New EU parcel fee to raise costs for non-EU online shopping

Shopping from non-EU online stores will soon cost more in Denmark. The EU will add a new fee on small parcels. The fee starts on Sunday, November 1. It costs 2 euros per line item. That is about 15 Danish kroner.

The Danish Customs Agency announced the new rule on Friday. This fee applies to parcels coming from outside the EU. The total value of the parcel does not matter. The new fee builds on an existing customs duty.

That duty was introduced this summer. It costs 3 euros per line item for parcels under 150 euros. One line item means goods with the same commodity code. Three cotton T-shirts count as one line item. They incur a handling fee of 2 euros. A cotton T-shirt and denim jeans count as two line items. That combination brings the fee to 4 euros.

Many small parcels come from Chinese online shops. In 2025, Danish customs registered 68 million line items. These items were in parcels worth less than 150 euros. Over 90% of those parcels contained Chinese goods. Platforms like Shein and Temu are very popular in Denmark.

The EU wants to improve product safety for consumers. Many cheap goods raised concerns about illegal chemicals and poor quality. Christian Lützen is the director of the Danish Customs Agency. He said low-value parcels fell after the summer customs duty took effect. The agency wants to inspect parcel contents more closely now. CPH Post reported the update.