EU fees raise cost of 10 euro parcel to 25 euros

Online shoppers in Ireland face higher costs for parcels arriving from outside the European Union starting Sunday. The total expense for a low-value item can now exceed three times its original retail price due to combined customs and handling fees.

Two distinct charges now apply to these imports. A customs duty of 3 euros per item, introduced earlier this summer, remains in effect. On top of that, a new EU handling fee of 2 euros per item came into force on Sunday. These levies apply to all goods shipped from non-EU countries, regardless of their value.

Consider a package containing a pen, a notebook, and a keyring with a total value of 10 euros. The customs duty applies to each of the three items, adding 9 euros to the bill. The new handling fee adds another 6 euros for the same three items. This brings the cost of the 10 euro package to 25 euros before any administrative fees are added.

Delivery companies are legally responsible for collecting these fees if the online retailer does not charge them at checkout. Larger e-commerce operations may collect both charges at the point of sale. In those cases, the price shown at checkout is the final price, and no extra fees appear upon delivery.

However, if the retailer does not collect the charges, the courier must collect them from the consumer upon delivery. In this scenario, an additional administrative charge of approximately 7 euros is added. For the three small items worth 10 euros, the final cost rises to 32 euros or more.

The fees are intended to cover the increased costs for customs authorities driven by the growth of online shopping. Official estimates indicate that approximately 6 billion packages with a value under 150 euros entered EU states from outside the union last year. Many of these shipments originate from online marketplaces based in China.

No customs duty or EU handling fee applies if the goods are located in Ireland, Northern Ireland, or another EU member state at the time of order. The new rules affect only items shipping from outside the bloc.