{"id":69077,"date":"2026-03-05T13:49:19","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T18:49:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chitchats.com\/blog\/?p=69077"},"modified":"2026-03-05T13:49:20","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T18:49:20","slug":"upcoming-changes-to-shipping-to-the-european-union","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chitchats.com\/blog\/upcoming-changes-to-shipping-to-the-european-union","title":{"rendered":"Upcoming Changes to Shipping to the European Union"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<section class=\"wp-block-cgb-block-hero-banner alignfull section\" style=\"background-color:#2b5bae;color:#ffffff\"><div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row\"><div class=\"col-md-6 d-flex flex-column justify-content-center\"><h1 class=\"h-banner__title hero-header\">Upcoming Changes to Shipping to the European Union<\/h1><div class=\"h-banner__text hero-sub-text\"><p>The European Union (EU) is introducing significant changes to how international parcels are treated starting July 1, 2026, with changes to French-bound shipments starting March 1, 2026. Read on to understand what this means for your international shipments with Chit Chats.<\/p><\/div><\/div><div class=\"col-md-6\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"h-banner__image\" src=\"https:\/\/chitchats.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/worldwide-shipping-banner-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>\n\n\n\n<p>Starting <strong>July 1, 2026<\/strong>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.consilium.europa.eu\/en\/press\/press-releases\/2025\/12\/12\/customs-council-agrees-to-levy-customs-duty-on-small-parcels-as-of-1-july-2026\/\">the European Union (EU) will remove the duty-free entry for low valued shipments<\/a> (de minimis entry) and replace it with a fixed customs duty. Previously, parcels with a value below \u20ac150 entering the EU did <strong>not<\/strong> incur customs duties; however, they were subject to value-added-tax (VAT).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The EU is introducing these changes to:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Level the playing field between local EU sellers and international non-EU sellers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Address the increase in imports through e-commerce.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>According to the conseil, this is part of an initiative intended to unify the EU\u2019s customs processes, with further changes expected in 2028.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Under the new rules:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Every parcel with a total value of \u20ac150 or less imported into one of the 27 EU member states will be subject to a <strong>flat customs duty of \u20ac3<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>This will be in effect <strong>between July 1, 2026 and July 1, 2028<\/strong> (end date is subject to change).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The EU conseil is considering <strong>handling fees<\/strong>; however, this has not been finalized at a EU-wide level and currently varies between member states.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Shipments cleared in participating EU member states (Luxembourg, Netherlands, and Belgium) will be subject to a <strong>\u20ac2 handling fee per shipment line item (excluding France).\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>France has implemented the handling fee as of March 1, 2026.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How This Affects You (Chit Chats International Tracked)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>As our international partner is located in the Netherlands, applicable customs duty rules and handling fees will take effect starting <strong>July 1, 2026<\/strong>. <strong>However, there will be an exception for shipments destined for France (including its overseas territories [Outre-mer] such as Martinique and Guadeloupe).<\/strong> France has implemented handling fees as of <strong>March 1, 2026<\/strong>; therefore, shipments heading to this region will follow a different process when <strong>no IOSS number is provided.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>How will this work? (until July 1)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>If a shipment destined for the EU includes an IOSS number, it will clear customs in the <strong>Netherlands<\/strong>, where our partner processes international shipments.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>For shipments that <strong>do not<\/strong> include an IOSS number, customs clearance will take place in the country of destination. As France is implementing a handling fee ahead of other EU countries, recipients in <strong>France <\/strong>will be required to pay a \u20ac2 handling fee, in addition to any applicable value-added tax (VAT).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>If an IOSS number is provided (after July 1):<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>At this time, we are awaiting further instruction on how handling fees and customs fees will apply for the sender. We will provide further updates once the procedure is confirmed.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The VAT will continue to be waived and the recipient will not be required to pay any additional value-added-taxes upon delivery.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Starting July 1, 2026, the European Union (EU) will remove the duty-free entry for low valued shipments (de minimis entry) and replace it with a&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":67174,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"single-hero.php","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,5159],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-69077","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chit-chats-blog","category-news-announcements"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Upcoming Changes to Shipping to the European Union | Chit Chats<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The EU is introducing significant changes to how international parcels are treated. 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