On 5 October 2026, the European Commission’s customs directorate (DG TAXUD) published a new version of its guidance on the temporary €3 customs duty. The previous version, dated 2 June 2026, did not mention the Union handling fee (UHF) at all. This one covers it in the legal framework, the declaration process, guarantees, refunds and VAT.
This article focuses on the UHF, because that is where the new text changes what e-commerce sellers, platforms and customs representatives have to plan for.
One caveat first. The guidance is explanatory and not legally binding. The Commission says so on its first page, and the authentic texts are those published in the Official Journal. Everything below that concerns the application date of the UHF is subject to the publication of the delegated act in the Official Journal.
The UHF in a nutshell
The UHF is created by Article 20 of the new Union Customs Code (Regulation (EU) 2026/2108), published on 19 September 2026. The code’s general application starts on 21 September 2027, but the provisions on distance sales and the UHF apply earlier.
- Amount: €2 per item, set by a Commission delegated regulation, C(2026) 6694, adopted on 21 September 2026.
- Scope: every distance sale of imported goods, with no value threshold. A €200 parcel pays it, and so do goods that qualify for a preferential tariff.
- Duration: no end date. The €3 duty stops on 1 July 2028; the UHF does not.
- Nature: a fee for customs services (data checks, risk analysis, controls, infrastructure), not a customs duty.
- Debtor: the declarant (Article 20(5)).
The guidance expects the fee to apply from 1 November 2026, the tenth day after the delegated act enters into force. That date is subject to the publication of the act in the Official Journal. The act enters into force on the day of publication, and the Parliament and Council have up to 30 days from notification to object. Publication by around 22 October would keep 1 November; any later publication moves the start date accordingly.
How the fee is counted: per declaration line
“Per item” does not mean per article or per parcel. The guidance explains that, because of IT constraints, both the €3 duty and the UHF apply per declaration line, whatever the quantity on that line. Grouping lines is not allowed where the €3 duty applies.
The Commission’s own example is a €140 consignment of three women’s knitted suits, shipped under IOSS:
| Declaration | Lines | €3 duty | UHF | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| H7 (6-digit HS) | 1 | €3 | €2 | €5 |
| H1 (10-digit TARIC) | 3 | €9 | €6 | €15 |
The goods are the same. What changes is who files the declaration and how precisely they classify. If your checkout calculation assumes one line and your broker files in H1, your margin moves. For more on the line count, see the previous article on the €3 duty.
What triggers the fee in the declaration
From 1 November 2026, declarants must enter TARIC additional reference code Y126 in data element 12 04 002 000, in H1, H6 and H7 declarations. Declaring this code triggers the UHF automatically. A new tax type code, F00, is created for the fee.
Who pays: the declarant cascade
The guidance repeats the cascade for the declarant, which applies until 30 June 2028:
- the IOSS holder or its indirect representative;
- failing that, the user of the special arrangements or its indirect representative;
- failing that, the importer’s indirect representative;
- as a residual case, the consumer, only in Member States with a free online declaration for individuals and only where IOSS was not used.
A non-EU IOSS holder cannot declare in its own name. It needs an EU indirect representative, who becomes liable alongside it. Since the UHF debtor is the declarant, contracts between sellers, platforms, brokers and representatives should now say who bears the €2 and how it is recharged.
When the fee is due, and when it is not
The UHF arises when the customs declaration is accepted, and release of the goods counts as notification. Under Article 20(6) it is non-refundable. The guidance spells out the consequences:
- Declaration not accepted: no fee.
- Declaration accepted but goods not released: fee due.
- Declaration invalidated after acceptance: fee due.
- Customs debt arising from non-compliance: no UHF, because there was no request. Penalties apply instead (Article 42 UCC).
- False information found at a later control: the fee is notified and due.
The consequence for returns is direct. Neither the €2 nor, since the amendment of Article 148(3) UCC-DA, the invalidation route for the €3 is available after release. The general refund rules of Article 116 UCC still exist for the duty, but not for the UHF.
Guarantees
The UHF is treated like a customs debt for guarantee purposes, so it must be covered before release. The transit guarantee, however, does not cover it. Holders of comprehensive guarantees should check that their reference amount reflects the new charge. The guidance also mentions a planned reduction to 30% of the reference amount for AEO holders, which the Commission says it is in the process of adopting.
VAT: the part that surprises people
A natural assumption is that a fee levied by a public authority is outside the scope of VAT. The Commission takes the opposite position. It treats the UHF as an incidental expense of the supply, so it is part of the taxable amount:
- IOSS: no import VAT, so none is due on the fee at importation. If the UHF is charged to the consumer at the time of sale, it forms part of the taxable amount in the IOSS return.
- Special arrangements: import VAT applies and the fee is part of the taxable amount on which carriers or postal operators charge VAT. If the goods are returned, that VAT is refunded.
- Standard procedure (including supplies above €150): same treatment, with the same refund of VAT on return.
The guidance does not say what happens when the seller absorbs the fee and does not pass it on to the consumer. It does not give an example for a consignment above €150 either.
Other changes worth knowing
- Customs warehouses. The June version said goods had to be released for free circulation before being sold to consumers. The October version accepts sales while goods are warehoused but subjects them to the €3 duty or normal duty, plus the UHF, through a planned amendment of Article 201(e) UCC-DA. A reduced UHF for dedicated customs warehouses for distance sales is expected from 1 July 2028.
- Product identifiers. The PID requirement (merchant, manufacturer and, where it exists, standardised identifiers) is now framed as applying to consignments up to €150 from 1 November 2026, with an amendment in progress to clarify the scope. B2B flows are in principle excluded.
- Importer as debtor. A passage from the June version on the importer becoming the debtor under the new code, meaning the supplier or the person facilitating the distance sale, does not appear in the October text.
What to do before 1 November
- Ask your broker or carrier which declaration type and classification precision they use, and recalculate your cost per parcel on that basis.
- Decide contractually who bears the UHF, who recharges it, and how the VAT treatment is reflected in your invoicing.
- Check your guarantee reference amount, and your IOSS and indirect representation set-up.
- Make sure every SKU carries the identifiers needed for the declaration.
- Follow the Official Journal for the delegated act, because the application date depends on it.
CB Consulting & Management is an independent operational tax and customs consulting firm, with 22 years of hands-on experience in EU VAT and customs. If these questions are open in your business, book a call and get one focal point for both.
This article is general information based on the Commission’s non-binding guidance of 5 October 2026 and publicly available texts. It is not legal or tax advice for your specific situation.
Sources: European Commission, DG TAXUD, “The temporary EUR 3 customs duty and the Union handling fee – Guidance for Member States and Trade”, version of 5 October 2026 (explanatory, not legally binding), compared with the version of 2 June 2026; Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382 of 11 February 2026; Regulation (EU) 2026/2108 (new Union Customs Code), OJ of 19 September 2026, Articles 5, 20 and 287; Commission Delegated Regulation C(2026) 6694 of 21 September 2026 setting the amount of the Union handling fee, adopted and subject to publication in the Official Journal; Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446 (UCC-DA), Article 148(3), as amended; Council Directive 2006/112/EC (VAT Directive), Articles 73, 78 and 86.