The Council of the EU gave final approval on September 3 to a rewrite of the Union Customs Code that treats non-EU e-commerce platforms as the importer of the goods they sell into the bloc, putting customs paperwork and duty payment on the platform rather than on the shopper who placed the order. Platforms that don’t meet those obligations face penalties reaching 6% of the prior year’s import value, stripped customs privileges, and restricted access to online platforms. Member states also have to start applying an EU-wide handling fee on small parcels by November 1, which is separate from the flat 3-euro duty on sub-150-euro imports that has been running since July 1. Parliament is expected to sign off later in September.
