The European Union’s new customs levy on low-value consignments from non-EU countries generated almost CZK 117 million in duties in the Czech Republic during its first two weeks in force. Between 1 and 14 July 2026, Czech customs authorities processed 467,258 customs declarations for e-commerce parcels valued at up to EUR 150. Under the system, 25% of the collected revenue remains in the Czech Republic to cover administrative costs, while the remaining 75% is transferred to the EU budget.

Introduced on 1 July 2026 for an initial two-year period, the measure applies to all consignments worth up to EUR 150 imported from outside the EU. The duty is charged according to the number of product categories contained in a parcel rather than the number of individual items. A fee of EUR 3 is applied per product category, meaning mixed consignments incur higher charges than parcels containing multiple items from a single category.

The EU says the new levy is designed to create fairer competition, strengthen oversight of imported goods, and curb the rapidly rising volume of low-value imports. While the measure applies to all non-EU countries, it is primarily aimed at the surge of parcels shipped by Chinese e-commerce platforms such as Temu, Shein and AliExpress. According to the European Commission, around 4.6 billion low-value parcels entered the EU last year, with approximately 90% originating from China.

Source: PragueDaily

Prepared by the team of foreign office CzechTrade Japan