New EU customs duty on AliExpress parcels from 1 July 2026 - what will you really pay?

The change does not touch the VAT rate - that stays the same as before. What is new is an additional customs charge of 3 EUR, applied per tariff item on the customs declaration, not per parcel as a whole. If a single parcel contains several different products with different tariff codes, the charge can be applied multiple times - once per item.

• Applies to parcels up to 150 EURThis threshold used to mean duty exemption. From 1 July 2026, the exemption no longer applies, replaced by a flat 3 EUR fee per item.
• Does not depend on the item priceThe fee is fixed - whether you order something worth a few euros or close to 140 EUR, the same 3 EUR per tariff item is added.
• Parcels above 150 EURStandard customs duty rates depending on the product category still apply for these - that part is unchanged.

The easiest way to understand the change is with concrete numbers. The examples below show the difference between the old and new cost calculation for a typical AliExpress order shipped from outside the EU.

• One cheap gadget worth 3 EURUntil 30 June: just VAT. From 1 July: VAT plus roughly 3 EUR extra customs duty for that single item - a relatively large added cost for such a cheap product.
• One order, one product worth 25 EURVAT unchanged, plus a single 3 EUR duty charge. As a percentage, the added cost is much less noticeable here than for cheap small items.
• One parcel, three different products from one sellerIf the products have different tariff codes, the 3 EUR duty can be charged separately for each item - in the worst case, up to 9 EUR extra for a single parcel.

• Choose listings shipped from Poland or the EUGoods already cleared and settled within the EU are not subject to this extra charge, since they are formally no longer an import from outside the EU.
• Consolidate orders with one sellerSeveral products in one parcel do not always reduce the number of charged items, but it does cut down on the number of separate shipments and their handling costs.
• Compare the final price, not the product priceFor very cheap items, an extra 3 EUR can completely erase the value of the deal - sometimes a local shop or an EU-based offer ends up cheaper despite a higher listed price.
• Watch the order summaryThe final fee amount can vary depending on the seller and how the customs declaration is filed, so always check the cart before paying, not just the price on the product page.

Not necessarily. For more expensive orders, the extra 3 EUR has a marginal effect on the total cost. The biggest difference will be felt by people buying many very cheap, single items shipped separately from China. In practice, it is now worth considering EU or Polish-warehouse listings more often and planning purchases as larger, consolidated parcels instead of many small separate orders.