European Union finance ministers this week approved the scrapping of the duty-free exemption for parcels worth under €150, in a move expected to hit ultra-cheap imports from Chinese e-commerce platforms such as Temu and Shein from early 2026.  

The change forms part of a wider overhaul of the EU customs union. Brussels had originally planned to remove the so-called de minimis threshold only in mid-2028, when a new EU Customs Agency and data hub are due to go live.  

However, ministers agreed to bring the date forward and introduce a transitional system from the first quarter of 2026, with technical details due to be signed off at the next Ecofin meeting on December 12.  

At present, goods imported into the bloc with a value below €150 are exempt from customs duties, although VAT still applies and a customs declaration is required.  

According to the European Commission, this regime has fuelled an explosion in small parcels. About 4.6 billion low-value items entered the EU last year, and roughly 91 per cent of them came from China.

EU officials argue that the exemption is no longer justified. They say it distorts competition between traditional retailers, who import in bulk and pay full duties, and platforms that ship millions of individual packages directly from factories to consumers’ doorsteps, often with limited checks on product safety, environmental standards or counterfeit goods.  

Alongside the new customs duty, each small parcel is also expected to incur a handling fee.

The European Commission has proposed a flat charge of around €2 per item to help fund customs controls, although member states have yet to agree the final level and structure.

Some governments, including France, have pushed for swift EU-wide action, while others are already exploring national surcharges on low-value parcels.

The Commission says the Council’s political agreement includes a commitment to a “simple, temporary solution” so that duties and any fee can start being collected in 2026, ahead of the full customs reform due in 2028. The legislative text will still need the European Parliament’s approval before it is finalised.

Impact on Cyprus shoppers and retailers 

For Cyprus, the shift will mark a clear break with current practice. The Cyprus Consumers’ Protection Service recently reminded the public that shipments from outside the EU with a value up to €150 are exempt from customs duties, though VAT is still charged and extra courier or clearance fees may apply.  

It also warned that some orders may be blocked altogether if they fall under EU sanctions or product-safety bans, for example on certain goods from Russia or Belarus.  

Cyprus Customs already applies specific rules to e-commerce parcels, set out in its English-language FAQ on online shopping, but these are based on the existing EU limits.  

Under the new regime, low-value parcels will no longer benefit from duty relief, and the island’s authorities will have to adapt their systems to calculate and collect duties, and potentially a flat handling fee, on a far larger volume of packages.

Local business media have been tracking the issue for months. Earlier this year, FastForward Cyprus reported on the commission’s plan for a €2 charge on small parcels from platforms like Shein and Temu, noting that the measure is designed both to fund customs checks and to ease pressure from European retailers who say they are being undercut by “unrealistically” low online prices.

Cypriot commentators have also raised questions about how far the reform is driven by safety concerns and how far by the desire to boost tax revenues, pointing to estimates of significant uncollected customs income across the EU under the present threshold.

At the same time, Cyprus has joined EU-level scrutiny of Chinese platforms’ practices: the island took part in a coordinated complaint against Shein over so-called “dark pattern” marketing and concerns about compliance with EU consumer-protection rules.  

In practical terms, Cypriot consumers who rely on bargain-priced clothes, gadgets or homeware shipped directly from non-EU warehouses are likely to face higher final prices once customs duty and any handling fee are added on top of VAT and courier charges. Delivery times may also lengthen if more parcels are stopped for inspection. 

For local shops and importers, however, the change could ease some of the competitive pressure from platforms that currently route their sales through the de minimis loophole.