EU Customs Reform: the Proposed Union Customs Code Overhaul and a New E‑commerce Handling Fee

Snapshot: what is changing and why you should prepare

The EU customs reform is the most ambitious overhaul of the Union’s customs framework in a generation. In May 2023 the European Commission tabled a package of proposals to reform the Union Customs Code, and these proposals have been progressing through the ordinary legislative procedure involving the European Parliament and the Council. The reform is designed to modernise how goods entering the European Union are declared, taxed and supervised, and to manage the very large volume of low‑value e‑commerce consignments arriving from outside the EU. For e‑commerce operators, one of the most discussed elements is a proposed fixed handling fee on distance sales.

Because customs is a directly applicable EU competence, Dutch importers and sellers should follow the legislative process closely and begin reviewing pricing, contracts, checkout flows and data readiness in good time. This guide sets out the proposed mechanics, the expected phasing and a practical compliance roadmap, and flags clearly where matters remain subject to final adoption.

What the EU customs reform proposes and what it would replace

The reform package would substantially revise or replace Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, the Union Customs Code (UCC), which has governed EU customs procedures since it became applicable in 2016. The package is not a mere amendment; it is a structural overhaul intended to centralise supervision, digitise trade data and introduce new tools to manage the growth in low‑value e‑commerce.

Two institutional innovations stand out in the proposals. First, the reform would establish a new EU Customs Authority tasked with coordinating risk management, operating central data infrastructure and supporting national customs administrations. Second, the reform would create the EU Customs Data Hub, a single digital environment through which traders would submit and share the data that customs authorities need, progressively replacing the fragmented national systems that currently characterise EU customs reporting.

The reform is designed to apply in phases over a long horizon. Under the Commission’s proposals, the EU Customs Data Hub would become available for e‑commerce consignments first, with wider use phased in over subsequent years and full deployment envisaged around the early 2030s. This staggered timeline is intended to give businesses lead time for the heavier technical obligations. Because the precise dates and final text depend on the outcome of negotiations between the Parliament and the Council, businesses should treat published dates as indicative until the final legal instruments are adopted and published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Key proposed changes versus the current UCC

Compared with the current UCC, the reform would shift the centre of gravity from national administrations towards a coordinated EU‑level architecture. It would introduce a legal basis for a Union e‑commerce handling fee, mandate a single Data Hub in place of parallel national IT systems, and give the European Commission delegated powers to set the fee amount and mechanism. It would also revisit the treatment of low‑value consignments, including proposals to remove the current relief from customs duty for consignments not exceeding EUR 150. The practical effect, once in force, would be that traders increasingly interact with a harmonised EU data environment rather than divergent Member State portals.

Handling fee: proposed legal basis, timing and current status

The e‑commerce handling fee is the change many e‑commerce businesses are watching most closely. Under the reform proposals, the Commission would be empowered to set a fixed handling fee per item for distance sales of goods imported into the customs territory of the Union. The fee is designed as a fixed amount per item rather than a percentage of value. Whether and how any part of the fee might be refundable would depend on the final text and any implementing or delegated measures.

The proposals contemplate that, rather than fixing the fee amount in the base regulation itself, the legislature would delegate that decision to the Commission, which would set the amount and mechanism by delegated act. The exact procedural timing between adoption of a delegated act and its application would be governed by the final text. Businesses should watch the delegated‑act process closely, because the fee could become payable on a relatively compressed timeline once the Commission acts.

Until the reform is finally adopted and any delegated act is formally published, the precise amount, scope and application date of the handling fee at EU level remain provisional. Businesses should monitor the EUR‑Lex Official Journal and the Commission’s DG TAXUD pages for the confirmed legislative text and any subsequent delegated acts.

Delegated act mechanism

Understanding the difference between adoption of the base regulation and the setting of operational detail is essential. Under the proposed architecture, a delegated act would be the legal instrument in which the Commission fixes the handling fee amount and the collection mechanism. The market may therefore receive relatively short notice once such an act is published. Firms that wait for full confirmation before starting any preparation risk being caught short or absorbing the fee themselves in the early period. The prudent approach is to design the operational capability now, so it can be switched on once the relevant acts are published.

National context: the Netherlands

Dutch Customs (Belastingdienst / Douane) is the national authority that would implement collection modalities in the Netherlands within the EU framework. Businesses should follow the Douane’s official notices and guidance for the definitive national position on any handling fee, its amount and its collection approach, recognising that the definitive EU‑level amount would flow from the Commission’s measures. Where a Member State communicates operational detail, that national notice should be read alongside, not instead of, the EU instrument.

Scope and who would be liable

The proposed handling fee applies to distance sales of goods imported into the EU customs territory. In broad terms, distance sales cover goods sold to a buyer in the EU under a contract concluded at a distance, typically online, where the goods are dispatched from outside the Union. This captures the bulk of cross‑border business‑to‑consumer e‑commerce that has grown so rapidly in recent years, and it is precisely that volume the reform is designed to manage.

Under the proposals, liability for the fee would attach to the party responsible for the import. Depending on the fulfilment model, that can be the importer of record, the seller, or, increasingly under EU e‑commerce rules, the online platform that facilitates the sale. Because a single consignment can involve a non‑EU seller, an EU or non‑EU platform, a carrier and an importer of record, the commercial reality is that liability and cash‑flow exposure must be allocated by contract. The regulation would set the legal obligation; contractual arrangements would determine who ultimately bears and collects the charge.

Platforms versus sellers versus carriers

In a typical platform model, the platform facilitates the sale, the seller ships the goods and a carrier handles import formalities. The reform proposals build on the broader EU trend of treating online platforms as “deemed importers” with enhanced responsibilities, mirroring their expanding role in import VAT collection under the Import One‑Stop Shop (IOSS) rules. That means a platform may be the party legally exposed to import obligations even where it never physically handles the goods. Sellers listing on a platform should confirm how the platform will collect and remit any fee, and whether it will be shown to the consumer or netted against seller payouts.

Carriers, meanwhile, often collect charges at the point of import and pass them through; they need clear instructions on whether a fee has already been collected upstream to avoid double‑charging the consumer.

How the fee would likely be collected and priced

Because the proposed fee is a fixed amount per item, it would need to be built into pricing logic in a predictable, per‑item way rather than as a percentage add‑on. There are three broad collection models, and many businesses will use a combination:

• Platform collects at checkout. The platform adds the fee to the order total at the point of sale, showing it as a distinct line item, then remits it through the import process.
• Carrier collects on import. The logistics provider charges the fee when clearing the goods, often alongside VAT and any duties, and recovers it from the consignee or the contracted seller.
• Seller absorbs or includes in price. The seller builds the fee into the headline product price, presenting a single all‑in figure to the buyer and reconciling the fee internally.

Transparency matters for both consumer‑protection and reconciliation reasons. Businesses should be careful how they present any customs handling fee on returns, and should consider whether the charge would be reimbursed on a return. Checkout language should make clear that the charge is a mandatory customs handling fee and is separate from the product price, taxes and delivery. A short, non‑legalised checkout note might read: “An EU customs handling fee may apply to imported goods and, where applicable, is included in your order total. This fee is set by EU customs rules.” Final wording should reflect the adopted text once it is published.

Contract clause examples

Contracts between sellers, platforms and carriers should allocate who collects any fee, who bears it if uncollected, and how it is reconciled. A simple, non‑legalised allocation clause might provide: “The Platform shall collect any applicable EU customs handling fee from the customer at checkout and remit it to the party responsible for import formalities. The Seller shall indemnify the Platform for any handling fee that cannot be collected from the customer due to the Seller’s fulfilment error.” These sample wordings are illustrative only and must be tailored to the specific supply chain, incoterms and payment flows, and reviewed by qualified counsel before use.

EU Customs Data Hub: data requirements and timelines

The EU Customs Data Hub is the digital backbone of the reform. It is conceived as a central environment through which traders provide customs data once and share it with the relevant authorities, replacing the patchwork of national declaration systems. Under the Commission’s proposals, the Data Hub would become available for e‑commerce consignments first and phase in for other trade over subsequent years, with full deployment envisaged around the early 2030s. Exact dates depend on the final adopted text, so commercial and IT teams should treat proposed dates as planning assumptions and revisit them once the legislation is published.

The Data Hub is expected to require richer, more standardised datasets than many traders currently maintain, accurate goods descriptions and classification, valuation, consignor and consignee details, seller and platform identifiers, and transaction‑level information linking each item to its sale. For e‑commerce, the ability to associate each imported item with the underlying online transaction is central to both the Data Hub and any handling‑fee mechanism.

Practical steps for IT and data teams

IT and data teams should start by mapping current data sources against the anticipated Data Hub fields, identifying gaps in product classification, valuation accuracy and party identifiers. Next, they should assess how order‑management, ERP and platform systems could feed structured data to the Data Hub, whether directly or via a customs intermediary or carrier. Data quality is the recurring theme: incomplete or inconsistent product data that is tolerable today will cause rejections or delays once submissions are validated centrally. Teams should also plan for reconciliation between the transaction record, any fee charged and the customs declaration, so that finance and compliance can evidence what was collected and reported.

Early pilot testing with carriers and customs software providers will surface integration issues while there is time to fix them.

What Dutch importers and platforms should do now, 8‑point action checklist

1. Monitor the legislative process. Track EUR‑Lex and the Commission’s DG TAXUD pages for the adopted reform text and any delegated acts fixing the handling fee amount and mechanism.
2. Update contracts. Review and amend agreements between sellers, platforms and carriers to allocate who collects, bears and reconciles any handling fee, and address treatment on returns.
3. Model the fee impact. Model a fixed per‑item fee across your product range and order volumes, and decide whether to pass it through, absorb it or itemise it, testing margin effects before any go‑live.
4. Prepare checkout. Design clear, compliant checkout language and a distinct fee line so customers can understand any charge as a mandatory customs handling fee separate from price, VAT and delivery.
5. Map data flows to Data Hub fields. Begin the gap analysis between current data and the fields the EU Customs Data Hub is expected to require.
6. Engage carriers. Confirm with logistics providers whether they will collect any fee on import, how they will avoid double‑charging, and how they will feed data to the Data Hub.
7. Test reconciliations. Build processes that reconcile fees charged at checkout with fees remitted at import and reported in customs declarations, so finance can evidence compliance.
8. Train operations and compliance. Brief customer service, finance and compliance teams on the coming changes and the Data Hub timeline so front‑line staff can respond accurately.

Transitional issues, enforcement and penalties

Enforcement of EU customs rules falls primarily to national customs authorities, in the Netherlands, the Douane, operating within the coordinated framework that the reform would support through the new EU Customs Authority. Non‑compliance with a handling fee or, in due course, Data Hub obligations, would expose businesses to the same categories of risk that already attach to customs breaches: assessment and recovery of unpaid charges, administrative penalties applied under national law, and operational disruption where consignments are held or rejected for incomplete data.

Any handling fee would sit alongside, and not replace, import VAT and any customs duties. Businesses must be careful not to conflate the three: a handling fee would be a fixed per‑item charge, VAT is calculated on value, and duties depend on classification and origin. Clear separation in accounting records is essential both for pricing transparency and for audit. Given the data‑driven nature of the new regime, robust record retention, linking each transaction to the fee charged, the declaration made and the data submitted, is a strong protection against enforcement risk. Where any element depends on the adopted text or a delegated act, treat internal policies as provisional and revisit them once those instruments are published.

Comparison: current UCC (Regulation 952/2013) versus the proposed reform

Conclusion and next steps

The EU customs reform is one of the most significant changes to EU customs in a generation, and its impact will be both broad and phased. A proposed e‑commerce handling fee would be set by Commission measures once the reform is adopted, while the EU Customs Data Hub would impose deeper data obligations phased in over the coming years to around the early 2030s. Dutch importers, platforms, e‑retailers and logistics providers should prepare now: review contracts, model pricing and checkout, engage carriers and begin Data Hub readiness, while treating all dates and figures as provisional until the final instruments are published.

For tailored advice on operationalising the EU customs reform in your commercial arrangements, contact a Commercial law specialist in the Netherlands via the Commercial practice page, Netherlands and the GLE lawyer directory, Netherlands, Commercial.

This article is provided for general guidance only and does not constitute legal advice. The reform remains subject to the EU legislative process; elements depending on adopted texts or Commission delegated acts remain provisional until published in the Official Journal. Seek bespoke legal advice for your circumstances.

Sources

1. EUR-Lex, Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 (Union Customs Code)
2. European Commission (DG TAXUD), EU Customs Reform
3. European Commission, EU Customs Data Hub (DG TAXUD)
4. European Commission, DG TAXUD legislative and delegated acts
5. European Commission, Press Corner
6. Belastingdienst / Douane (Dutch Customs), official notices and guidance