Customs de minimis threshold / Excess of €150
Value threshold below which imported shipments are exempt from customs duties in the EU, currently being removed.
Customs de minimis threshold (franchise of 150 EUR)
The de minimis threshold is the amount of intrinsic value below which a shipment imported into the EU is exempt from customs duties. This threshold is currently set at 150 EUR.
Current operation
Commercial shipments with an intrinsic value ≤ 150 EUR are exempt from customs duties but remain subject to VAT. They can be declared via the simplified H7 declaration with a reduced data set.
Scheduled deletion
As part of the EU customs reform adopted in 2025, the EUR 150 exemption will be removed from July 2028. A flat rate duty of EUR 3 per item will be introduced for low-value goods, eventually replaced by an ad valorem rate.
Why this deletion?
The explosion of cross-border e-commerce (more than 4 billion low-value parcels imported into the EU each year) has created distortions of competition with European producers and abuses (under-declaration of value, splitting of shipments).
Impact for e-retailers
Online platforms (Temu, Shein, AliExpress, Amazon) will have to integrate customs duties into their prices and collect them as presumed suppliers.