Customs offices overloaded
EU plans new fee for stores such as Temu and Shein
The EU Commission wants to stem the flood of cheap products from third countries, especially China. The Brussels authority is proposing to introduce a handling fee for parcels from online retailers such as Temu and Shein. The aim is to offset the costs incurred by customs authorities due to the enormous volume of shipments. The Austrian Chamber of Commerce and the Austrian Trade Association welcomed the EU Commission's initiative.
According to the EU Commission, around 4.6 billion parcels with a value of less than 22 euros were imported into the EU last year. Due to the rapidly growing number of such shipments, the Commission is considering, among other things, a handling fee for e-commerce goods delivered directly to consumers in order to offset the costs of customs and market surveillance.
The Commission is proposing that Member States and the European Parliament "levy a handling fee on e-commerce items" imported in individual parcels. The fee should compensate the customs authorities of the EU states for the higher costs "incurred in the proper control of these goods delivered directly to consumers".
The EU Commission warned that the sheer volume of cheap packages sent directly from sellers in China or other third countries to customers in Europe was overloading customs offices. Consumer advocates and environmental authorities complain that it is therefore almost impossible to carry out checks and guarantee European safety and environmental standards.
Chamber of Commerce: It is good that platforms should be held accountable
"Chinese platforms such as Temu and Shein use unfair practices that give them a competitive advantage. In order to prevent European trading companies from coming under increasing pressure as a result, it is high time that the EU took effective measures here," said Rainer Trefelik, Head of Trade at the Chamber of Commerce, welcoming the EU Commission's proposals.
These were "a step in the right direction to curb the large number of packages from China that we are currently dealing with". The fact that the large online platforms themselves are to be held more accountable is particularly positive. "If, in future, the platforms have to ensure that everything is correct and that all duties are paid properly, this will also make monitoring much easier. After all, checking thousands of small Chinese stores is too much for the European customs authorities."
In future, online platforms should also be required to check that the products offered on their platforms are legal and comply with EU safety standards, the Vienna-based trade association (HV) pointed out. It supports the EU Commission's proposal "with full conviction", said HV Managing Director Rainer Will in a press release on Wednesday. "It is unacceptable that European retailers and manufacturers have to comply with strict requirements on a daily basis, while cheap platforms from China flood our market without effective controls." Fair competition is urgently needed and fees on parcels from China are an important first step in the right direction. "The second step is the immediate abolition of the 150-euro duty-free limit," Will reiterated another demand.
Duty-free limit to be dropped
A central point of the planned reform is the abolition of the current duty-free limit for shipments under 150 euros. The Commission has long wanted to abolish this exemption limit. This could also apply to online marketplaces such as Amazon. The aim is to ensure that all retailers - regardless of their location - have the same competitive conditions. In addition, the EU is planning increased controls and coordinated measures to prevent the sale of unsafe or non-EU-compliant products.
According to the EU Commission, 91% of all e-commerce imports with a value of up to 150 euros came from China last year. This means that the volume has more than doubled since 2023 - from 1.9 billion to 4.17 billion shipments.
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