EU's New €3 Customs Duty on Record Parcels From Abroad

Since 1 July 2026, anyone in the EU ordering records from outside the bloc has paid a new temporary customs duty of €3 per item type on parcels worth up to €150, according to the European Commission. The change ends a duty-free threshold that applied to low-value consignments until 30 June 2026, so a parcel of records from a shop in the UK, the US or Japan that used to clear EU customs free now attracts a small but real charge.

The duty is temporary and runs until 1 July 2028, when the EU's new Customs Data Hub is due to take over. It is separate from VAT, which EU buyers have paid on low-value imports since 2021, and separate again from the ordinary customs duties that apply above the €150 threshold.

What changed on 1 July 2026

EU member states reached political agreement in the Council on 13 November 2025 to remove the €150 duty exemption for low-value parcels, and the temporary €3 charge took effect on 1 July 2026, per the Commission's own timeline. On 16 September 2026 the European Parliament and the Council adopted the wider EU customs reform that this duty sits within, confirming the direction of travel toward the fuller Customs Data Hub system in 2028.

How the €3 charge is calculated

The duty is charged per declaration line, with goods that share a tariff classification grouped onto a single line, according to the Commission's own Q&A guidance published on 30 June 2026. Bandcamp's explainer for sellers puts this in concrete terms: five T-shirts in one parcel count as one item type, so the duty is €3, while a parcel with one T-shirt and one CD counts as two item types, for €6. A parcel with one cassette tape and four LPs also comes to €6, because the tape and the vinyl records are classified differently even though the four LPs together count as a single line.

That last example matters for record shoppers specifically: ordering several LPs together in one parcel from the same overseas shop should still cost €3 in duty for the whole order, not €3 per record, as long as they are all declared as vinyl records. Mixing formats, such as adding a CD, a cassette or a T-shirt to the same order, adds another €3 for each additional classification.

Who actually collects the money

Bandcamp does not collect the duty itself. According to its own guidance, the €3 charge "is settled at the border between the carrier and the destination country." Sellers have the option to prepay duties through their carrier using delivered-duty-paid (DDP or PDDP) shipping, which avoids a surprise charge for the buyer, but this requires the seller to pass Bandcamp's VAT/IOSS identification number to the carrier electronically. If nobody prepays, the parcel can be held at customs until the €3 is settled, and the buyer may be asked to pay it, sometimes alongside a separate handling fee charged by the courier itself.

A wider EU customs shake-up

The €3 duty is only the most visible part of a broader overhaul. A separate EU handling fee on small parcels is due to be introduced by 1 November 2026, with its exact amount to be set later by delegated act, and the Commission has flagged 2028 as the point when the temporary regime gives way to the permanent Customs Data Hub. Sellers who ship into the EU regularly, from record labels to distributors, are the ones most exposed to these changes; occasional buyers will mostly notice the flat €3 (or €6, for mixed orders) added at checkout or on delivery.

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The same year has also brought new EU packaging obligations for record sellers shipping across borders, and a different set of tariff questions for buyers in the United States. Together they make cross-border record shopping a little more paperwork-heavy than it was at the start of 2026, even if none of the individual charges is large.

Buying from abroad under the new rules

None of this makes ordering from an overseas shop or Discogs seller impractical. It simply pays to know, before you check out, whether the seller prepays the duty (DDP) or leaves it to be collected on delivery, so you are not surprised by a courier handling fee on top of the €3. If you regularly order from the same overseas shop, batching several records into one parcel rather than several small orders keeps the per-line duty to a minimum, since multiple LPs on one declaration line are charged only once.

Frequently asked questions

01Do I have to pay customs duty on records ordered from outside the EU?

Since 1 July 2026 the EU charges a temporary €3 duty per item type on parcels worth up to €150 imported from outside the EU, replacing the previous duty-free threshold. Several records of the same type in one parcel are still charged as a single €3 line.

02Does Bandcamp collect the new EU customs duty?

No. Bandcamp says the €3 charge is settled at the border between the carrier and the destination country. Sellers can prepay it through delivered-duty-paid shipping, otherwise the buyer may be asked to pay it, sometimes alongside a courier handling fee.

03How long will the EU's €3 parcel duty last?

The European Commission describes it as a temporary measure running until 1 July 2028, when it is due to be replaced by the EU's permanent Customs Data Hub system. A separate small-parcel handling fee is also due by 1 November 2026.

Sources

• EU Customs Reform — European Commission (Taxation and Customs Union), accessed 24 September 2026
• Questions & answers – EUR 3 customs duty guidance — European Commission (Taxation and Customs Union), 30 June 2026
• E-commerce: EUR 150 customs duty exemption threshold to be removed in 2026 — European Commission (Taxation and Customs Union), 13 November 2025
• EU Customs Duty on Small Parcels: What You Need to Know — Bandcamp, 30 June 2026