In brief

• From 1 November, parcels from outside the EU sold remotely are subject to a 2-euro handling fee per item on the customs declaration.
• Together with the 3-euro flat-rate customs duty, this makes 5 euros per item, or about 22 PLN.
• The fee is collected by the Polish National Revenue Administration (Krajowa Administracja Skarbowa), and the amount was set by the European Commission.

Who the new fee applies to

The handling fee will apply to goods imported into the Union through distance sales, that is, online purchases shipped to consumers (Nowa unijna opłata manipulacyjna związana z obsługą zgłoszeń celnych przesyłek w sprzedaży na odległość – Gov.pl). It applies only to e-commerce conducted with individual consumers in the EU (B2C).

Customers of Chinese platforms such as Temu, Shein and AliExpress will feel it most (Nowa opłata od paczek. Ważne zmiany od dziś wchodzą w życie – Money.pl) (To już! Dla Polaków to koniec tanich zakupy na Temu, Shein i Aliexpress – Telepolis.pl). The additional charge hits Asian e-commerce giants (Unia uderza w azjatyckich gigantów e-commerce. Paczki z Chin będą znacznie droższe – Bankier.pl).

How much we will pay

The amount of the fee was set by the European Commission. The fee is 2 euros per item on the customs declaration (Nowa opłata manipulacyjna za paczki spoza UE. Duże zmiany od 1 listopada - Wydarzenia w INTERIA.PL – interia.pl). Since 1 July, a flat-rate customs duty of 3 euros per item has already applied. It replaced the earlier exemption for parcels worth up to 150 euros (Dodatkowa opłata za paczkę spoza UE. Sprawdź, od kiedy i ile zapłacisz – RMF24).

• handling fee: 2 euros
• flat-rate customs duty: 3 euros
• total per item: 5 euros, about 22 PLN

When several different products are ordered in one parcel, the cost increases by the amount applicable to each item.

Who collects it and how it works

The fee is collected by the Polish National Revenue Administration from the entity submitting the customs declaration (Dodatkowa opłata od przesyłek spoza UE. Do jakich paczek dopłacimy? – Polska Agencja Prasowa SA). The head of the KAS, Deputy Minister of Finance Marcin Łoboda, announced that the collection rules will be similar to those used for the flat-rate customs duty.

The amount is set by Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/2152, published on 22 October in the Official Journal of the European Union. The Union justifies the decision by the dynamic growth of e-commerce and the need to finance risk analysis and inspection of parcels.

Effects of the July change

The European Commission reports that since 1 July, imports of parcels worth up to 150 euros in B2C trade fell by nearly 50% in the Netherlands and Belgium. In Poland, the number of declarations for such parcels decreased by about 50%..