Selling to EU consumers from the UK: what changes on 1 November, and how Conex can help

From 1 November 2026, every parcel a UK business sells directly to an EU consumer carries a new €2 customs handling fee, and must include a product identifier (PID) or face rejection at EU customs. For EU customs purposes, Great Britain is a third country. UK online retailers, marketplaces and carriers are therefore treated exactly like sellers shipping from Asia or the US. After the €3 flat duty introduced on 1 July, this second step changes both the cost and the data required for every B2C shipment into the EU.

What UK sellers now pay: a €2 handling fee per item, whatever the parcel’s value

The EU has ended the duty-free treatment of low-value parcels in two steps. Both apply across all 27 member states.

• €2 handling fee (from 1 November 2026): charged per item on every distance sale shipped from outside the EU to an EU consumer, with no value threshold. It covers the cost of customs checks on these flows and is permanent, reviewed every two years.
• €3 flat customs duty (since 1 July 2026): charged per item on B2C consignments worth less than €150. Above €150, the handling fee is added to standard customs duties instead.
• What counts as an item? French customs define the fee as “€2 per item line sharing the same tariff classification”. In other words, identical products (same customs code) count only once: ten identical T-shirts = €2, a T-shirt and a watch = €4.
• Who pays? The declarant: the seller, the marketplace or their customs representative – not the EU consumer directly, although the cost will often be passed on in prices.
• Good to know: the fee is due as soon as customs accepts the declaration. It is non-refundable, even if the declaration is later cancelled. It does not apply to consumer-to-consumer shipments.

Two points to check for your own flows. Shipments from Northern Ireland appear to fall outside these charges under the Windsor Framework. And some member states have added national fees on top, such as Romania’s RON 25 logistics tax and Italy’s €2 administration fee.

Product identifiers: no PID, no clearance

This is the most operational change on 1 November. Optional since July, the product identifier (PID) becomes mandatory for B2C distance sales under €150.

The PID is a unique code that identifies one specific product, like an ID card. It helps customs target their checks. There are three types, each provided by a different party:

• Seller reference (M-PID): created by the seller or the marketplace, for example the product reference on the marketplace. Always mandatory.
• Manufacturer reference (NS-PID): created by the manufacturer or supplier, for example an internal reference such as “PANT-001-BLK”. Always mandatory.
• Standard code (S-PID): assigned by the manufacturer under an international standard, for example an EAN-13 barcode or an ISBN. Mandatory if one exists.

One PID matches one product variant: a black T-shirt in size S and the same T-shirt in red, size L, have two different PIDs. It does not need to appear on the parcel label.

If the data is missing, the import declaration is rejected. For a UK seller, that means the PID has to travel with the order data all the way to the EU declarant. A gap in your product catalogue becomes a parcel stuck at the border.

Worked example: a €110 order

Take the example presented by French customs: an EU consumer orders a T-shirt at €60 and a watch at €50 from a seller outside the EU. That makes two different items in the declaration.

• Before 1 November: 2 items × €3 customs duty = €6.
• From 1 November: €6 customs duty + 2 items × €2 handling fee = €10.

The cost depends directly on the number of items declared. That is why an accurate declaration, with the right customs code for each product, matters.

Keep your parcels moving into the EU with EXPRESS via conex™

When your parcels arrive in the EU, they are declared to customs by your carrier or customs representative. EXPRESS via conex™ is the e-commerce clearance solution used by declarants in France and Belgium. Working with a partner equipped with it means:

• Small and large parcels in one tool: EXPRESS via conex™ handles the simplified H7 declaration for consignments under €150 (DELTA H7DELTA H7 is a simplified customs declaration used for low-value shipments, primarily in the context of e-commerce. ... in France, IDMS in Belgium) and the full H1 declaration above.
• A global view, not parcel by parcel: EXPRESS via conex™ processes a complete truck or plane, with a summary view of the whole load, instead of declaring each parcel individually.
• Fast declaration processing: declarations for the whole load are prepared together and sent directly to customs, to speed up clearance and delivery.
• Errors that are easy to fix: anomalies are spotted and corrected simply, so they don’t hold up the load.
• Complete data before shipping: EXPRESS via conex™ supports the new data required from 1 November 2026, including the PID, to limit rejections and blocked parcels.
• Built for high volumes: direct connection with customs systems, certified by French customs.
• One data set, both sides of the border: CUSTOMS via conex™ mirrors declaration data between the UK and France, Belgium or Ireland, so your export data feeds the import declaration without re-keying.

Selling to EU consumers from the UK? Talk to our customs experts about securing your flows into France and Belgium with EXPRESS via conex™.

Sources :

• French Customs (DGDDI) – Operators’ webinar on the EU handling fee and the product identifier obligation, 25 September 2026
• French Customs – FAQ on the €3 flat customs duty (PDF)
• European Commission – Small parcels levy (French representation)
• AFP via Yahoo Finance – New levy on non-EU parcels kicks in November 1
• Post & Parcel – Parcelhero: UK retailers and exporting to the EU