Why small parcels coming into France will cost more soon

An additional ‘handling fee’ is set to be added on top of the new €3 ‘small parcel’ duty that has been charged since July for items ordered for delivery into the EU.

Though introduced to target the large influx of e-commerce items from countries such as China in recent years, the combined effects will be wide ranging and could more than double the cost to buyers of some low-value items.

The new fee, which has now been set by the European Commission at €2, would see €5 levied on top of a small item such as a T-shirt, book or magazine.

Some magazine publishers in the UK have already warned that the €3 per item fee could see them having to put up subscription fees to customers in France, while some other magazines have taken the decision to stop deliveries to the EU. 

Now the additional ‘Union Handling Fee’ is set to start, intended to help cover the increased costs to customs authorities of handling many small e-commerce parcels at the borders.

This is confirmed  by certain French sources, which refer to it as an EU administrative handling fee, une redevance européenne pour frais de gestion, though they state that the details are yet to be confirmed.

The amount was, in fact, fixed by a European Commission delegated act on September 21. The European Parliament and Council had one month to object, but have not done so and this is not now expected, EU sources say.

As with the €3 fee, the levy will be per type of item bought at a distance from suppliers outside the EU.

However, the handling fee will apply regardless of the value of the item. Items worth more than €150 do not attract the €3 small parcel fee, but rather the standard amount of import duty for the item, levied at a percentage rate.

For example, a package valued at €10 on the customs declaration and containing a pen, notebook and keyring would be classed as three items, with a €9 small parcel duty plus €6 in handling fees, making €15 in duties and fees. 

A package containing three pens would be charged at €5.

This is on top of any applicable import VAT.

It is hard to identify exactly how narrowly items will be categorised, as this can depend on the type of customs declaration used. EU combined nomenclature categories will be used, but it will depend on whether only the first six digits of their code are used, or all eight.

For example, a toy train, a doll and a stuffed animal could all be grouped under one customs category or each fall into a separate category depending on the method of declaration.

The handling fee is described by EU sources as helping to remunerate customs services, so that would be the French Douanes, rather than carriers such as La Poste.

As with the small parcel duty, it could be paid in several ways. 

For example, some websites will be set up to collect the customs duty and handling fee at the point of sale. If the duty and fee have not been accounted for then the postal service or courier delivering the item may require recipients to pay these before it is delivered.

Note that La Poste sometimes charges its own frais de douane admin fees for its customs clearance work, however this is only where the recipient of a parcel is asked to pay VAT and/or duty on delivery. Where all relevant taxes, duties and fees have been paid upfront, such as through a seller using a delivered duty paid (DDP) service, these additional La Poste fees should not normally apply.

The Union Handling Fee is expected to be reviewed every two years keeping it proportional to actual costs incurred.

There is no customs duty or handling fee where goods are already in free circulation in the EU at the time of ordering. 

If foreign websites do not clearly mention customs duty or the Union Handling Fee, it will be worth checking their website’s terms and conditions or their About Us page, to see where they are located and from where the goods will be shipped.

The small parcel duty and handling fee are aimed especially at people buying from websites, but they would also apply to other kinds of distance buying, such as over the telephone or by traditional mail order.

The important factor is that the supplier arranges or participates in shipping the goods to the customer, not the method used to place the order.

It is also worth noting that the €3 small parcel duty is itself a temporary measure and the intention is that it will eventually be replaced by normal customs tariffs once a new EU customs data system becomes operational. 

It was introduced in July and in France it replaced a temporary €2 small-parcel tax brought in by the French government in March for the same purpose of curtailing excess cheap imports.

The handling fee, however, is intended to be permanent.