The EU has adopted its new Union Customs Code, setting in motion a phased overhaul of how goods are declared, assessed and cleared across the bloc. Published on 19 September 2026, the reform establishes an EU Customs Authority and a shared Customs Data Hub. For eCommerce businesses, its most significant change may be who is expected to take responsibility when a sale crosses the border.

Under the new framework, non-EU sellers and online platforms selling to EU consumers will take on greater responsibility for customs formalities, duty payments and product compliance. The European Commission describes this as a shift away from placing those obligations on the individual consumer. In practice, it raises a question for every business involved in a cross-border order: who holds the information needed to show what was sold, what it is worth and whether it meets EU requirements?

What changes, and when?

Some elements of the reform are already in place. The new EU Customs Authority, based in Lille, was legally established in September 2026. It will support more consistent risk assessment and coordination between national customs authorities, with operations expected to begin in 2027.

The EU also plans to introduce a handling fee for small parcels from November 2026 to help cover customs supervision costs. Its amount has not yet been set; the Commission will establish it through a separate delegated act. This fee is distinct from the temporary €3 customs duty that has applied to qualifying low-value eCommerce imports since 1 July 2026. Businesses assessing the cost of an EU sale will need to keep those charges separate from import VAT and any commercial clearance or delivery charges.

The larger systems change follows in July 2028, when use of the EU Customs Data Hub becomes mandatory for eCommerce consignments. The Hub is intended to give businesses a single interface for customs information and authorities a shared view of goods moving into and out of the EU. It will be introduced more gradually for other types of trade.

Why responsibility matters more than the new fee

It would be easy to view this reform chiefly as another change to parcel costs. The deeper change is to the relationship between the sale, its data and the business accountable for the import.

Today, information about a shipment can sit across a retailer, marketplace, fulfilment provider, carrier and customs representative. The new framework places greater responsibility on sellers and platforms while giving customs authorities more consistent data for EU-wide risk assessment. Product information therefore needs to travel accurately through that chain, from the point of sale through to customs clearance.

For retailers and logistics partners, preparation starts with a practical review of each sales model. Who will be responsible for the import formalities? Who supplies and checks product descriptions, values and classification data? Who accounts for duty and fees? And who can provide evidence that products meet the relevant EU rules? The answers may differ between a retailer’s own website, a marketplace sale and a shipment handled through a third-party fulfilment network.

The reform is now law, but its measures will arrive in stages. The immediate task is to understand where accountability and information sit today, then identify the gaps before the new eCommerce data requirements take effect. That will matter long after the November handling fee has been set.

Sources

• European Commission: EU Customs Reform announcement
• European Commission: EU Customs Reform overview
• Official Journal: Union Customs Code regulation

Selling internationally has never been easier. Delivering a consistently good international customer experience is a different matter.

Retailers can translate their websites, accept international payments and reach customers around the world through marketplaces and social media. However, making a product available in another country is only the beginning. What happens after the customer presses Buy can determine whether they complete their purchase, buy again or abandon the brand altogether.

According to the DHL 2026 E-Commerce Trends Report, 70% of shoppers now buy internationally, compared with 60% in 2025. Meanwhile, 45% make cross-border purchases more than once a month. The opportunity is clear. So is the challenge.

A global website does not guarantee a global experience

Retailers understandably invest heavily in attracting international customers. Digital advertising, translated content, local currencies and suitable payment methods can all help a business reach new markets. Yet the customer journey does not end when payment is accepted.

For an international order, it continues through product data, customs clearance, duty and tax handling, delivery, returns, refunds and, potentially, getting the product back into saleable stock.

Research shows that 67% of online shoppers have abandoned a basket because of the delivery options available. Seven in ten will not shop with a retailer if they do not trust its delivery and returns provider.

Logistics is no longer simply a back-office function. It forms part of the customer proposition and can directly influence conversion, loyalty and brand reputation.

Customers see one journey

A cross-border order may involve a retailer, marketplace, payment provider, customs agent and several carriers. Each has a different role, but the customer rarely sees those separate responsibilities. They see one order, from one retailer, with one promised experience.

If a parcel is delayed, the customer is unlikely to know whether the cause was incomplete customs data, an unexpected duty charge, a carrier problem or information missing from the marketplace. They simply know that their order has not arrived when expected.

This is why the international customer experience must be considered as one connected journey:

Checkout → landed cost → customs → delivery → returns → refund → resale

A smooth checkout followed by an unexpected customs charge is not a smooth experience. Fast international transport offers little benefit if inaccurate product data holds the parcel at the border. A convenient returns portal only solves part of the problem if the goods are then delayed in customs or remain disconnected from the retailer’s inventory system.

Customs has a commercial impact

Customs processes are often invisible to consumers when they work well. When they do not, the consequences can become very visible.

Incomplete product descriptions, incorrect commodity codes, inaccurate values or missing origin information can lead to delays, additional charges and customs interventions. Unclear duty and tax arrangements can leave customers facing costs they did not expect when placing their order. These may begin as data or compliance issues, but they quickly become customer-service problems.

Businesses therefore need to look beyond whether a customs declaration can simply be submitted. The quality of the information, how it moves between partners and how exceptions are managed can all affect the customer’s experience.

The same applies when a product is returned. A cross-border return does not end when the customer hands the parcel to a carrier. It still needs to move through the appropriate customs process, be matched against the original order and import, reach the correct facility, trigger a refund and, where possible, return to available stock.

Retailers may also need to identify whether import duty paid on qualifying returned goods can be reclaimed. If returns, customs, inventory and finance data sit in separate systems, these opportunities can easily be missed. The consequences include slower refunds, stock remaining unavailable for longer and unnecessary costs being retained within the business.

International growth needs the right infrastructure

More than three in ten eCommerce orders are now being sent internationally. Among businesses that do not currently sell across borders, 25% are prioritising cross-border delivery capabilities during the next 12 months.

As more retailers pursue international growth, the question is not simply where demand exists. It is whether the business can consistently deliver the experience customers expect once an order crosses a border.

Retailers should consider:

• Are duties and taxes clear before the purchase is completed?
• Is the product data detailed and accurate enough for customs clearance?
• Can delays and exceptions be identified early?
• Does tracking remain clear as responsibility passes between providers?
• Are returns, refunds, customs records and inventory connected?
• Can eligible duty on returned goods be identified and recovered?

These are not separate customs, delivery and returns questions. Together, they define the international customer experience.

At UKP Worldwide, we see customs as part of a much wider commercial journey. The information supplied at the point of sale can affect clearance. Clearance can affect delivery. Delivery and returns can affect refunds, inventory and customer loyalty.

Customers may never see the systems, customs data or partnerships behind an international order. They will notice whether it arrives on time, whether the final cost is what they expected and whether returning it is straightforward.

Winning the international customer is therefore about more than reaching them. It is about ensuring the experience promised at checkout survives the journey across the border.

Source

DHL: 2026 E-Commerce Trends Report

The research surveyed 29,000 online shoppers and 5,800 eCommerce businesses across 29 countries between December 2025 and February 2026.

UKP Worldwide was proud to exhibit at PARCEL Forum ’26, held from 14 to 16 September at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center in Orlando, Florida.

Representing UKP Worldwide at Booth 340 were Guy Cliffe, Sales Director, and Sarah Brennan, Strategic Account & Development Manager. Across the event, they met with retailers, eCommerce brands, marketplaces, logistics providers and other industry partners from the United States and beyond.

PARCEL Forum brings together professionals from across the small-package fulfilment, shipping and logistics sector. For UKP Worldwide, it provided an important opportunity to hear directly from businesses about the challenges they are facing when moving goods internationally.

Many of the conversations focused on UK customs clearance, cross-border compliance, duties and taxes, returns management and the practical complexities of shipping parcels into the UK and Europe.

With international eCommerce continuing to evolve, events such as PARCEL Forum offer a valuable chance to exchange ideas, understand emerging priorities and build relationships with businesses throughout the global parcel industry.

Thank you to everyone who visited Guy and Sarah during the event. We look forward to continuing the conversations that began in Orlando.

Watch our short video below for a look back at UKP Worldwide’s time at PARCEL Forum ’26.

For many years, low-value import thresholds helped cross-border eCommerce grow. Parcels below a set value could enter a market without customs duty, while simplified processes kept millions of relatively inexpensive shipments moving through the border.

These rules were designed for a very different retail environment. Low-value parcels once represented a small part of international trade. Today, they are central to the way consumers shop.

As volumes have grown, governments around the world have begun asking the same question: do rules created to manage occasional low-value imports still work when eCommerce generates millions of individual transactions every day? Increasingly, the answer appears to be no.

A global shift, not an isolated policy change

The approaches being taken are not identical, but the direction is increasingly consistent. In the UK, the Government has confirmed that the customs duty relief currently available on goods valued at £135 or less will be removed. A new customs arrangement is expected to take effect by October 2028, with further work required to determine how duty should be calculated, collected and reported.

The EU has moved more quickly. From 1 July 2026, it removed the customs duty exemption for goods valued at €150 or less and introduced a temporary €3 customs duty on low-value items. This is intended as an interim measure ahead of wider EU Customs Union reforms.

The United States has taken a different route, suspending duty-free de minimis treatment for commercial goods valued at $800 or less from all countries. The change followed an earlier suspension covering goods from China and Hong Kong.

Elsewhere, countries including Australia and New Zealand have already introduced models that require overseas sellers or marketplaces to collect tax on low-value goods at the point of sale. These are separate policy decisions, shaped by different domestic priorities. Taken together, however, they point to a wider reassessment of how low-value eCommerce should be managed.

Why are governments reaching similar conclusions?

The clearest pressure is volume. The European Commission reported that approximately 4.6 billion low-value consignments entered the EU in 2024, equivalent to around 12 million parcels every day. This was twice the volume recorded in 2023 and three times the level seen in 2022.

At this scale, a customs exemption is no longer dealing with a marginal category of trade. It covers a significant and fast-growing share of consumer imports.

Revenue is part of the discussion, but it is not the only concern. Governments and domestic retailers have questioned whether exempting imported goods from duty creates an imbalance when businesses operating within the destination market must meet local tax, employment, product and environmental requirements.

Product safety has also become a prominent issue. High parcel volumes make it difficult for authorities to identify goods that are unsafe, counterfeit, incorrectly described or non-compliant with local standards. The European Commission has linked its eCommerce reforms directly to consumer protection and more effective enforcement.

There is also the question of customs capacity. Inspecting every parcel manually would be neither realistic nor proportionate. Simplified processes were created partly because the cost of assessing individual low-value transactions could outweigh the revenue collected.

What has changed is the technology. Advance electronic data, automated risk analysis and direct links between marketplaces, carriers and customs authorities are making it more practical to assess transactions before goods reach the border. Governments can increasingly identify higher-risk shipments without treating every low-value parcel in the same way.

The debate is therefore moving beyond whether low-value goods should be checked. It is becoming a question of how data and technology can make those checks possible at scale.

Reform brings its own risks

Removing or changing low-value exemptions does not automatically create a better system.

If new rules are introduced too quickly, consumers may face unexpected charges, overseas businesses may withdraw from certain markets and carriers may struggle to adapt their systems. The suspension of the US de minimis exemption demonstrated how significant the operational impact can be when postal operators, retailers and technology providers have limited time to prepare.

There is also a risk that complex processes could disproportionately affect smaller retailers. Large marketplaces are more likely to have the systems, data and resources needed to calculate duties across thousands of products. Smaller businesses may find the same requirements considerably harder to manage.

Successful reform will therefore depend on more than changing a threshold. Governments will need workable collection models, clear allocation of responsibilities, proportionate data requirements and enough implementation time for the supply chain to adapt.

Collecting charges at checkout, using marketplace-led models and transmitting accurate product data before dispatch are likely to become increasingly important. The objective should be to improve oversight without making legitimate cross-border trade unnecessarily difficult.

What this means for eCommerce businesses

The most important conclusion is not that low-value international trade is ending. Consumer demand for cross-border choice, convenience and competitive pricing remains strong.

What is changing is the assumption that a low-value parcel will require little customs consideration. Retailers, marketplaces and logistics partners should expect greater scrutiny of product descriptions, commodity codes, values, origin and safety information. Responsibility is also likely to move further upstream, with more duties and taxes calculated before dispatch rather than collected after a parcel reaches its destination.

Businesses should begin treating customs data as part of the customer transaction, not simply as information added later for shipping.

The global low-value reset is ultimately a consequence of eCommerce becoming too important to remain at the edges of customs policy. Governments are not all adopting the same solution, but they are responding to the same reality: systems designed for yesterday’s parcel volumes must now support one of the largest and fastest-moving areas of global trade.

For eCommerce businesses, the question is no longer whether the rules will change. It is whether their data, systems and supply chains will be ready when they do.

Sources

• UK Government: Reforming the customs treatment of low-value imports
• European Commission: Guidance on the temporary customs duty for low-value consignments
• European Commission: Ensuring fairness and safety through the €3 customs duty
• US Customs and Border Protection: Suspension of duty-free de minimis treatment
• Australian Productivity Commission: Collection models for GST on low-value imported goods

For many retailers, peak season planning focuses on getting orders out of the warehouse and delivered before Christmas. Yet delivery is not the end of the journey.

The purchases made during Black Friday and the weeks leading up to Christmas will create a second operational peak in January. Products will move back through customer service teams, carrier networks, customs, warehouses and finance systems before they can be refunded, restocked or resold.

This is not a minor part of the peak trading cycle. Research from Retail Economics and ZigZag forecast that UK non-food returns would reach £25.1 billion in 2025, equivalent to 19.5% of online orders. Clothing recorded an even higher average return rate of 23.6%.

The lesson for Peak 2026 is clear: a successful festive season cannot be measured by outbound sales and delivery performance alone. Retailers also need a plan for what comes back.

January exposes weaknesses that peak sales can hide

Returns can increase quickly once Christmas is over. In January 2026, more than £1.5 billion of unwanted Christmas purchases were expected to make their way back to UK retailers, with volumes forecast to rise by around 25% during the first full working week of the year. At quieter times, a fragmented returns process may appear manageable. During January, however, every gap becomes more visible.

A returned item may need to pass through several separate systems before its journey is complete. The customer requests a return, a label is issued, the parcel enters the carrier network, customs information is submitted, the product arrives at a warehouse, its condition is assessed and the refund is approved.

If the information connecting these stages is incomplete, the return can stall. The warehouse may receive an item it cannot immediately identify. Customer service may not know whether the parcel has crossed the border. Finance teams may issue refunds without knowing what has happened to the stock. Customs evidence may be held separately from the original transaction. The individual delay may seem small, but multiplied across peak-season volumes, it can tie up significant amounts of stock and working capital.

Cross-border returns need more than a label

Domestic returns are largely a logistics exercise. International returns are also a customs exercise. The movement must be supported by accurate information, including the product description, value, commodity code, country of origin and the reason for return. It must also be possible to connect the returned item with the original order and the relevant customs records.

Poor data can result in parcels being delayed, incorrectly treated as new imports or charged duty and tax again. It can also make it more difficult to establish whether a business is entitled to customs relief or a repayment.

Depending on how goods originally moved and where they are being returned, different customs arrangements may apply. For example, Returned Goods Relief can allow eligible goods that were previously exported from the UK to be re-imported with relief from Customs Duty and import VAT. HMRC applies specific conditions, including requirements concerning the identity, condition and timing of the goods.

There may also be opportunities to reclaim import duty previously paid when imported products are subsequently returned and re-exported. Eligibility is not automatic. Businesses need the correct customs procedure and a reliable audit trail linking the import, customer return and subsequent export. If that evidence is not captured as part of the returns process, it can be difficult to rebuild several months later.

The real objective is to recover value quickly

Getting a returned parcel back into a warehouse is only one measure of success. The more important question is how quickly the business can recover value from it.

Seasonal products have a particularly short resale window. A winter coat received and inspected in early January may still be returned to stock and sold at a reasonable margin. The same coat sitting unidentified in a returns queue for several weeks may eventually require a heavier discount, be diverted to an outlet or miss the season completely.

This creates a direct link between returns processing and inventory planning. Retailers need clear rules for inspection, grading and disposition before January volumes arrive. Teams should know whether products can be:

• returned immediately to available stock
• cleaned, repaired or repackaged
• resold through an alternative channel
• consolidated and returned to their country of origin
• recycled or responsibly disposed of

Visibility matters throughout this process. Customer service, warehouse, finance and customs teams should not be working from different versions of the same return.

Planning should begin before the first peak order

September may feel early to prepare for January, but the returns process needs to be tested before peak trading begins. Retailers should use the coming weeks to examine whether their returns policy, carriers, customs arrangements, warehouse capacity and internal systems can manage a sudden increase in volume. They should also confirm what data will be captured when a return is initiated and whether it can be matched with the original sale, import declaration and export movement.

Useful questions include:

• Can every returned item be linked to its original order?
• Is the product and customs data complete and consistent?
• Who is responsible for the return declaration?
• Can the business identify returns that may qualify for duty recovery?
• How quickly can an inspected item become available for resale?
• What happens when a parcel arrives without the expected data?
• Do customer service teams have visibility of the complete return journey?

Peak season does not finish when the final Christmas order reaches the customer. It finishes when returned products have been identified, cleared, refunded and placed back into the most appropriate sales or recovery channel.

Retailers that treat January as part of peak planning will be better placed to protect margin, release working capital and recover more value from the stock that comes back.

Sources

• Retail Economics and ZigZag: UK Returns Benchmark 2025
• ZigZag: Annual Returns Report
• InternetRetailing: UK retailers face January returns challenge worth more than £1.5 billion
• HMRC: Pay less import duty and VAT when re-importing goods to the UK
• HMRC: Claim a repayment or remission of charges on rejected imports