A “Euro-tax” of €2 is set to be introduced on all online shopping parcels imported from China. The European Commission plans to impose a charge of €2 or €3 per parcel, regardless of value, on the more than 4.5 billion packages imported annually into the European Union.
This measure targets “cheap” products purchased en masse remotely from China, Turkey, or other countries via mobile and computer applications (such as Temu, Shein, Trendyol, etc.).
According to the European Commission, a total of 4.6 billion parcels were imported into Europe in 2024, with an upward trend recorded in early 2025. Currently, the Commission’s proposal is to implement a “processing fee” of €2 on each of these parcels, irrespective of the value of their contents. However, the final charge per parcel may be set at €3 or higher, depending on decisions to be made.
The trade war between the USA and China with the EU is thus bringing changes to the consumer habits of millions of internet users in Greece and Europe.
However, the battle using taxation as a weapon is two-pronged. Online entertainment and information services provided in Greece by digital giants such as Meta (Facebook, Instagram, etc.), Google, Netflix, and Spotify are also under scrutiny. A “digital services tax” of approximately 3%-5% is being considered on the revenues these digital platforms earn from subscriptions and advertising for services they offer in our country, such as streaming, browsing, social networking, etc., via mobile devices or computers.
The timeline foresees that decisions will unfold from the summer and into the second half of 2025, with Greece playing a leading role in related processes at the European level. For Greek consumers, this will herald a new era in online shopping, where the value of products will be judged not only by price but also by quality and compliance with European standards.
Parcels with a “surcharge”
Initially, decisions will concern purchases made through discount shopping applications via mobile phones. The plan is to immediately impose a one-off “import and processing fee” during the importation of goods from third countries, even for values below €150, which are currently exempt from customs duties.
Based on the Commission’s initial proposal for a €2 charge on each parcel of purchases imported into Europe, total revenue for the EU could amount to €9-10 billion a year. However, if it is decided to impose a higher charge (for example at €3), “horizontally” or possibly in a staggered manner, total revenues could reach €10-15 billion per year.
The plan stipulates that the fee will be charged to the platforms, not the consumer. These platforms will remit the fee without the final buyer being involved with customs.
However, in this case, the possibilities are:
- Either the digital platforms fully pass the cost on to consumers, making their sales in the EU less attractive,
- Or they, as sellers, absorb at least part of the additional cost, reducing their profits to maintain their sales.
What does this mean for the final buyer?
For example, when the new regime is implemented, a consumer ordering, say, from the Temu app products of low value, with a total cost of €20 (the minimum order accepted by the platform), will then pay an additional fee of €2 for each parcel received, raising the total cost to €22.
If this cost is fully passed on to the buyer, they will pay 10% more than the original selling price in Greece.
If the parcel needs to be split into separate shipments (e.g., due to the unavailability of an item ordered or delivery delays from a supplier), the charge could be multiple and reach €4, €6, or even €10.
The cost of such a development could affect competition terms and consumer choices in the Greek market, as well as the pricing and shipping policies that sales platforms will henceforth apply.
For our country, according to market estimates, on the Temu platform alone, there are 30,000-50,000 low-value orders daily.
“Filter” with ISO and CE specifications
To implement the new system and collect the fees, the creation of a new electronic platform at EU customs is also planned. This will serve as an additional “filter,” beyond taxation, to bring order to remote sales from China and third countries.
Specifically, the creation of a pan-European platform is envisaged, where businesses wishing to sell their products online in the EU will register to declare which products they import for taxation purposes.
This electronic system will function as a “one-stop shop” for importers but also as a filter for products that will be prohibited from entering and being sold in Europe.
This platform will:
- Identify each importer-seller registered in the Registry,
- Calculate, impose, and collect the tax from the business before sending the products to the consumer within the EU,
- Examine whether the items intended for sale in the EU comply with European standards (environmental regulations and safety specifications).
Thus, unsuitable products will be removed from the shopping lists and baskets on the mobile phones of Greek and European buyers using digital applications like Shein, Trendyol, etc. New procedures and rules are being introduced in e-commerce for imported products, overturning the strategy of their penetration and sale in the European market. With the new system, items of dubious quality and origin that flood the domestic and European market at outrageously low prices (clothes, shoes, jewellery, tools, batteries, household items, etc.) will be entirely excluded even before their importation. Alternatively, they may be imported into the EU under conditions, provided they are burdened with additional “green” taxes (as compensation for the pollutants or unsuitable materials with which they were produced), ultimately making their purchase unattractive (or even prohibitive) compared to similar items produced in Greece or the rest of Europe, with modern ISO, CE, etc., specifications.
End of exemption
Additionally, there is the possibility that the imposition of duties “from the first euro” will be brought up for discussion.
The Commission is considering abolishing the exemption from charges that currently applies at customs for low-value parcels under €150. Thus, charges could be imposed on lower-value products or even “from the first euro,” which are currently exempt upon importation.
This initiative is also supported by Athens. Mr. Kyriakos Pierrakakis has already informed European officials and his counterparts about his positions and plans and is continuously in consultations at the European level.
Not coincidentally, just last Friday, he had a teleconference with Slovak Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maroš Šefčovič, who is preparing the reform for a single European Customs Authority in the EU, while yesterday, Monday, he welcomed in Athens Dutch Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra, who holds the portfolio of “green” taxation, which is also entering the battle against ultra-cheap—but of dubious quality and standards—products imported mainly from Asia.
Digital tax on social and subscription services
The Digital Services Tax is also now firmly on the table, with Brussels intensifying pressure for the imposition of a unified European framework for taxing tech giants. The European Commission and the European Parliament are accelerating in the coming months to reach decisions on a tax on subscription and advertising revenues. The target is clear: Meta, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, and other companies with huge advertising and commercial revenues from European users but minimal or no tax presence and contribution in Greece and Europe.
In this case, the profits of these giants arise not from “aggressive” imports/exports of Chinese products but from the preferences and personal data of internet users, which the platforms harvest and trade, imposing “targeted advertising” (as a condition for the free use of their services) on Greek and European consumers.
Again, however, the tax will be paid by the digital service provider company. It will then decide whether to pass it on entirely to its customers or not.
The path for what will happen is shown by several countries within or outside the EU:
- From 1.1.2025, France imposes a digital services tax of 3% on total revenues from companies with a global turnover exceeding €750 million and at least €25 million within France. This yields public revenues of at least €750,000 per liable company.
- The same line is followed by Italy, Spain, and Portugal, with a digital services tax of 3%.
- Austria, on the other hand, imposes 5%, while, conversely, the United Kingdom 2%.
- Hungary and Turkey impose much higher tax rates, around 7.5%.
Also read: EU investigates Shein for unsafe e-commerce imports
Source: Economy Today/newmoney.gr/Reuters/BBC/Politico/France24
