Dutch surcharge for packages from China scrapped awaiting new EU levy
Image credit: Dutchmen Photography / Shutterstock.com
By Simone Jacobs
The Netherlands has scrapped plans to introduce a Dutch handling fee for packages from China, opting to wait for the EU levy to take effect instead.
The Netherlands halts handling fee plans for Chinese packages
The cabinet has decided not to implement a Dutch handling fee for packages from China after all. The Netherlands will instead take its lead from the EU, which has similar plans in the works set to come into effect in November this year.
Late last year, the Dutch government announced plans to implement a surcharge on packages from outside the European Union, aiming to reduce the large number of incoming parcels from online stores based in China, such as Temu, Shein and AliExpress. The handling fee would cost shoppers 2 euros per item type, generating around 2 billion euros annually for the state coffers.
The plan came after France, Belgium and Luxembourg pushed to introduce their own surcharge sooner, as they believed the proposed EU start date of November would be too late. The concern was that if the Netherlands did not also introduce their own levy, parcels that would usually enter the EU through the other three countries would be sent to Dutch ports and airports, overwhelming customs.
Influx of packages manageable, says Dutch minister
Ultimately, only France went through with introducing a national parcel levy, while the others are also awaiting the EU-wide surcharge, reports De Telegraaf. While this has led to an increase in the number of packages entering the EU through the Netherlands, it is manageable, according to the State Secretary of Finance Eelco Eerenberg.
In addition to the European handling fee that is set to take effect later this year, the EU is also introducing a customs duty from July. Consumers will then pay a 3-euro customs duty for every item type in a package valued below 150 euros from outside the EU. According to RTL Nieuws, this means that from November, importing a parcel will cost at least 5 euros more.
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Editor for the Netherlands at IamExpat Media. Simone studied Genetics and Zoology at the University of Pretoria in South Africa before moving to the Netherlands, where she has been working as a writer and editor since 2022. One thing she loves more than creating content is consuming it, mainly by reading books by the dozen. Other than being a book dragon, she is also a nature lover and enjoys hiking and animal training.Read more