Italy – Parcel Levy on Low-Value E-Commerce Shipments 

Italy is moving forward with its “customs safeguard” measure by introducing a customs handling fee for low-value parcels originating from extra-EU countries. The Budget Law 2026 presents a special customs measure: a fixed handling fee of EUR 2 for low-value shipments originating from non-EU countries. 

The new customs provision shall come into effect on January 1, 2026. One of the primary goals of introducing the new measure was to tax low-value imports that are part of the e-commerce supply chain and are mainly facilitated by foreign electronic marketplaces. 

This handling fee is a specific contribution intended to reimburse, to some extent, the customs administration for processing the large quantities of these shipments that reach Italian customs authorities. The fee will be collected at the customs upon final importation of the goods. 

Main features of the Italy handling fee measure: 

• Customs handling fee measure shall come into effect on January 1, 2026 
• It will be charged on all low-value shipments originating from non-EU countries(EU LVG threshold is fixed at EUR 150) 
• Based on the estimates, the primary focus of the new measure is to “tax” low-value shipments facilitated through digital platforms (e.g., Shein, Temu, Amazon, AliExpress). 
• Measures that should reduce the imports of low-quality goods, such as fast-fashion, low-value quality domestic products, and refocus shoppers on domestic products of higher quality 
• The handling fee shall be collected by the customs upon final importation 
• This measure should be observed separately from the abolishment of the EU de minimis for the low-value shipments that will come into effect on July 1, 2026 
• The EU is planning to introduce similar customs fees that should have a highly identical effect: reducing the expenses EU customs incur in processing the 4.6 billion low-value shipments originating from extra-EU countries. 
• The e-commerce merchants and platform operators should be ready for the new customs measure.

It shall be seen how the payers will handle the reporting of this fee, how the Italian customs authorities will collect it, and, most importantly, how it will affect the behaviour of local shoppers and the effects on domestic retailers.