Finland to impose new customs fees on low-cost online purchases from outside EU

Finland will introduce new customs charges on low-cost online purchases from outside the European Union beginning in July, amid wider EU efforts to address the growing volume of inexpensive imports, public broadcaster Yle reported Monday.

According to Finnish Customs, a new €3 ($3.4) customs fee will apply to low-value goods ordered by private individuals from non-EU countries, including products purchased through online platforms such as Temu.

The report said the charge will apply to each customs declaration item rather than to an entire parcel.

“For example, if a shipment contains three shirts and dozens of pairs of socks, the shirts would be declared as one item and the socks as another, meaning the customs fee would total six euros,” Senior Customs Inspector Antti Hastbacka said.

Finnish authorities also said customs duties would begin applying to purchases valued below €150, which are currently exempt under existing rules.

Officials added that a separate processing fee will take effect in November as part of broader EU customs reforms responding to the rapid growth in low-cost imports from outside the bloc.

The new processing charge will apply to all online purchases arriving from non-EU countries regardless of value and will be paid during customs clearance procedures.

Authorities said the changes form part of wider EU measures aimed at addressing environmental and consumer concerns linked to the increase in imports of inexpensive products, particularly from Asian online retailers.

The measures are expected to affect consumers who frequently order low-cost products from overseas e-commerce platforms.