a major improvement from the current customs system, which assigns this responsibility to individual consumers.   

What is the timeline for the EU Customs Reform? 

Due to the rising numbers of low-value e-commerce goods entering the EU, Member States agreed that urgent action was needed, even before the full reform package was adopted.  

In December 2025, Member States agreed to eliminate the customs duty relief threshold, which currently allows goods valued at less than €150 to enter the EU exempt from customs duty, and apply a temporary customs duty of €3 on items contained in these small parcels entering the EU, largely via e-commerce, from 1 July 2026.  

At the latest by November 2026, a handling fee will also apply.  

The EU Customs Authority will be established and will gradually start operating. Moreover, the Commission will start building the EU Customs Data Hub for e-commerce, so it can be operational as soon as 2028.  

What is the EU Customs Authority (EUCA)? 

The EU Customs Authority is at the core of the EU Customs Reform. It is a newly established EU agency, pooling expertise and resources from Member States and the Commission. The EUCA will centralise data and analytics, enabling smarter handling of customs procedures and controls. It will develop, operate and maintain the EU Customs Data Hub, the single data environment, and it will coordinate risk management at EU-level. It allows customs to cooperate and truly act as one: share knowledge, analyse trade flows, identify threats, build strategies, and design real-time coordinated controls.  

National customs authorities will also continue to perform their own national risk analysis tailored to their specific needs. However, Member State collaboration under the EU Customs Authority and the vastly improved intelligence gained thanks to the EU Customs Data Hub will be a game changer for these tasks. This will be key in tackling so-called ‘border shopping', where unscrupulous traders target gaps in EU-wide visibility at individual points on the EU's external border to get their goods into the Single Market. 

Moreover, the EUCA will support Member States' customs authorities by providing financial support, as well as train and pool expertise on customs legislation and practices. 

The EUCA is not just a new agency. It embodies a truly European approach to customs. Customs Reform and EUCA are essential for Europe's economic and internal security, competitiveness, autonomy and unity.  

On 25 March 2026, the joint vote of the European Parliament and the Council designated Lille, France, to host the seat of the EUCA. Nine Member States had applied to host the EUCA: Belgium (Liège), Spain (Málaga), France (Lille), Croatia (Zagreb), Italy (Rome), Netherlands (The Hague), Poland (Warsaw), Portugal (Porto) and Romania (Bucharest).   

What will the EU Customs Data Hub do? 

The EU Customs Data Hub will be the new engine of the Customs Union. It will collect, process, connect and store all relevant data, thereby redefining and modernising the way in which information is provided, used for customs supervision, and shared with partner authorities. It allows for a true EU-level risk analysis.  

Today's systems mirror the traditional formalities of customs processes: businesses must declare information for being granted authorisations and carry out customs operations, on entry, arrival, transit and release, to the different national systems. In return, customs still operate with a process and transaction focus, based on declared data that is specifically prepared for customs. The data is currently fragmented across the different systems, preventing a comprehensive risk analysis and a more strategic, system-based approach. 

The EU Customs Data Hub is a single entry-point that allows trade actors to meet their requirement to provide data for their customs operations, no matter where the goods cross the EU border. Information that is stable for a given supply chain, from invoices, product information, logistics contractors or service providers, can follow the ‘submit once-only' principle. This removes administrative burden and drastically reduces compliance cost for all businesses, particularly for small enterprises.  

The EU Customs Data Hub enables systematic customs risk analysis across all EU supply chains and trade operators, as well as early detection and treatment of risks. Customs administrations can run multiple targeted applications for risk analysis.  

How will the reform benefit customs? 

Customs will have all the real-time information they need on which goods are coming in and when, while developing a bird's-eye view of ongoing trade and supply chains. Customs and partner authorities can intervene on any given consignment according to their risk analysis and at any time – before loading, at entry, during transport within the EU or at final destination. They will be able to more precisely target, and control possible risks related to safety and security, fraud, or circumvention of legislation on prohibited and restricted goods, regardless of where goods enter the EU. They will also be able to give do-not-transport instructions so that non-compliant goods do not enter the EU in the first place. 

How will the reform benefit businesses? 

Overall, the proposed reform of EU Customs will significantly reduce the time and costs for traders to perform their customs operations and get customs clearance. At the heart of the reform is a shift from a declaration-based to a data-led system. For transparent and compliant supply chains, paperwork and formalities are reduced to a minimum, and duties can be paid periodically rather than on import. 

The Data Hub will open for e-commerce consignments in 2028. The Data Hub will then open for all other businesses in 2031, leading to immediate benefits, simplifications, and savings for companies. In 2034, the Data Hub will expand to all traders and become the single mandatory EU Customs entry point. 

A specific group of ‘Trust & Check' traders will be created. These traders will offer maximum transparency of their supply chains and will be able to clear all of their imports with the customs authorities of the Member State in which they are based, no matter where the goods enter the EU. Under certain conditions, they will even be able to import goods without the need for any active customs intervention and free of administrative burden. A review two years after the EU Customs Data hub is operational will assess whether this possibility can be extended to all traders. 

Through the proposed simplifications, it is estimated that businesses will cut compliance costs by €2.7 billion a year. Legitimate business will also be able to rest easy in the knowledge that customs will have more time and resources to deal with fraudulent competitors who can undercut them on price. Nothing will change regarding the level of detail that importers have to provide to customs. The information will simply be delivered and analysed in a smarter, more efficient way. 

A reinforced customs union will also support the level playing field and the correct implementation of EU trade measures at the border, which will benefit EU business' competitiveness and economic security. 

How will the new system benefit Member States? 

All Member States will have access to the same real-time data, and based on a new mix of machine learning, artificial intelligence and human intervention, will be able to pool information and focus their efforts on more effective checks and identifying risks before the goods even leave for the EU. Customs will also be better equipped to protect the security and safety of all EU citizens and uphold common EU strategic priorities and values like global human rights and the fight against climate change.  

Over time, the EU Customs Data Hub, developed and managed centrally by the EU Customs Authority, will replace the existing IT infrastructure in EU Member States. The estimated saving for them is more than €2 billion a year in IT development and maintenance costs. 

Along with these savings at national level, authorities will gain access to a 360-degree overview of individual supply chains. With this information and the support of the EU Customs Authority, they will be able to carry out more targeted risk assessment and focus customs checks where they are most needed. 

How will the reform benefit consumers buying online from outside the EU? 

For the first time, online platforms who sell goods into the EU will become so-called ‘importer for distance sales'. Platforms and sellers will therefore be responsible for ensuring that customs duties and VAT are paid at purchase, and for passing this revenue on to their Member State of registration. 

EU consumers will thus no longer be faced with hidden charges when the parcel arrives. Moreover, they will no longer be considered the importers of the goods that they have ordered online from third countries. 

Importers for distance sales will be the first sector to log their sales into the EU Customs Data Hub (as of 2028), giving customs an immediate overview of the third country goods being sold online to consumers in the EU. 

What are the e-commerce measures proposed in the EU Customs Reform? 

The Commission and Member States share a sense of urgency stemming from the boom in e-commerce goods being imported into the EU over the past few years. To respond to these challenges with the necessary urgency mindset, the EU will start to apply two e-commerce measures already in 2026.  

First, it removes the so-called ‘de minimis' rules, under which parcels arriving in the EU with a value below €150 were exempted from customs duties. This rule became a gateway for huge volumes of low-value imports, with importers often splitting imports or undervaluing their products to avoid duties. Therefore, from July 1st 2026, the EU will introduce a temporary €3 customs duty for items bought online, to level the playing field between e-commerce sales (direct imports of individual parcels up to EUR 150 that are not paying duties) and traditional retail (imports in bulk that had always been subject to duties).  

The agreement today also introduces a handling fee on goods imported into the EU to compensate for the increasing costs for customs authorities. The Commission will determine its amount in a delegated act. The amount of the fee is based on the minimum costs customs authorities face when processing goods. The costs arise from the IT and labour resources mobilised to release those goods for free circulation, including checking the data provided, carrying out risk analysis, and performing regular documentary and physical controls when needed. From 2028, where the importer operates a customs warehouse, the fee will be lower due to easier customs checks.  

The measures will protect EU consumers from abuses and non-compliant products, making shopping safer for them.  In response to the continuing surge in e-commerce imports, it is imperative that EU customs controls can ensure that only compliant and safe products enter the EU market and reach our citizens.  

Both the customs duty and the handling fee will constitute a traditional own resource, which means that a percentage of the revenue will be for the Union budget.