{"id":57444,"date":"2026-06-25T09:02:59","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T09:02:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/my.legal500.com\/developments\/?post_type=legal_developments&#038;p=57444"},"modified":"2026-06-25T09:02:59","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T09:02:59","slug":"e-commerce-and-low-value-consignments-customs-issues-operational-guidance-ahead-of-1-july-2026","status":"publish","type":"legal_developments","link":"https:\/\/my.legal500.com\/developments\/thought-leadership\/e-commerce-and-low-value-consignments-customs-issues-operational-guidance-ahead-of-1-july-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"E-commerce and low-value consignments: Customs issues operational guidance ahead of 1 July 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>In a notice dated 15 May 2026, the Customs and Monopolies Agency provided operational guidance ahead of the introduction of the new flat-rate duty on low-value consignments.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><strong>Abolition of the duty-free allowance and transitional duty<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Following the adoption of Regulation (EU) 2026\/382, with effect from<strong> 1 July 2026<\/strong>, the exemption from import duties for consignments with an intrinsic value not exceeding<strong> 150 euros <\/strong>sent directly from a third country to a person located in the EU will be abolished. From the same date until<strong> 1 July 2028<\/strong>, such consignments will be subject to a flat-rate duty of<strong> 3 euros per item<\/strong>, regardless of the tariff classification of the imported goods, whether the goods are declared under fields H1, H6 or H7, and the VAT collection regime used (IOSS, special scheme or standard VAT).<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The measure \u2014 aimed at strengthening controls on low-value consignments, combating fraud and ensuring a more level playing field for EU economic operators \u2014 is intended to apply pending the introduction <strong><em>of the EU Customs Data Hub, <\/em><\/strong>scheduled to come into effect on 1 July 2028. From that date, in fact, all goods sold via e-commerce will be subject to customs duty in the usual manner, i.e. at the rate corresponding to their specific customs classification.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Amendments to the Delegated and Implementing Regulations<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The application of the new provisions has necessitated amendments to certain provisions of Delegated Regulation (EU) No 2015\/2446 and Implementing Regulation (EU) No 2015\/2447 concerning procedures and declaration formats. Pending the publication of the relevant EU acts, the ADM hereby highlights the following areas for action:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>additions to TARIC for the H7 and H1 declaration formats;<\/li>\n<li>adjustment of the guarantee for operators holding a deferred payment authorisation (<strong>DPO<\/strong>);<\/li>\n<li>applications for DPO authorisation for operators who do not currently hold such authorisation;<\/li>\n<li>methods for accounting for specific customs duties.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The ADM has also pointed out that the new duty constitutes a customs duty (tax type <strong>A00<\/strong>) and is therefore subject to VAT.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Changes to declarations<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>With regard to procedural codes, the ADM has announced the removal of the \u2018Additional Regime\u2019 code <strong>C07<\/strong>, currently used to certify customs duty exemption for low-value consignments. Codes <strong>F48 <\/strong>(IOSS) and <strong>F49 <\/strong>(special procedure) will continue to be used, as appropriate, whilst the new code <strong>F53<\/strong> will be introduced for transactions of this kind subject to standard VAT.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Product Identifiers<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Finally, <em>the<\/em> ADM notes that new requirements relating to product identifiers will be phased in, becoming mandatory from<strong> 1 November 2026<\/strong>, with the aim of strengthening risk analysis and controls on goods traded via <em>e-commerce<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Edited by: VAT &amp; Customs Team<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-57444","legal_developments","type-legal_developments","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/my.legal500.com\/developments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/legal_developments\/57444","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/my.legal500.com\/developments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/legal_developments"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/my.legal500.com\/developments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/legal_developments"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/my.legal500.com\/developments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57444"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}