Guidance TAXUD : The temporary EUR 3 customs duty and the Union handling fee

Pursuant to Council Regulation (EU) No 2026/3821 of 11 February 2026, the EUR 150 customs duty relief threshold in Article 23 and 24 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1186/2009 (Duty Relief Regulation – DRR)2 was abolished and a temporary customs duty of EUR 3 per item in consignments with intrinsic value up to EUR 150 was introduced.

In addition, according to Article 20(2) of the new Union Customs Code (nUCC)3 customs authorities must collect a Union handling fee (UHF) of a fixed amount per item for the services to be rendered for handling a request for placing goods under the release for free circulation procedure where those goods are sold in distance sales.

The Commission must establish the amount of the handling fee in a delegated act.

This guidance document provides clarifications and examples on the application of the temporary EUR 3 customs duty from 1 July 2026 and the Union handling fee from the tenth day after the entry into force of the UHF DA (under scrutiny)4. The Union handling fee is therefore expected to apply from 1 November 2026.