Over the past three months, 65 per cent fewer cheap parcels from countries including China have been declared than in the same period last year, according to Belgian customs authorities. This sharp decline is entirely due to the introduction of the European parcel tax of 3 euros per item. Moreover, in just a few months, the tax has generated tens of millions of euros.
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European parcel tax: Millions in revenue and far fewer cheap parcels
Colin Clapson
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The European Union – including Belgium – has for years been grappling with the massive influx of cheap parcels, the vast majority of which come from China. Think of the Sheins, Temus and AliExpresses of this world. Last year, 1.3 billion such parcels arrived via Liège Airport (Belgium).
It is not uncommon for these to contain counterfeit goods or products that do not meet European safety standards, but the customs service simply cannot manage to check them all.
More revenue
To bring this under better control, the EU introduced a temporary parcel tax of 3 euros per item from 1 July this year. This applies to parcels worth less than 150 euros that do not originate from the EU. On top of that, from 1 November – this coming Sunday – a fixed European handling fee of 2 euros per item will also apply.
The parcel tax is already proving to be a great success, as customs figures show. In total, it has raised 364 million euros in European taxes since July – or around 28 million euros per week. Belgium is entitled to keep a quarter of that sum.
Kristian Vanderwaeren from the Belgian customs service does, however, warn of an increase in attempts at fraud. “For example, people are now trying to declare the value of parcels as over 150 euros in order to pay less tax. Sometimes they also declare fewer items than are actually in the parcel, just to pay the parcel tax only once. But my team is working on ways to detect this.”
The business organisation Unizo is pleased with the results. “This is a victory for us, but above all for our businesses and the economy, as the measures are clearly delivering results,” says CEO Bart Buysse.
He believes the government should reinvest the millions generated by the tax. “For us, it is essential that this revenue is actually invested in additional customs officers, better technology and stricter checks. Because as long as foreign online shops can sell products that aren’t even allowed on shop shelves here, competition remains unfair.”
And the government must go even further, Buysse adds. “We must also close the loopholes. Anyone who repeatedly sells unsafe products must be dealt with much more strictly. And if a single dangerous product is found during an inspection, the rest of the consignment must not simply be allowed to pass through unchecked.”