Ending the de minimis exemption is not a brand-new customs burden invented out of thin air. It is the end of an exemption that made sense when low-value parcels were rare. It no longer fits a shopping world built on one-click orders and cross-border marketplaces. In other words, the rules are catching up with how people shop today.
An old rule for a new shopping reality
The de minimis concept made sense when low-value parcels were the exception (aka shopping for very niche products from outside the EU on paper catalogues). Today, they are everywhere. Around 15 million small parcels enter the EU every day. That volume makes it much harder for authorities to spot unsafe goods before they reach consumers.
That matters because a cheap product is not automatically a safe one. A charger, toy or cosmetic bought online can still fail basic safety standards. Our members, independent consumer organisations, regularly test products and repeatedly find that items sold online don’t respect EU safety rules. Consumers should not have to gamble on whether a parcel contains a proper product or a problem waiting to happen.
Safety – not speed – first
This reform, and end of the de minimis exemption, is first and foremost about product safety. Introducing the new three-euro duty should help shift the system away from millions of tiny, hard-to-control shipments and towards a model that makes checks more realistic.
The market should reward compliance, not shortcuts.
That is good news for consumers and for honest businesses. The market should reward compliance, not shortcuts. If a seller wants access to EU consumers, it should also accept EU rules.
Who pays should be clear
There is another issue here: fairness. Commercial importers, such as an online marketplace or postal operator, will pay this new duty. That is the right approach. Right now, the cost is too often hidden in a system where consumers may end up footing the bill indirectly. This means either through higher prices, surprise charges or both.
The businesses that bring goods into the EU should carry the cost of doing so, rather than leaving consumers to pick up the bill through hidden or surprise charges.
Consumers should never be told, “By the way, there is an extra charge, please pay now to get your package.”
But there is a real risk that some transport or delivery operators will try to pass that cost on to consumers at the door. That would be an easy way out for the operator, and a nasty surprise for the shopper. It would also go against the basic EU consumer law principle that the full price must be shown before purchase, not after the parcel has already crossed the border.
A small price for a better system
Yes, some prices may rise. But that is not the same as saying consumers lose. In practice, some e-commerce platforms may choose to raise their online prices to absorb the new duties that their customs representatives will later pass on. A system with stronger checks, clearer responsibilities and fewer unsafe imports is better for consumers in the long run.
We have seen before that the market adapts when the rules change; whether in VAT reforms or other market adjustments. What matters is whether the outcome is fair. In this case, it is hard to argue that consumers should keep paying the hidden price of a broken system while importers escape responsibility.
Time to close the de minimis loophole
This is not about making shopping harder. It is about making it safer, fairer and more honest. Some platforms have already started adapting by building warehouses in Europe. They will import goods in bulk, which should also make it easier to check product safety than chasing millions of individual e-commerce parcels.
The de minimis rule belongs to another era. The online marketplace of 2026 needs better safeguards, clearer pricing and real accountability.
Consumers should not foot the bill for better controls. They should not get surprise charges at the door. And they should not be left to absorb the risks of a system that has made it too easy to dodge responsibility.
But this reform will not solve everything on its own. Making online marketplaces truly responsible will also require stronger enforcement of existing rules. This includes the Digital Services Act, and further work on upcoming EU product legislation. The responsibility cannot disappear once a parcel crosses the border. It is time to close the loophole for good.