UK publishers halt magazine deliveries to France over €3 duty

Tougher import rules on ‘small parcels’ from abroad have prompted some UK magazine publishers to stop print deliveries to subscribers in France.

Reader Nigel Wild, from Aveyron, said Classic Cars magazine, published by UK firm Bauer Media, told him monthly print copies are no longer being sent to EU countries.

The firm said this was because magazines posted individually to subscribers are caught by the new €3 EU customs duty on low-value parcels, introduced EU-wide on July 1. This replaced a similar €2 French tax in place from March 1. 

It would mean an extra €3 on each issue of the magazine, which costs £75 a year by subscription, including delivery.

Mr Wild said the firm also referred to other possible levies, as well as requirements for a customs declaration for each magazine sent.

Editor's note (6/11/26): An additional €2 EU handling fee was introduced on top of the €3 duty from November 1. This is also per item and is intended to cover the increased costs incurred by customs authorities as a result of the huge growth of e-commerce in recent years. This applies regardless of value of the item as long as it was ordered at a distance.

A deeply disappointed customer

“To say I am upset is an understatement,” said Mr Wild, who spends his spare time working on his Triumph TR6, which he brought over when he retired to France.

“I have subscribed to Classic Cars since 1973 and eagerly anticipate receiving it each month.

“I pick up useful tips from the magazine and information about suppliers of various obscure parts – my car is over 50 years old.”

The former business consultant, 78, said he is still receiving another UK publication without problems – but wonders how long this will last.

He is considering making a complaint to the EU over the rules, which he believes have been applied in a heavy-handed manner, especially as their purported aim is to target e-commerce from countries such as China.

How the charge applies

The €3 duty applies to distance sales to individual consumers, not business-to-business imports. British magazines supplied to French newsagents through wholesale distributors should therefore not be affected by this charge.

It relates to purchases (eg. online, by telephone or by traditional mail order) of items worth €150 or less. Items above this amount have standard customs duties levied at variable rates depending on the category of item (small-value parcels were previously duty-exempt).

Other publishers, such as Private Eye, have warned subscribers in France that they may have to pass on the extra cost if the fees are maintained.

Some UK publishers use third-party specialists to manage distribution of their publications abroad, including handling VAT, duties and customs declarations, where relevant. However, where these incur additional fees, they will also likely be passed on to readers in increased subscription rates. 

UK and other non-EU firms can use the EU’s Import One-Stop Shop (IOSS) to collect import VAT at the point of sale, and can include duties in the price they charge, helping customers avoid paying on delivery.

A spokesman for Bauer Media, which publishes Classic Cars, told The Connexion the new fees had forced them to review deliveries of print subscription magazines to the EU, including France. 

He said: "We post subscription copies from the UK, so the charge applies as each copy enters the EU. Because a subscription is fulfilled issue by issue, that adds a cost to every copy, and over the life of a subscription it becomes a significant amount.

"We looked at alternative ways of distributing the magazines, but decided to stop sending print subscriptions into the affected EU markets rather than pass the full increase on to readers.

"We know this is disappointing for people who have subscribed for many years. Where a title has a digital edition, we’ve offered existing subscribers a digital subscription for longer than their remaining print term, to make up for the difference in value between the two.

"Anyone who would rather not move to digital has been offered a refund for the remaining value of their subscription. Where there isn’t a digital edition, we’ve cancelled the subscription and refunded the value of the unfulfilled issues."

The stoppage also applies to orders of single issues and special editions.

Raising a complaint

Possible avenues for complaints could include a petition to the European Parliament, or queries to the European Commission’s tax directorate.

It is worth noting that French import VAT would usually be applicable, though this is low for magazines. An EU import-VAT exemption for low-value goods ended in 2021.

In 2022, The Connexion was told by La Poste that residents in France could receive UK magazines to which they subscribe as if they were correspondence, without customs formalities, as long as they did not contain samples or goodies.

However, in 2023, French customs issued guidance stating that the correspondence category is strictly for letters and cards, not commercial merchandise.

Several UK publishing associations have asked the UK government to seek an exemption for books, magazines and journals, citing the Unesco Florence Agreement which supports free movement of cultural and educational material.

“In an era of misinformation and disinformation, it would be counterproductive to create trade barriers for high-quality, trustworthy and educational reading materials,” they wrote.

They also cited research from the Professional Publishers Association (PPA) showing that one postal distribution service, across its top 30 customers, dispatched 1.1 million magazines to the EU last year via the IOSS, which would equate to an additional €3.3million in customs fees.

The PPA has also lobbied the European Commission. It says the commission is conducting a review into unintended impacts of the levy on trade flows.

• Note that while the €3 small parcel charge is a ‘customs duty’, this is not the case with all fees sometimes referred to as frais de douane. When residents in France are charged by La Poste on delivery of certain parcels, the fees are often their own admin charges for dealing with customs-related formalities (dédouanement). There may also be VAT/duty to be refunded to La Poste if it has advanced these at the border. This can occur where eligible import VAT/duty was not paid upfront. This should not, however, happen for person-to-person gifts of a value under €45, where a parcel is sent with a customs label confirming the nature and value of the contents.