The EU publishes its plan for safer and sustainable e-commerce

National accountancy firm, MHA provides clarity on the new European Commission (EC)
guidance, published on 5th February 2025.

The EC communication outlines its plan for making the sector safer and more sustainable.
The plans outline the urgent customs reform and the need for coordinated enforcement
actions to combat the surge in e-commerce imports.

Andrew Thurston, Customs Duty and Indirect Tax Consultant to MHA says, “It’s interesting
to note that there have been significant increases in low value imports since 2022 with
2024 figures suggesting a total of 4.6 billion low value items being received into the EU”.

Figures provided in the communication suggest that 91% of all e-commerce imports are
imported directly from China. As a high proportion of e-commerce imports are clothing,
the duty savings alone could amount to 12 percent of the value of the item. These low
value supplies are producing cost savings on customs duties which create an unfair
playing field for EU-based distributors as they must pay duties on their larger import
consignments.

Read the full article here.