The EU €3 import duty and what it means for UK sellers

Plenty of UK brands we speak to have built their EU business on small orders. A scarf, a pair of socks, a gift under €150. For years those parcels crossed into the EU without customs duty, and nobody had to think about it.

That ended on the 1st of July 2026. The EU now charges a flat €3 customs duty per tariff line on qualifying orders up to €150. It applies to orders shipped into the EU from outside the EU. That includes the UK. It's charged in addition to VAT and any national handling fees. If you use Shopify Managed Markets or Shopify's import tax and duty calculation, Shopify handles the fee for you with no settings to change. Your job is to check your classifications, your prices and what customers see.

What changed on the 1st of July?

Shopify's changelog entry confirms support for the new duty in two products.

• In Shopify Managed Markets, the €3 fee is calculated, displayed and collected at checkout. Global-e, as merchant of record, remits the duty to the destination country. Duty amounts shown at checkout are guaranteed, so neither you nor your customer pays more later.
• In Shopify's import tax and duty calculation, the €3 fee is included in the duty shown at checkout. You collect it from the customer alongside other duties.

In both cases the fee sits on top of VAT and any national handling fees, in line with the EU regulation. Shopify's EU tax help page has the wider detail. If you use Managed Markets, our note on Shopify Managed Markets moving from DDU to DDP is worth reading too.

Who does it affect?

Any merchant shipping to EU customers from outside the EU. For our clients, that mostly means UK brands with an EU customer base.

It doesn't affect intra-EU shipments. If an order leaves a location inside the EU for an EU customer, the new duty doesn't apply to it. We see this from both sides, because we work from Belgium with UK brands selling into Europe. Our UK and Europe pages cover how we approach both.

The duty is per tariff line, not per order. An order containing products with different tariff classifications carries a line for each. So a basket of three different product types can cost more in duty than a basket of three identical items.

Why do HS codes matter more now?

Because the duty is counted per tariff line, the way your products are classified affects what the customer pays. An HS code that's wrong, missing or inconsistent can change the number of lines on an order.

Shopify now lets you set country-specific HS codes on each product, including extended codes longer than six digits. If you haven't reviewed your classifications since you set the store up, now is the time.

A quick check we'd run on any UK store selling into the EU.

1. Export your products and look at the HS code column.
2. Flag any product with no code, or with a code copied across a whole range without thought.
3. Check that similar products share a classification where they genuinely should.
4. Ask your customs adviser or courier to confirm anything you're unsure about.

What should UK sellers do now?

The fee is handled at checkout if you use either Shopify product. The work that remains is commercial.

• Check your setup. Confirm whether you use Managed Markets, Shopify's import tax and duty calculation, or neither. If neither, speak to whoever handles your duties and ask how the €3 fee is being dealt with.
• Review your low-value pricing. A €3 duty is a bigger share of a €20 order than a €140 one. Decide whether to absorb it, pass it on or adjust prices for EU customers.
• Watch your margins by market. Shopify's profit by market reports help you see whether EU orders still earn what you expect.
• Update your shipping and FAQ pages. Customers who used to pay no duty on small orders will notice a new line at checkout. A short explanation saves support emails.
• Look at basket building. If free shipping thresholds or bundles push customers to add different product types, check how that affects duty lines.

None of this needs a rebuild. It's a few hours of careful checking and a pricing decision.

How does this fit a wider EU plan?

For some UK brands, the €3 duty is a nudge to think about how they sell into Europe more broadly. Where stock is held, which markets come first and how prices are shown all shape what an EU customer pays. They also shape how checkout feels.

We've set out the wider picture in our guide to selling from the UK into the EU on Shopify. It covers markets, shipping, tax and the customer experience together.

Where parallel helps

We help UK and European brands keep cross-border stores in good shape through our Shopify support packages. That includes HS code clean-ups, pricing and market settings, and the shipping and FAQ content customers read before they buy.

Want a second pair of eyes on your EU setup? Book a call and we'll go through it with you.