Italy small parcel tax: postponed again to 1 January 2027

FRIDAY, 23 OCTOBER 2026

A government amendment to the Fuel decree delays by one month the national 2-euro levy on non-EU parcels worth up to 150 euros. Meanwhile the 3-euro EU duty stays, and a 2-euro EU fee is expected in November.

The Italy small parcel tax of 2 euros on non-EU shipments will not start on 1 December: a government amendment moves the start date to 1 January 2027. It is the fourth postponement of a levy created by the 2026 budget law, while the European charges on small parcels keep arriving on their own schedule.

Italy small parcel tax: the new date

The national levy applies to shipments from countries outside the European Union with a declared value of up to 150 euros. The last postponement came with decree-law no. 162 of 17 September 2026, the so-called Fuel decree, which had set the start for 1 December. The government has now tabled an amendment to the same decree, currently being converted into law in the Chamber of Deputies, that pushes the start back by another month.

• Amount of the national levy: 2 euros per non-EU shipment worth up to 150 euros
• Start date proposed by the government amendment: 1 January 2027, instead of 1 December 2026
• Start dates already announced and then moved: 1 January, 1 July, 1 October and 1 December 2026
• EU flat-rate duty on parcels under 150 euros: 3 euros, in force since 1 July 2026
• EU customs handling fee: 2 euros, expected from 1 November 2026

One detail matters: for now this is an amendment, not an approved text. Because it comes from the government, it is very likely to pass, but the date becomes final only with the conversion law, which for a decree-law must arrive within 60 days of publication, that is by mid-November.

Four postponements in one year

The 2026 budget law set the levy to start on 1 January this year. Since then the date has moved to 1 July, then to 1 October, then to 1 December, and now to 1 January 2027.

In July a more radical option also circulated: two identical amendments from Lega and Forza Italia to the Infrastructure decree asked to postpone everything to 1 October 2027, with an estimated cost of 183.8 million euros. That proposal did not pass, and the series of short postponements continued.

The figure does not tell whether the national levy will really start in January, or whether it will be scrapped: the next budget law could step in again. It does signal a pattern: the levy is moved a few months at a time, and each deadline stays uncertain until the last few weeks.

The European calendar does not stop

While the Italian measure slips, the European ones move ahead. Since 1 July 2026 the Union has applied a flat-rate duty of 3 euros on low-value goods that used to enter duty-free below the 150-euro threshold. From 1 November the 2-euro handling fee is expected, designed to cover the cost of customs checks on e-commerce.

Added together, the nominal amounts of the three levies reach 7 euros. The real cost of a shipment can be higher, because the EU duty is calculated on the contents of the parcel rather than on the parcel as a unit: a parcel with several types of items pays more. The Italian postponement, then, moves only one of the three items.

What it means for importers

For those who receive samples, spare parts or small batches from China by courier, and for those who sell online goods shipped directly from Asia, the postponement does not change the direction: more charges on low-value parcels, with a European part already certain and an Italian part still moving.

A few practical points worth considering now:

For December price lists it makes sense to include the 3-euro duty and the 2-euro fee as certain costs, and to keep the national levy as an item to add from January, if the conversion law confirms the date.

For samples and small supplies arriving in several separate parcels, it is worth comparing the cost of fragmented shipments with a single consolidated one: when charges are fixed per parcel or per item, the number of parcels weighs on the final cost as much as the freight.

For those who had already budgeted the national tax from December, the postponement frees up a month, but rewriting prices twice is not advisable: every postponement so far has been followed by another, and the date that counts is the one published in the conversion law.

With La Merce, importers of small parcels from China can plan December and January shipments knowing which of the three levies of 2, 3 and 2 euros apply, and consolidate consignments before the Italian one is added from 1 January 2027.

Let's talk about your productprojectconceptgoalbrandproductprojectconceptgoalbrandproductprojectconceptgoalbrandproduct