You ordered something cheap, and the courier asked for extra money at the door. Since 2026 that is the new normal in the EU — here is the breakdown.
The three charges on your delivery notice
For a typical parcel under €150 you may see up to three items:
Customs duty (€3 per customs line) — the EU abolished the €150 duty-free threshold on 1 July 2026. Every line item on the customs declaration pays a flat €3, regardless of product value.
Union Handling Fee (€2 per parcel) — from 1 November 2026 the EU charges every small parcel €2 for customs processing.
Import VAT — your country's standard VAT rate on the goods value plus duty (19% in Germany, 20% in France, 22% in Italy, and so on).
So a €40 parcel to Germany in late 2026 carries about €15.07 in total charges; to France with its national surcharge, slightly more.
Is the charge correct?
You can verify it yourself in seconds: enter the parcel value and your country in the calculator and compare the breakdown line by line with the courier's notice. Common errors: being charged €3 twice for items that should have been one customs line, or being charged VAT on the handling fee (rules vary by member state).
Can you avoid it?
No — the duty and fees apply to every ≤€150 parcel entering the EU. The only difference is who pays: if the seller shipped DDP they already paid it; if they shipped DAP (most common), you pay at delivery.