Why the temporary €3 duty is absent from the result

Audit checked: 2026-11-06

This page is about the temporary €3 duty in Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382, and why the calculator does not add that €3.

The €2 Union handling fee applies from 1 November 2026. It is a different charge, not that €3. Where both apply, each is per declared goods item, not per physical piece. The calculator does not add this €2 fee. Not calculated is not zero.

Temporary €3 duty (not calculated)

The window runs from 1 July 2026 until 1 July 2028. Article 2 charges €3 per item only for the consignments it describes.

The threshold is intrinsic value of €150 or less, not CIF. The import also has to be VAT-exempt under the article, or a postal consignment the article names.

The calculator has no intrinsic value, tariff-line count, or IOSS/postal flag, so it does not compute this €3. Dividing €3 by the unit count on a CIF figure is not Article 2.

Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382 Article 2 charges €3 per item from 1 July 2026 until 1 July 2028 when the consignment's intrinsic value does not exceed €150 and the import is either VAT-exempt under Directive 2006/112/EC Article 143(1)(ca) or a postal consignment under Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446 Article 1(24). This calculator does not collect intrinsic value, tariff-line count, or an IOSS/postal flag, so it does not compute the duty. Using CIF and dividing €3 by the unit count is not Article 2. Commission guidance of 5 October 2026 describes a wider distance-sale practice and defines an item by shared tariff classification; that guidance is not applied in place of Article 2.

The €150 test uses intrinsic value

For commercial goods, intrinsic value excludes transport and insurance when those are shown separately. CIF in this tool includes international freight and insurance, so it cannot decide the threshold.

The €150 threshold uses intrinsic value, not CIF. For commercial goods, intrinsic value is the price of the goods sold for export to the Union, excluding transport and insurance when they are shown separately (UCC-DA Article 1(48), as set out in the Commission guidance). This tool's CIF includes international freight and insurance, so the threshold is not applied.

What EU stock mode actually calculates

When you stock goods and enter an ad valorem rate, duty is assessed on CIF. That is the checked customs-value model.

It does not add the temporary €3 duty. Direct mode does not calculate duty or import VAT.

For stock released under the normal ad valorem tariff, customs value starts from the transaction value and adds transport and insurance to the place where the goods enter the Union (Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 Articles 70 and 71). Stock mode puts the freight and insurance you enter into that duty base. It is not the base for in-scope low-value distance sales, so direct mode does not calculate duty or import VAT.

€2 Union handling fee (applies from 1 November 2026; not calculated here)

This is not the temporary €3 duty above.

The customs-reform page says the €2 fee applies from 1 November 2026. The index of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/2152 states EUR 2 per item from that date. This release did not read the whole OJ, and it does not expand qualifications beyond distance-sale release.

The calculator has no declared-item list, declaration date, or release path, so it does not add this €2 fee. Not calculated is not zero and not an exemption.

The customs-reform page says the €2 Union handling fee applies from 1 November 2026. The index of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/2152 states Article 1 as EUR 2 per item and Article 2 as application from 1 November 2026. This is not the temporary €3 duty. This release did not read the whole OJ, and it does not expand qualifications beyond distance-sale release. The calculator has no declared-item list, declaration date, or release path, so it does not calculate this €2. Not calculated is not zero and not an exemption.

The EU result is a known-cost subtotal. A duty rate you type is a separate line, not a finished tax total.

That result does not add the temporary €3 duty.

It also does not add the €2 UHF. Blank is not zero, and there is no exact profit or target price.

Open the profit calculatorRead the risk note

Risk note

This page and the calculator are estimates, not customs, tax, or legal advice. Confirm with a licensed broker before you file.

Do not add the €3 duty and the €2 fee and treat the sum as a cost this calculator has already produced. Neither line is calculated here, and neither is zero.

EU standard VAT rates are not prefilled. A rate you type is what stock mode uses.

The Commission's compiled VAT-rate document stops at 1 January 2021 and tells readers to use TEDB after that. This release did not copy current standard rates from TEDB or from national statutes, so EU countries are not prefilled. A rate you type is used.