Declaring goods of low value (no more than 150 euros)

Commission Regulation (EU) 2026/382 implements a fixed EUR 3 customs duty for distance sale consignments which were previously exempt from import duty according to Article 23 of the Duty Relief Regulation (Council Regulation (EC) No 1186/2009, section II chapter V). The fixed customs duty will be applied from 1 July 2026 to 1 July 2028. The Commission will however monitor how the Regulation will impact things, and later will consider possible amendments or changes to its period of validity.

Exemption from customs duty will be removed for all consignments of a maximum value of 150 euros, not only IOSS consignments. As of 1 July 2026, distance sale consignments ordered by private individuals are subject to a fixed EUR 3 import duty for each item covered by their customs declarations. 

A private person can apply for preferential customs treatment for their goods based on provenance; this concerns distance sale consignments worth at most 150 euros which are not IOSS consignments.

• If you apply for preferential customs treatment with a declaration, you must use a standard customs declaration. In such cases, you must include all information required for applying for preferential treatment in your customs declaration.

In standard customs declarations, private persons can use other additional procedure codes besides F48 or F53 for distance sale consignments which are worth at most 150 euros and not IOSS consignments.

• However, always be sure to check the requirements for using other additional procedure codes if you wish to apply other articles of the Duty Relief Regulation. For example, a representative can submit a standard customs declaration for removal goods and use additional procedure C06 when the requirements for importing removal goods are met.

No changes to the place of declaration or the time of approval

The fixed import duty to be levied on goods will not affect the place of import declaration or the time of declaration approval.

If the seller uses the IOSS system, a customs declaration on releasing goods into free circulation can be submitted to a customs office located anywhere in the Member State. 

If the seller does not use the IOSS system, a customs declaration on releasing goods into free circulation is to be submitted to a customs office located in the Member State of destination.

Provide commodity codes

Provide individual 6-digit commodity codes for the items covered by your declaration on low-value goods. You cannot use simplified commodity codes if the consignment is of low value, that is, a distance sale consignment worth at most 150 euros addressed to a private person.

More information on providing commodity codes for low-value goods is available on the page “New customs duty to be introduced”.

 

You can submit a customs declaration for low value goods in these situations:

• The goods are imported directly from outside the EU to a consignee in the EU.
  • Change as of 1 July 2026: The consignee must be private person.
• The actual value of the goods doesn’t exceed 150 euros. 
  • If the goods have been purchased: Provide the purchase price of the goods as the value of the goods, excluding e.g. transport and insurance costs, unless they are included in the price and not separately indicated on the invoice.
  • If the goods haven’t been purchased: Provide the actual value of the goods, that is, the price that would have been paid for them if they had been sold.
  • The value is considered per consignment, that is, the goods arrive from one consignor to one consignee under a single transport contract.
• The consignment does not contain any of the following:
  • products that are subject to restrictions
  • excise products, such as alcohol products, tobacco or tobacco products
  • perfumes or eau de toilette products.
• You use the following additional procedure codes in the customs declaration:
  • the code C08, if the exemption from customs duty is based on Article 25 of the Duty Relief Regulation, that is, on a gift worth less than 45 euros, sent by a private individual to another private individual, in which case the import VAT doesn’t need to be paid.
  • Change after 1 July 2026: Use code F48 if a private person has purchased goods from a third country from a distance seller who has sold the goods using the IOSS special system. In that case, import VAT was paid to the seller of the goods at the time of purchase. The submitter of the customs declaration must be a company with a comprehensive guarantee. The fixed EUR 3 customs duty is charged from the declarant who can for example the seller or the seller’s representative. A private person cannot submit the declaration personally or act as a representative.
    • Change after 1 July 2026: If the importer of the goods is a company, a customs declaration on low value goods cannot be submitted. If the consignment is an IOSS consignment from a company that is not registered for VAT, you should provide a standard-format declaration and use additional procedure code F48. Read more here: How to submit an import declaration.
    • Please note that the customs duty exemption for these low value goods was removed on 1 July 2026. 
  • Change after 1 July 2026: Use code F49 if the transport company is a registered special arrangement (SA) user and submits a customs declaration on goods that a private person has purchased from a distance seller. In this case, import VAT was paid to the transport company. The declarant who submits the customs declaration is charged a fixed EUR 3 customs duty for each consignment, and the transport company pays Customs the value added tax and the customs duty.
    • Change after 1 July 2026: If the importer of the goods is a company, a customs declaration on low value goods cannot be submitted and additional procedure code F49 cannot be used. Read more here: How to submit an import declaration.
    • Please note that the customs duty exemption for these low value goods was removed on 1 July 2026. 
  • Change after 1 July 2026: Use code F53 if the consignment is a distance sale consignment addressed to a private person for which the IOSS special system was not used, and its value is at most 150 euros. A fixed EUR 3 customs duty is levied on the customs invoice for each consignment in addition to value added tax. Read more about import VAT.
    • Change after 1 July 2026: If the importer of the goods is a company, a customs declaration on low value goods cannot be submitted and additional procedure code F53 cannot be used. For example, a standard customs declaration and additional procedure code 999 is used in declaring the goods the company has received. Read more here: How to submit an import declaration.
    • Please note that the customs duty exemption for these low value goods is removed on 1 July 2026, and additional procedure code C07 was removed at the same time.

If the consignment contains several items, the declaration can’t be split in order to declare the items exempt from customs duty using an import declaration for low value goods.

The import declaration for low value goods has a reduced data content compared to the standard declaration (FI415). Unlike for the simplified declaration, no supplementary declaration is required for this declaration.

Submit the declaration for low value goods via the Customs Clearance Service or if you are a message declarant, with the message FI485.

Change as of 1 July: A customs declaration on goods of low value can be submitted for goods whose consignee, i.e. importer, is a private person. If the consignee is a company, it is not possible to submit a customs declaration for low value goods. Instead, for example a standard customs declaration must be submitted. A private person cannot submit a customs declaration on low value goods when the matter involves an IOSS consignment. Instead, the seller or their representative must submit the customs declaration. 

Customs can request a power of attorney or an authorisation for submitting the declaration from the representative.

If the representative doesn’t present a power of attorney or an authorisation, the representative takes full responsibility of the declaration.

The details in the import declaration for low value goods

Choose the procedure code 4000 in the first choices you make in the Customs Clearance Service. When you choose that the total value of the consignment is 150 euros or less and that the goods are not subject to restrictions or excise duty, you will be directed to fill in a declaration for low value goods.

Message declarant: check this content in the message implementing guidelines (MIGs): FI485B – Low value consignment declaration.

Provide the following details in the declaration:

• Under “Parties”:
  • as the exporter, provide the consignor of the goods
  • as the importer, provide the actual consignee of the goods
  • If the consignment is an IOSS consignment, provide the additional fiscal traders using the code “FR5 – Vendor (IOSS)” and provide the seller’s IOSS number as the specifier.
• As the transaction price, provide the actual value of the goods. See the guidance on providing the value of free-of-charge goods.
• Change as of 1 July: A customs declaration on goods of low value can be submitted for goods whose consignee, i.e. importer, is a private person. If the consignee is a company, it is not possible to submit a customs declaration for low value goods. Instead, for example a standard customs declaration must be submitted. A private person cannot submit a customs declaration on low value goods when the matter involves an IOSS consignment. Instead, the seller or their representative must submit the customs declaration. 
  • You can use the additional procedure code C08, when the conditions are met.
  • Change as of 1 July 2026: You can use additional procedure code F53 when the consignee is a private person and the distance sale consignment is worth at most 150 euros, and the IOSS system was not used in the sale. Based on customs clearance decisions, a fixed EUR 3 customs duty and import VAT will be levied on goods.
    • A distance sale consignment to be declared with a customs declaration on low-value goods must not contain restricted or excisable items. Using other additional procedure codes in the same customs declaration is not possible. 
    • Please note that the customs duty exemption for these low value goods was removed on 1 July 2026, and additional procedure code C07 was removed at the same time.
  • Use additional procedure code F48 when the seller is registered in the IOSS system and value added tax was paid for the goods in connection with purchase. The declarant must be a company with a comprehensive guarantee authorisation, as the company is responsible for the fixed EUR 3 import duty levied on the goods.
    • Please note that in the declaration, you can only declare goods covered by one IOSS number and that it’s not possible to use other additional procedure codes in the same customs declaration. An IOSS consignment must not contain any excisable goods. If an IOSS consignment contains restricted goods, a standard customs declaration must be submitted for the goods.
  • You can use the additional procedure code F49, when you are registered as a user of the special arrangement (SA). 

A product identifier for goods must be provided in all distance sale consignments for which an additional procedure code indicating distance sale (F48 or F53) has been given in the customs declaration. Providing product identifiers is at first voluntary from 1 July to 31 October 2026, but will be obligatory as of 1 November 2026.

The following additional document codes for product identifiers will be taken into use:

• C127: Standardised product identifier from the manufacturer, if available.
• C128: Non-standardised product identifier from the manufacturer
• C129: Seller’s product identifier

If the manufacturer has not provided a standardized product identifier for the item, indicate this information using the condition code:

• Y081: No standardised product identifier from the manufacturer for the declared product.

In the customs declaration, product identifiers must be provided for each goods item as follows:

• Attachment codes C128 and C129 must always be provided as identifiers:
  • C128 – Non-standardised product identifier from the manufacturer
    • In most cases, the manufacturer gives the product a model number for identifying the product. Provide the model number from the manufacturer with this code.
  • C129 – Seller’s product identifier:
    • Trade operators register their saleable products in their own place of sale. Provide the identifier from the trade operator with this document code.
    • Examples of codes followed by an identifier:
      • ASIN (Amazon)
      • Item ID (Temu)
      • SKU (Shein)
      • Product Code (Ali Express).
• Select one of the following as well:
  • Attachment code:
    • C127 – Standardised product identifier from the manufacturer, if available.
      • This product identifier refers to for example a bar code provided with the GTIN, EAN, ISBN or UPC systems, among others.
  • condition code
    • Y081 – No standardised product identifier from the manufacturer for the declared product.
      • If there is no standardised product identifier, enter the code Y081.

Read more: Providing restrictions

 

Customs does not invalidate a customs declaration retrospectively if a private person’s distance sale consignment was released for free circulation as of 1 July 2026, and is returned outside the EU.

When a customs declaration on low-value goods was submitted for the goods, the fixed customs duty of 3 euros was levied on them. As Customs does not invalidate a customs declaration on low-value goods when they are returned to the seller outside the EU, you cannot apply for a refund of the EUR 3 customs duty.

You have to use the standard import declaration for declaring low value goods e.g. in the following situations:

• You are declaring goods that are subject to restrictions or excise duties. 
  • You can, for example, apply for exemption from customs duty using the additional procedure code 3RA for a gift worth less than 45 euros that a private individual has sent to another private individual and that contains alcohol. Check the quantitative restrictions according to Article 27 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1186/2009 setting up a Community system of reliefs from customs duty.
  • You can use the additional procedure code F48 in the customs declaration for an IOSS consignment if the consignment contains perfumes or eau de toilette products and you have paid the VAT to the seller.
• You are declaring goods imported across the EU tax border, regardless of their value. 
  • For example, the goods are imported from the Canary Islands to Finland or from an EU country to the Åland Islands.
  • The Customs Clearance Service will direct you to the tax border declaration based on the selected country of dispatch. 
• You are using other additional procedure codes in the declaration. 
  • With the additional procedure code C30, for example, you can apply for tax exemption for goods imported as samples.
  • You can select the code “999 – no additional procedure” when you are declaring, for example, goods sold by one private person to another.
  • You can also choose the code “999 – no additional procedure” when you are declaring documents sent by a company to private persons (e.g. passports, bank cards and free-of-charge association magazines).
• You are declaring consignments whose actual value exceeds 150 euros.
• You are declaring consignments worth at most 150 euros addressed to a company.
  • Choose the code “999 – no additional procedure” when you are not applying for customs duty exemption or tax exemption with some other additional procedure code.
  • Note that the duty exemption of low-value goods was removed on 1 July 2026, and additional procedure code C07 was removed at the same time.

Change on 1 July 2026 – declaring goods worth at most 150 euros with a standard customs declaration:

• If you provide the additional procedure code F48 in a standard customs declaration, enter the preferential treatment code “500”.
  • Note that you cannot apply for preferential treatment for an IOSS consignment based on origin.
  • For low-value consignments other than IOSS consignments, you can apply for preferential customs treatment with a standard customs declaration when the related requirements are met.