Italy 2 euro tax on small parcels: the 2027 budget scraps it

TUESDAY, 3 NOVEMBER 2026

Article 30 of the budget bill cancels the national levy after four postponements, with lost revenue estimated at 91.3 million a year. The EU 3-euro duty and 2-euro fee remain.

The Italy 2 euro tax on small parcels will not start: article 30 of the 2027 budget bill repeals it before it was ever applied. The two EU charges on low-value parcels remain, the flat 3-euro customs duty and the 2-euro handling fee in force since 1 November.

Italy 2 euro tax on small parcels: what the budget bill says

The national levy was created by the 2026 Budget Law, Law 199/2025: 2 euros for every shipment from a country outside the Union with a declared value of up to 150 euros, collected by customs at the time of final import. It was meant to cover the administrative cost of checks on small consignments, largely linked to e-commerce from China.

The new budget text, in the certified version sent to Parliament, cancels the measure in article 30. The technical report attached to the bill estimates what giving it up costs the public finances.

• National levy cancelled: 2 euros per non-EU shipment with a declared value of up to 150 euros
• Repealing provision: article 30 of the 2027 budget bill
• Lost revenue estimated by the technical report: 91.3 million euros a year from 2027
• Start date before the repeal: 1 January 2027, after four postponements
• EU charges that remain: flat 3-euro duty since 1 July 2026 and 2-euro handling fee since 1 November 2026, up to 5 euros for each category of goods declared

One point matters: for now this is a bill. The repeal becomes final only when Parliament approves the Budget Law, normally by the end of December. Since it is a government choice included in the starting text, it is very likely to stay.

Four postponements, then the repeal

The levy was due to start on 1 January 2026. Since then the start date moved to 1 July, 1 October, 1 December and finally 1 January 2027. It was never collected on any of those dates.

Divided by 2 euros, the expected revenue of 91.3 million corresponds to about 45 million shipments a year. This is our own calculation, useful only as an order of magnitude for the parcels involved: the technical report does not state the number of consignments behind its estimate.

Why the logistics sector wanted it scrapped

Confetra, the Italian transport and logistics confederation, had opposed the measure. Its president Carlo De Ruvo welcomed the decision with the words "The Government listened to us", thanking deputy economy minister Maurizio Leo.

The main argument was competition between hubs. A levy applied only in Italy would have pushed couriers and platforms to clear parcels in hubs in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands, where no similar charge exists, and then bring them into Italy already in free circulation. The result, according to the confederation, would have been lost traffic for Italian ports, airports and warehouses, and with it a loss of customs and VAT revenue potentially larger than what the tax would have collected.

Meanwhile the EU measure has started. Since 1 November every item sold at a distance from a third country pays a 2-euro handling fee, with no value threshold, on top of the flat 3-euro duty on parcels under 150 euros. The Italian levy would have added a third charge to the same parcel.

What it means for importers

For those who receive samples, spare parts or small supplies from China by courier, and for those who sell online goods shipped directly from Asia, the repeal removes a cost that until now existed only on paper. It does not lower current costs: it avoids an increase that was planned for January.

The data does not show that small parcels become cheaper. It does point to a more stable framework, where the rules are the EU ones and apply in the same way in every member state. Some practical points worth considering:

In 2027 price lists, remove the national 2 euros if they had been included, and treat the 3-euro duty and the 2-euro fee as certain costs, calculated per category of goods and not per parcel.

For samples and small lots arriving in several separate parcels, it is still worth comparing fragmented shipping with a single consolidated shipment: with fixed charges per category, the number of consignments weighs on the final cost as much as the freight.

When volumes grow, an ordinary shipment with a full customs declaration leaves the low-value parcel regime: duty according to the TARIC code and VAT on the customs value, with no fixed fees per item.

Fewer parcels, fewer fixed charges

With La Merce, samples and small orders from China travel in a single shipment with invoice and packing list in order: with the 2-euro levy gone, it is the most direct way to avoid multiplying the 5 euros of EU charges parcel by parcel.

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