New tax on deliveries from outside EU: How will it affect customers?
The new charge will apply to all deliveries valued under €150
From March 1, parcels with a value of less than €150 sent to France from outside the EU will be charged €2 extra in tax
2024 fizkes/Shutterstock.
Sending parcels to France from outside the EU is set to become more expensive when a new tax comes into force next month.
From March 1, parcels with a value of less than €150 sent to France (including its overseas territories, and to Monaco) from outside the EU will be charged €2 extra in tax, as stated in the new Article 82 of law 2026-103 of la Loi de finances (the Budget) 2026.
The measure is intended to be a deterrent against non-EU retailers that sell low-cost items and fast fashion which are considered to be particularly bad for the environment.
Parcel deliveries have skyrocketed in recent years.
French customs data published in December 2025 shows that there were 189 million declarations for small parcels recorded in France in 2024. And the number of small parcels delivered tripled between 2022 and 2024, with the total value rising from €1.9 billion in 2022 to €5.3 billion in 2024.
Parcels valued at under €150 have been subject to VAT and a specific customs declaration since July 2021, with 2.1 billion items being imported into France since then.
This particular tax is set to be temporary, however, explains government website le Service Public. It will only apply until December 31, 2026 at the latest, after which an equivalent European tax will come into force instead.
Will I need to pay €2 every time I receive a delivery?
No, shoppers will not pay the customs duty tax directly, as they are not the main targets of the measure.
Instead, the parcel sender will pay as outlined in the Code général des impôts.
However, the increased fee is likely to be passed on to the consumer – at least partly – which could lead to a slight increase in prices and/or delivery fees to France.
“When there is a customs duty, it is generally applied to the price of the product,” said customs lawyer Jean-Marie Salva to Le Figaro in October. The costs associated with the tax will “inevitably be passed on somewhere”, he said.
‘Boomerang effect’?
Italy brought in the same measure on January 1 this year, and critics have said that the change has merely displaced the problem to other countries.
Valentina Menin, director general of Italian airport association Assaeroporti, told the Financial Times that the tax had an immediate "boomerang" effect.
At least 30 flights that were originally destined to land at Milan Malpensa airport, “the point of entry for 60% of goods shipped to Italy by air” were instead redirected to Belgium, Amsterdam, or Hungary, she said.
This may change once the planned European-wide rule comes into force next year.
It comes as the cost of sending letters and parcels within France increased by 7.4% on average from January 1, due to price changes by La Poste. The cost of sending parcels via the Colissimo service rose by 3.4%, for all destinations. This followed several years of gradual price rises.
