In the continued fight against the massive influx of ecommerce imports entering the region, the EU is reportedly proposing yet another parcel tax. In addition to the flat import fee and handling fee that the EU has already announced, a leaked draft has shown that it’s planning to implement another in the future.
This is expected to be a market surveillance fee that applies to all products entering the European market from outside the EU. The fee will help pay not just for market surveillance, but also product inspections, which is an area that the EU has struggled with amidst the dramatic growth of imports entering its borders.
EU Plans for a New Surveillance Fee For Imports
After already implementing a few fees aimed at slowing the growth of ecommerce imports into the region, the EU is planning to introduce another parcel tax, according to a leaked draft of the planned European Product Act.
The draft mentions a Union market surveillance fee, which would apply to products entering the EU. The fee is likely to be imposed on the importer, though there hasn’t been any official word, as not much is known about the fee yet.
However, the fee is expected to be proportional to the cost of market surveillance, and will be lower for bulk imports than it will be for individual packages being shipped directly to consumers. The proposal also states that non-compliance fines could reach as high as 6% of global annual revenue, so the new fee is certainly something that companies won’t want to ignore.
There’s little information about when this new fee may come into effect, or if it will at all. However, the formal presentation of the European Product Act was supposed to be October 6th, 2026, but has been postponed until later in the year.
The Purpose of This Proposed Fee
This fee is intended to help the EU with market surveillance, which is all about making sure that items entering the region meet its health and safety standards. It’ll also help finance the costs of more product inspections, which is an area that some parts of the EU have struggled with recently.
In fact, of the 1.3 billion ecommerce declarations that customs registered at the Liège Airport in 2025, only 0.006% of these declarations were checked, which is a little over 200 per day. This means that millions of packages entered the EU through one of its major hubs without ever being closely inspected.
As a result, it makes sense that a portion of this fee will likely go towards more frequent and thorough inspections to keep unlawful and harmful items out of the EU.
The recent influx of low-cost imports into the EU over the last few years made it hard for local sellers and companies to compete, as well. They simply can’t match the prices of these importers due to compliance disparities, higher operating costs, state subsidies, and other factors.
This surveillance fee may finally help to make it easier for EU sellers to compete price-wise with importers. Not only will importers have another fee to pay, but the inspection rate should go up, forcing many of these importers to spend more time and money to make sure they’re following EU standards, or risk heavy fines and penalties.
Our Take
This New Potential Fee Adds Even More Friction For Cross-Border Sellers
While the move makes sense, especially as many products entering the EU don’t comply with regulations, it also adds even more friction and costs for cross-border sellers. In just the last few months, the EU has decided to scrap the customs duty exemption for parcels under €150, impose a flat import fee of €3 per item, as well as a €2 handling fee per order.
All of these fees should help the EU limit imports due to the higher costs, and may help make it easier for local sellers and brands to compete. However, it may also hurt legitimate and law-abiding ecommerce importers and make it much more expensive to sell their items to customers in the EU.
If the EU keeps adding more fees and making it harder for cross-border sellers, it should reduce the number of unlawful low-cost imports entering the region, but may also drive away compliant sellers at the same time.
