Europe adds new fees to parcels purchased in Morocco

The Council of the European Union adopted, on Thursday, September 3, its position at first reading on the sweeping reform of European customs. The text provides for a processing fee applicable throughout the Union to small consignments resulting from distance sales, according to the official statement.

The measure does not target any particular country. It will therefore apply to goods purchased online from a seller established in Morocco once they enter the European Union in the form of a small parcel. Gifts and other private shipments that do not result from a distance sale are not covered by this scheme.

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The amount of the fee will be determined by the European Commission before its application by the Member States, no later than November 1, 2026. It is therefore impossible at this stage to calculate precisely the additional cost for an order shipped from Morocco.

Platforms and distance sellers will be considered the importers of the goods. They will have to complete the formalities and ensure payment of the sums due, in place of the European consumer. However, the text does not specify whether they will absorb these costs or include them in the sale or delivery price.

Two different levies on small parcels

This new fee should not be confused with the temporary €3 customs duty applied since July 1, 2026, to shipments worth no more than €150. According to the European Commission, this duty is calculated by tariff category present in the parcel: five T-shirts therefore incur €3, while a T-shirt accompanied by a watch incurs €6.

Goods benefiting from a preferential tariff under a trade agreement may nevertheless avoid this €3 duty when the required declaration conditions are met. This exception does not eliminate the future processing fee, which serves a different purpose: financing the inspection of the growing number of small parcels entering the Union.

In 2025, European customs processed approximately six billion parcels resulting from e-commerce. More than 90% came from China. The reform is nevertheless not limited to Chinese platforms: its rules will apply to sellers and intermediaries from all countries outside the Union, including Morocco.

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Moroccan operators selling directly to European customers will therefore have to adapt their prices, declarations and logistics channels. The most serious breaches may be penalized with fines reaching 6% of the annual value of imported goods, or even with restrictions on access to the platforms concerned.

The European Parliament must still approve the final text in September, before its signature and publication in the Official Journal. The principle of the fee and its deadline have been established, but its exact amount remains the main unknown for Moroccan sellers and their European customers alike.