Opinion by Ana-Maria Săbiescu, Director, Vladislav Dabija, Senior Manager, and Sorin Popa, Senior Consultant, Global Trade Advisory, Deloitte Romania

Products bought online by individuals in Romania outside the European Union (EU), through online commerce platforms on which they place orders with a cumulative value of less than 150 euros, are becoming more and more expensive. After the introduction of the logistics tax of 25 lei/parcel, at the beginning of the year, they will also be subject, from July 1, 2026, to a customs duty of three euros, but this time applied for each item (tariff subheading) of the respective parcel. Previously, parcels of this type were exempt from customs duties at EU level.

Unlike the logistics tax, adopted only by Romania and Italy (which in the meantime has postponed the application) from January 1, 2026, the customs duty for products in orders under 150 euros was decided by the European authorities, so it is applied uniformly in all member states. Basically, it is about eliminating the tax facility that exempted small value parcels from customs duties.

At the same time, on 26 March 2026, the Council and the European Parliament agreed to introduce a new logistics/handling fee for small parcels sold online. The level of the fee will be set by a Commission delegated act before it starts to be applied by EU Member States on 1 November 2026 at the latest.

Consequently, in Romania, the logistics tax of 25 lei per parcel (on goods purchased electronically outside the EU by individuals – B2C, regardless of the country through which they enter the EU area) and the customs tax of three euros per item in the parcel will be applied simultaneously, depending on the tariff classification (if in a parcel of less than 150 euros there are several products with the same tariff classification, the customs duty is paid only once for all products with that tariff classification). After the date on which the European Union will regulate a logistics tax at EU level, the expectation is that it will replace the logistics tax of 25 lei imposed earlier by Romania.

Who and how pays the tax

The customs duty, like the logistics duty, is applied to parcels with an intrinsic value of less than 150 euros (the value of the goods in a package, without additional costs, such as transport, etc.) coming from outside the EU, which enter the EU and for which the IOSS system (Import One-Stop Shop or Single Window for Imports) applies, which allows online stores to collect, declare and pay value added tax on imports of goods from outside the EU with a value of less than €150), or by post. Therefore, consumers will most likely bear, directly or in the price of the products ordered, these taxes.

In the case of the logistics fee, the obligation to pay lies with the supplier of the goods, the person who dispatches the parcel or the entity that, through a digital platform, facilitates the distance sale of the goods.

In the case of customs duty, which is collected to the EU budget, the obligation to pay to the customs authority falls, depending on the logistics flow and the way the business is organized, to the customs declarant (online sales platform, seller, carrier or agent) who makes the import or, in limited cases, to the final consumer who declares the goods for import, if they organise their own import (they receive the parcel by courier and carry out customs formalities on their own behalf).

What is the purpose of the customs duty

The European authorities’ concern about taxing products from outside the EU has increased with the development of e-commerce, which has become an integral part of the way European consumers shop (70% of them regularly buy

products online, according to EU studies). The number of low-value orders (less than €150) from outside the EU by EU consumers has increased rapidly in recent years. Thus, in 2022, 1.2 billion such parcels were imported into the EU, and in the years that followed this volume increased exponentially from year to year (2.4 billion in 2023, 4.6 billion in 2024 and 5.8 billion in 2025). Therefore, in 2025, about 15.8 million parcels with a value of less than 150 euros were introduced daily in the European Union.

In this context, EU Member States have started to discuss two directions of action to temper this phenomenon: the introduction of a logistics ( handling/processing) fee for this type of parcel, meant to compensate for the increasing costs that customs authorities have with the supervision and conduct of the significant flow of parcels, and the elimination of the exemption from the payment of customs duties(which is equivalent to the application of the tax of three euros/item) for e-commerce parcels valued below 150 euros, in order to eliminate/reduce the competitive advantage enjoyed by companies that deliver from outside the EU to the internal market, but also to discourage imports of non-compliant products into the EU area.

The Republic of Moldova also aims to standardize the tax treatment applicable to products ordered from online commerce platforms abroad, with a value of less than 150 euros, with the one in force at national level, in order to ensure a fair competitive environment. Thus, starting with October 1, 2026, products purchased in this way will be subject to the general VAT rate of 20%. The tax would be included directly in the price of the products or paid when picking up the package.

From the traders’ perspective, the challenge will be to comply and declare customs duty correctly, bearing in mind that the rule applies regardless of the declaration system.

In view of the current limitations of the customs declaration IT systems, in practice there may be situations in which the customs duty of three euros is paid several times for products falling under the same tariff subheading. This can happen, for example, when goods with different origins, but with the same tariff classification, are introduced into the country through an H1 customs declaration. In the case of the use of H7 low-data declarations, there will be situations in which the three-euro fee will be paid only once for several goods of different origins but having the same tariff subheading.

Taking this into account, starting with July 1, 2026, it will be very important for importers or their representatives to correctly establish the tariff classification of products, as well as the choice of the type of customs declaration for the most correct application of the customs duty of three euros.

Overall, in Romania, it is possible that the two taxes, applied simultaneously, will discourage online purchases from outside the European Union, and the economic operators involved in such transactions will rethink their business model.

In conclusion, after July 1, 2026, Romanian consumers will have to bear higher prices for products ordered through non-EU online commerce platforms in low-value parcels (under 150 euros), with three euros/item, which is added to the logistics fee of 25 lei/package, which could discourage them from turning to those suppliers, whereas it is possible that, in certain cases, the cumulative taxes may exceed the price of the product.