Three things changed for European ecommerce supply chains this year, and one lands in the first week of November. None are dramatic enough to make headlines. All change what an order costs to deliver \u2014 and brands that have not looked at them will find out during the busiest trading weeks of the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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On 1 July 2026 the EU removed the \u20ac150 customs duty exemption for low-value imports. Goods at \u20ac150 or less previously entered free of customs duty, with import VAT applying from the first euro. Qualifying B2C shipmen<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Two details in that change matter more than the headline figure:<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Low-value B2B imports remain on standard duty rates. The temporary flat duty is scheduled to run until 1 July 2028, when normal customs tariffs are planned to replace it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Fuel surcharges moved sharply through the second half of the year. DHL eCommerce Netherlands published a fuel surcharge of 23.50% in August 2026, 28.00% in September and 30.25% in October \u2014 a rise of 6.75 percentage points in three months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That percentage sits on top of the transport rate, so it reaches every parcel regardless of what you negotiated. The index is linked to the Dutch consumer diesel price published by CBS and applied the month after publication \u2014 so the pump gives roughly a month of warning before the invoice does.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Worth remembering in both directions: the lag applies to falls as well as rises. Brands tend to notice the increases and miss the decreases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Product identifier requirements become mandatory for B2C shipments from outside the EU. From that date, customs data must include a merchant identifier and a non-standardised manufacturer identifier \u2014 an SKU, for example \u2014 for each product type in the shipment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A separate EU customs handling fee has also been described as possible from the same date. Treat that as expected rather than confirmed until it appears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The practical consequence is a catalogue problem rather than a logistics one. Generic descriptions such as “parts” or “accessories” will not satisfy the requirement, and incomplete customs data is the most common cause of a held parcel. Anyone importing into the EU should check their product data this week, not in December.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n The two changes above arrive immediately before the heaviest trading period of the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n The sequencing is the problem. New customs data requirements take effect on 1 November, ten days before volume starts building. There is no quiet period in which to fix a catalogue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Brands dispatching from the United Kingdom, Norway, Switzerland, the United States or Asia now carry all three changes at once: the duty per declaration line, the product identifier requirement from November, and the fuel surcharge on top of the transport rate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Brands dispatching from stock already inside the EU carry only the third. The customs changes do not apply to a domestic movement between member states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n That gap is the main structural story in European ecommerce logistics this year \u2014 not a single dramatic event, but a customs reform, a data requirement and a cost index all moving the same way within six months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Efulfilment Europe dispatches from Almere in the Netherlands with access to 75+ carrier options. Stock held there sits inside the EU customs union, so orders to EU member states move as domestic shipments rather than imports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
What happened to parcel costs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
What lands on 1 November<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
What peak season looks like from here<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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What this means if you ship into the EU from outside it<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
What to do this month<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n <\/div>\r\n
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