New EU €2 Handling Fee from 1 November 2026
If you’re an EU-based customer, you may notice another new charge on your order from 1 November 2026. Following on from the €3 customs duty introduced in July, the EU is now adding a €2 handling fee to online orders shipped into the EU from outside the bloc. As before, we want to be completely open about what this charge is and why it appears on your order.
What Has Changed?
From 1 November 2026, the EU will apply a new Union handling fee to goods bought online from non-EU countries, which includes the United Kingdom. The fee was set at €2 by the European Commission in September 2026, under the EU’s new Union Customs Code.
The handling fee is designed to cover the cost of customs processing for the huge number of small parcels now entering the EU. It is completely separate from the €3 customs duty that came into force on 1 July 2026, and both charges now apply side by side.
There are two important differences between the two charges:
- The €2 handling fee applies at any order value. The €3 duty only applies to orders with a customs value of €150 or less, but the handling fee applies to larger orders too.
- The €2 handling fee is permanent. The €3 duty is a temporary measure due to run until 2028, but the handling fee has no end date.
Like the €3 duty, this is an EU-wide change affecting every business shipping goods into the EU from outside it. It is not something we, or any other retailer, have any control over.
How Does It Work in Practice?
Just as we do with the €3 duty, we will collect the €2 handling fee at checkout so your parcel can clear customs without delays or unexpected charges on delivery.
The fee is charged per HS (Harmonised System) tariff code line on the customs declaration, for most orders you will see:
- Orders up to €150: €3 customs duty per unique item + €2 handling fee = €5 in total
- Orders over €150: €2 handling fee only
- Orders with products in two tariff categories: the charges apply to each line, so €6 duty + €4 handling fee for an order under €150
Both charges are separate from EU VAT, which continues to be collected in the usual way. As with the duty, we update our currency conversion rates daily, so you will only ever pay the €2 at the current exchange rate.
We Know It’s Frustrating
We understand that this is another added cost on top of postage, VAT and the €3 duty, and we’re sorry to be bringing you more news of this kind. It is a consequence of EU customs policy, not a decision we’ve made to increase our margins. We collect exactly what is owed and pass it on.
If you have any questions about how the charges apply to your order, please get in touch. We’re always happy to explain how a charge has been calculated.
Thank you for your continued support. We value all of our EU customers and will keep doing everything we can to make ordering from us as simple as possible.
