For online shoppers, shopping outside the European Union could become more expensive in the future. The EU Commission is planning that numerous goods under 150 euros will be subject to customs duties, as announced by EU Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni on Wednesday in Brussels. It was initially unclear how large the price increase could be. So far, no duty has to be paid if the value of the goods is less than 150 euros – according to the Commission, there are only a few exceptions, for example for tobacco or perfume.
With the reform, online shopping portals in particular are to be made responsible for paying customs duties and VAT when making a purchase. As a result, consumers would no longer be confronted with hidden fees or unexpected paperwork when the package arrives, it said in a statement. At present, goods are generally detained by customs authorities upon arrival in the EU and are only delivered once the recipients have paid customs or other necessary charges, the Commission writes on its website.
However, Gentiloni explained that the aim is not to increase the price of goods for customers with a low value of less than 150 euros. The tariffs would be very low for these packages. “They make up the overwhelming majority of what goes through our customs today.” Shopping platforms are quite capable of including this customs duty in their service, he explained. With the elimination of the customs exemption for goods under 150 euros, the EU could have around one billion euros more available a year, he said. (dpa)