Possibly affecting all small packets from China

ballisticbrian

Possibly affecting all small packets from China and small packets by IOSS sellers in the UK sending abroad. Quite a big deal if you sell small items. My only question is, will it affect the Chinese sellers we all know that send items into warehousing in the UK allegedly really parcel handlers.

Announcement from Royal Mail: source

Royal Mail - European Trade Insights | Royal Mail Group Ltd

From 1 July 2026, a flat customs duty of €3 will apply to Business to Consumer (B2C) parcels under €150 entering the EU. The EU describes the measure as temporary, ahead of broader EU customs reform. According to the Council’s of the European Union's release, the €3 duty will apply to all B2C goods under €150, including those sold by non-EU sellers registered under the Import One-Stop Shop (IOSS) for VAT purposes. It will apply per line. If a single parcel contains multiple different types of items, the duty can add up.

Woodstok2000

This is an import duty for the EU. It won't affect anything entering the UK, whether from China or anywhere else.

soolin

I agree this could be worrying and it’s the first I’ve heard of it. I buy some items from overseas, most is as a business so this doesn’t seem to apply, but from places like ALiexpress although I have a heading that says ‘your business page’ my business parcels are treated no differently to my personal purchases, nor are they identified as B2B at all so no doubt would be caught up in this scheme. For both private and business sales I already pay tax and none of my purchases, even bulk ones total more than £70 or so at absolute most, with many being much much smaller.

ballisticbrian

Woodstock, thank you for your comment but that's not how I'm reading it. It specifically mentions sellers affected outside the EU using IOSS, but if I'm wrong about packets coming in, then it will affect what I used to do a lot, which is send small items to the EU.

Woodstok2000

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82038368#Comment_82038368

Yes, sellers outside the EU, using IOSS, sending items into the EU. An EU import duty will not apply to any items being shipped into the UK.

soolin

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82038501#Comment_82038501

My stuff comes from outside the EU so should be safe then from the new temporary arrangements thank goodness.

Woodstok2000

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82038605#Comment_82038605

Yes, if it's not going into the EU at any point, you won't be liable for EU import duties.

RFW

We have changes coming but a few years off. The bigger Chinese sellers already have ways around it.

https://www.menzies.co.uk/uk-to-remove-de-minimis-threshold-by-2029/