EU customs duty rules have sharply reduced the number of low-value parcels entering the bloc through Denmark, according to preliminary data from the Danish Customs Agency (Toldstyrelsen). In the first week after the new rules took effect on 1 July 2026, declarations for parcels worth €150 or less fell from 400,000 to 200,000.
Denmark sees an immediate drop in low-value parcel imports
The Danish Customs Agency said the decline was visible in the first week of the new system. The number of customs declarations for low-value parcels from countries outside the EU dropped by half between week 26 and week 27.
The new rules require a €3 customs duty for each item category in a parcel when consumers buy goods worth up to €150 from webshops outside the EU. In Danish terms, the fee is about DKK 22, while the €150 threshold corresponds to roughly DKK 1,150.
The Danish authority stressed that the figures are preliminary. Christian Lützen, director of the Danish Customs Agency (direktør i Toldstyrelsen), said it is still too early to draw broad conclusions.
“It is still too early to say anything about the general development, but we can see that significantly fewer low-value consignments are entering Denmark since the EU duty was introduced. We will follow the development closely, but regardless of the number of parcels, our focus remains unchanged. We will continue to inspect parcels,” Lützen said.
The EU customs duty targets fast-growing e-commerce flows
Until 30 June 2026, goods worth less than €150 could enter the EU without customs duty, although VAT and customs declarations still applied. The EU removed that exemption after a sharp rise in direct-to-consumer e-commerce imports from outside the bloc.
In Denmark, the increase was clear. The Danish Customs Agency received 17 million customs declarations last year for parcels worth under €150 sent to Danish consumers, compared with about 3.5 million the year before.
At EU level, low-value consignments have become a central customs challenge. The European Commission says almost 5.9 billion low-value items were shipped directly from third countries to EU consumers in 2025. These parcels represent the vast majority of imported items by volume, but only a small share of total import value.
Most of this trade is linked to online shopping. EU data show that China accounts for the largest share of low-value e-commerce imports by volume, reflecting the role of platforms selling clothing, electronics, toys and other consumer goods directly to European buyers.
How the new €3 duty works for consumers
The new EU customs duty is not calculated per parcel in the ordinary sense, but per item category, based on customs tariff classification.
If a consumer buys three cotton T-shirts from a webshop outside the EU, the purchase counts as one item category and the duty is €3. If the parcel contains a cotton T-shirt, a cotton shirt and a pair of jeans, it contains three item categories and the duty becomes €9.
The Danish Customs Agency says VAT is also calculated on the customs duty. In Denmark, that means 25% VAT applies to the duty amount. If the webshop is registered under the EU’s Import One Stop Shop (IOSS), the consumer should usually see the customs and VAT amount at checkout. If not, the transport company may collect the amount before delivery.
Consumer safety and fair competition are central to the reform
The EU presents the measure as a temporary step before a broader customs reform. The €3 duty is scheduled to apply until 1 July 2028, when the EU Customs Data Hub is expected to support a more permanent system based on normal customs tariffs.
Brussels argues that the old exemption no longer reflected the reality of online trade. Digital customs data now allow authorities to process low-value consignments more efficiently, while the scale of e-commerce has made the exemption a source of competitive advantage for non-EU sellers.
The European Commission has also linked the reform to product safety. Targeted inspections across the EU in 2025 found that more than 60% of checked products in sectors such as cosmetics, toys, electronics and personal protective equipment failed EU standards because of missing labels, forbidden ingredients or absent safety documentation.
Lützen made a similar point from the Danish side.
“Low-value parcels arriving from webshops outside the EU are a major problem across EU member states. The new EU duty must, among other things, protect consumer safety and make it more attractive to shop with Danish and European companies that comply with the requirements the EU sets for goods. Those requirements exist precisely to ensure that goods are not dangerous for consumers,” he said.
A Danish test case for a wider EU shift
The Danish figures offer an early indication of how the new system may affect cross-border e-commerce. A fall from 400,000 to 200,000 declarations in one week does not yet prove a stable trend, but it suggests that the EU customs duty can quickly influence parcel flows.
For Denmark and other EU member states, the next question is whether the decline will continue after consumers, platforms and logistics operators adjust to the rules. The reform also tests the EU’s ability to enforce common standards in a market where millions of low-value goods arrive every day from outside the bloc.
The measure is therefore not only about customs revenue. It is part of a broader European attempt to protect consumers, reduce unfair competition and modernise border controls for an e-commerce economy that has outgrown the old duty-free threshold.
