Who Owes What: The EU's 2026 Rulebook for Low-Value Imports
A reading grid for non-EU sellers and marketplaces navigating VAT, customs duties, product safety and product liability as Brussels rewrites the rules on low-value parcels — piece by piece, on four different timelines.
CB Consulting & Management · Regulatory analysis·Status as of 11 September 2026
If you sell to EU consumers from outside the Union — directly or through a marketplace — 2026 is the year four separate legal regimes are moving at once: VAT, customs duties, product safety, and product liability. None of them share a calendar. Some are in force. One was adopted but still isn't published. One is a leaked draft that hasn't even been presented yet.
This grid exists to answer one question clearly: at any given moment, who is actually on the hook — the seller, the marketplace, or an EU-based representative? We've organised it by legal domain, and inside each domain, by sales channel.
Read this as a snapshot, not a forecast. Two of the texts below are still moving — the recast Union Customs Code has cleared political agreement but isn't yet in the Official Journal, and the European Product Act is a leaked draft ahead of its official presentation. We flag both explicitly rather than treating them as settled law.
VAT on Distance Sales
The one regime that hasn't moved since 2021 — and won't, under the current reform.
VAT Directive (2006/112/EC, as amended by Directive (EU) 2017/2455)In force since 1 July 2021
Removed the VAT exemption on low-value imports and created the IOSS and OSS one-stop-shop schemes. Liable party: the non-EU seller, or its IOSS intermediary.
Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2026In force
Sets the practical mechanics of the IOSS/OSS scheme — monthly return, single Member State of identification. Liable party: the EU-established IOSS intermediary.
Art. 14a VAT Directive — the "deemed supplier" ruleIn force
A marketplace that facilitates a distance sale of imported goods is treated as if it received and supplied the goods itself. Liable party: the marketplace — not the underlying non-EU seller.
Direct sale vs. marketplace sale
VAT on import
Direct saleSeller, via IOSS or a tax intermediary
Marketplace saleMarketplace, as deemed supplier
Customs Duties on Low-Value Imports
The regime in the most active state of change — three overlapping timelines at once.
Former €150 customs duty exemption thresholdAbolished 1 July 2026
The old duty-free treatment for consignments under €150 no longer applies. Superseded — kept here only for reference.
Transitional flat duty of €3 per itemIn force since 1 July 2026
A flat customs duty per 4-digit tariff heading, applicable regardless of VAT collection scheme — IOSS, special arrangements, or standard VAT — until the EU Customs Data Hub is fully operational (mid-2028). Liable party: the declarant — the seller, the platform, or their indirect representative. (Exact Official Journal reference still to be confirmed on EUR-Lex.)
Recast Union Customs Code (UCC reform package)Adopted, not yet published
Political agreement reached 26 March 2026; Council approval in early September 2026; final Parliament vote still pending as of this writing. Establishes third-country marketplaces as the legal importer of record, and creates the EU Customs Data Hub and a new EU Customs Authority. Liable party (once in force): the marketplace, by operation of law.
EU Customs Data HubMandatory from July 2028 / March 2034
Centralised digital customs platform that eventually replaces the transitional flat-duty regime, returning to standard per-product tariffs from the first euro.
Product Identifiers (PID — C127/C128/C129 codes)Mandatory from November 2026
Required for every B2C import regardless of value; voluntary since 1 July 2026. Does not apply to VAT-registered B2B consignees.
Direct sale vs. marketplace sale
€3 transitional flat duty
Direct saleSeller or declarant, whatever the VAT scheme
Marketplace saleMarketplace, as declarant
Importer-of-record status (post-UCC, not yet in force)
Direct saleSeller in principle, unless no EU establishment
Marketplace saleMarketplace, by operation of law
Product Safety & Compliance
One settled regulation, and one leaked draft that would reshape marketplace liability.
General Product Safety Regulation — Reg. (EU) 2023/988In force since 13 December 2024
General safety and traceability requirements; requires an EU-based responsible operator for non-harmonised products. Liable party: the manufacturer — failing an EU operator, the importer, authorised representative, or the marketplace by default.
European Product Act (EPA)Draft — presentation expected 6 Oct 2026
A recast of the New Legislative Framework, the Market Surveillance Regulation and the Standardisation Regulation. Per the draft reported by Euronews on 10 September 2026, marketplaces would need to verify a Digital Product Passport or manufacturer liability registry before listing, remove non-compliant products on notice, and assume representative obligations if they fail to. Not yet legally binding.
Direct sale vs. marketplace sale
General compliance (GPSR)
Direct saleManufacturer, then representative, then importer
Marketplace saleMarketplace, only if no EU operator identifiable
Digital Product Passport (EPA — draft)
Direct saleDesignated EU operator, or importer/representative
Marketplace saleMarketplace must verify before listing
Liability for Defective Products
Channel-neutral — the same rule whether the sale runs through a marketplace or not.
Directive (EU) 2024/2853Transposition deadline 9 Dec 2026
Adopted 23 October 2024, published 18 November 2024. Extends liability to components and software; where no EU manufacturer exists, liability can fall on the importer or, failing that, the fulfilment service provider. Applies regardless of consignment value.
Direct sale vs. marketplace sale
Defective product liability
Direct saleManufacturer, then importer
Marketplace saleManufacturer, then importer — extension to fulfilment providers possible
In forceAdopted, not yet published / mandatory on a future dateDraft, or superseded