The EU has recently rolled out two new policies in succession. For cross-border sellers operating in Europe, these are not minor adjustments. One targets low-value direct-mail parcels, directly adding a hard cost per order; the other targets smart digital products. Once a violation occurs, fines can reach up to €15 million. Combined, they have sharply raised the compliance threshold in the European market.

First, the customs reform: the parcel handling fee will be levied no later than November 1, 2026, specifically targeting e-commerce parcels sent directly from non-EU countries to EU consumers. The fee is intended to cover customs inspection costs. The industry generally estimates it at €2 per parcel. Although the official final amount has not been confirmed, the cost increase is already a certainty.

In fact, as early as July 1 this year, a supporting policy had already taken effect: for parcels under €150, the long-standing duty-free policy was abolished, and a flat provisional tariff of €3 per parcel was imposed. Combined with the future parcel handling fee, a single low-value parcel will see taxes and inspection fees increase by about €5.

More importantly, the new rules directly define cross-border e-commerce platforms as de facto importers. Platforms must bear full joint liability for tariff and product safety compliance. Repeated violations can lead to fines of up to 6% of the import value of the previous 12 months. This means platforms will pass compliance pressure on to sellers, and stores with incomplete qualifications or non-compliant declarations will be purged first.

Sellers relying on low-value parcel listings will be hit hardest. In the past, many relied on duty-free benefits for low-value parcels and pursued a low-margin, high-volume model. Now fixed taxes plus parcel handling fees will squeeze profit margins sharply. Many low-priced products will lose money on every order if pricing is not recalculated. Sellers using direct-mail parcels must recalculate logistics and tariff costs in advance, adjust pricing and inventory plans, and cannot continue with old thinking.

Meanwhile, under the EU Cyber Resilience Act (CRA), the core reporting obligation officially took effect on September 11. This rule specifically targets products with digital functions.

As long as your product has connected or smart functions, such as smart watches, cameras, baby monitors, IoT small appliances, etc., once a security vulnerability exploited by hackers or a major security incident is discovered, the manufacturer must submit an early warning to the ENISA platform within 24 hours and a complete detailed report within 72 hours.

Penalties are extremely severe: violating companies can be fined up to €15 million, or 2.5% of global annual turnover, whichever is higher. In serious cases, products may be forcibly removed from the market or recalled. Many cross-border sellers of smart hardware and IoT products previously focused only on traditional compliance such as CE and EPR, and easily overlooked cybersecurity. Once a product vulnerability is exposed and not reported on time, the huge fine can wipe out years of profit.

These two new rules cover two different types of merchants, but they send the same signal: the era of extensive stocking in the EU market is completely over.

For low-value parcel sellers, do not gamble on under-declaration or gray channels anymore. With taxes and inspection fees layered together, costs are transparent, and compliant declaration is the only way out. Recalculate product pricing as soon as possible, reassess whether to continue direct-mail parcels, and consider an overseas warehouse stocking model.

For sellers of smart digital and IoT products, immediately review product cybersecurity plans, establish a vulnerability reporting mechanism, and improve technical documentation. Do not wait until problems occur before taking action.

Source: Cross-Border E-commerce Cross-Border House