Customs offices overloaded

EU plans new fee for stores such as Temu and Shein

The fee is intended to compensate the customs authorities of the EU member states for the higher costs of the controls.

(Bild: APA/dpa/Oliver Berg)

In order to better control the enormous flood of partly counterfeit and unsafe goods, the EU Commission apparently wants to introduce a fee on parcels from Chinese online retailers such as Temu and Shein. Retailers are also to check that the products on offer comply with EU safety standards.

This was reported by Handelsblatt on Tuesday, citing a draft from the EU Commission. In it, the Commission proposes to the member states and the European Parliament to "levy a handling fee for e-commerce items" that are imported in individual packages. The fee is intended to compensate the customs authorities of the EU member states for the higher costs "incurred in the proper control of these goods delivered directly to consumers."

Customs overloaded
The sheer volume of these cheap parcels, which are sent directly from sellers in China or other third countries to customers in Europe, is overloading customs offices, as the Commission warns in the still secret paper. Consumer advocates and environmental authorities complain that this makes it almost impossible to carry out checks and guarantee European safety and environmental standards.