Individuals in Romania performing e-commerce shopping and purchasing online goods with a value below 150 euros from a non-European Union (EU) country must pay a tax of 25 lei/parcel (5 euros equivalent) starting from January 1, 2026. Previously, parcels with a value below this amount were exempt from taxes. The idea of applying a handling fee on parcels of this type is being discussed at European level, but no consensus has been reached in this regard. However, Romania and Italy decided to apply it starting this year, with the note that in Italy the amount is only 2 euros/parcel. Moreover, from mid-2026, a customs duty of 3 euros for each item imported online form outside the EU will be added to this tax, provision on which EU member states reached consensus. Under these conditions, the costs of online shopping from non-EU countries will become prohibitive, in Romania at least.
E-commerce has become an integral part of how European consumers buy goods (70% of them regularly buy products online, according to EU studies), and the number of low-value shipments (below 150 euros) from outside the EU to European customers increased exponentially over the recent years. In 2022, 1.2 billion low value parcels were imported into the EU, and in the following years their number doubled year-on-year (2.4 billion in 2023 and 4.6 billion in 2024 respectively). This means that in 2024 around 12.5 million parcels worth less than 150 euros were imported into the EU daily.
Two actions proposed by the EU
As a result, the costs and efforts of customs authorities to process such imports (still involving certain formalities) have increased significantly. On the other hand, European e-commerce players have started to claim that their competitiveness is being affected and have called on European institutions to take measures to protect their rights in relation to external competitors.
In this context, EU member states have started to discuss two directions of action: the introduction of a handling fee to compensate for the increasing costs that customs authorities incur for supervising and conducting the significant flow of parcels, and the application of a customs duty of 3 euros per item on e-commerce parcels valued below 150 euros, aimed at eliminating or reducing the competitive advantage enjoyed by the marketplaces delivering from outside EU to the internal market.
So far, member states have only reached a consensus on introducing the customs duty of 3 euros per item starting from July 2026, but not on the handling fee. However, Romania and Italy have acted quickly and introduced handling fees starting from January 1, 2026, amounting 5 euros/parcel and 2 euros/parcel respectively.
How does the handling fee work in Romania?
Therefore, a handling fee of 25 lei (5 euros equivalent) will be charged for each parcel with a declared value below 150 euros originating outside the EU and entering the Romanian territory. The fee applies to goods purchased online by individuals (B2C), regardless of the country of release for free circulation (thus eliminating cases when goods would be imported duty-free through another member state, for example Bulgaria, and then transferred to Romania). Parcels that are not delivered to final recipients in Romania are not subject to the tax.
The obligation to pay the handling fee lies with the supplier of the goods, the person shipping the parcel or the entity that, through a digital platform, facilitates the distance sale of the goods.
In the case of returned parcels by the recipients in Romania, according to GEO 34/2014 (which regulates consumer rights), the handling fee is not refunded.
The obligation to collect, declare and transfer the handling fee to the National Agency for Fiscal Administration (by the 25th of the month following the one in which the delivery was made) is incumbent on postal service providers (couriers), according to GEO 13/2013 on postal services, which deliver the parcel to the final recipient. Records of delivered and charged parcels must be kept for five years.
Fines and sanctions
Failure to comply with the obligation to declare within the legal term the number of parcels delivered originating from outside EU is sanctionable with a fine amounting between 2,000 and 3,500 lei (400-700 euros).
At the same time, for the failure to comply with the obligations regarding the keeping of the detailed record of the charged shipments for a period of five years, the fine varies from 6,000 to 10,000 lei (1,200-2,000 euros).
For non-compliance with the obligation to declare the collected handling fees, the fine consists of the amount of the undeclared taxes, but not less than 1,000 lei (200 euros).
At the same time, the collection of the handling fee and non-payment to the state budget within 30 days from the declaration is punishable by imprisonment from one to five years or fine.
Under these circumstances, marketplaces’ quick reaction is needed to assess the impact of the handling fee and to comply, respectively to take measures to implement, manage, and find solutions to deal with the handling fees in the future, especially after the 3 euros/item customs duty will also apply starting from the middle of this year. The simultaneous application of the two taxes will significantly increase the cost for non-EU traders selling online in the European Union, and the budget of European consumers will be affected accordingly. In Romania, the pressure will be even higher, given the high level of the handling fee (5 euros/parcel), to which the customs duty of 3 euros/item will be added starting from July 2026.
