Apr
France has introduced a 2 euro per item duty on small value parcels
The French Government has introduced a new duty on imports with a value of less than 150 euros that are cleared for customs under the simplified customs declaration H7.
The duty is 2 euros per item (based on tariff sub-headings) and started to apply on imports from 1 March 2026.
Businesses established outside of the EU selling to EU customers will be impacted as this duty will apply to items that are currently being reported under the Import One Stop Shop (IOSS) scheme.
The duty will need to be reported and paid either via the simplified customs declaration (H7) or the VAT return. For parties using the IOSS scheme a French fiscal representative may need to be appointed.
If you are importing goods into France from 1 March 2026 you will need to report and pay this tax.
France is not the first country to introduce such a duty with Romania having implemented a similar duty from 1 January 2026 (details here).
The European Union is also preparing a 3 euros per item duty on imports with a value of less than 150 euros which is scheduled to be applied from 1 July 2026 (details here).
The French and Romanian duties are expected to be replaced by the EU wide duty once it goes into force. We will however be monitoring whether the existing taxes in Romania and France will be removed from 1 July 2026 or will be added on top of the EU’s duty.
Separately, a “handling fee” is also being considered as an additional charge on low value imports, although discussions are still at an early stage for the moment.
If you have questions on this matter or would like to further discuss it please let us know.