Europe to Add New Fees to Parcels Purchased in Morocco
Small parcels ordered from Moroccan sellers and delivered to the European Union will be subject to a new customs fee by November 1 at the latest. Its amount has yet to be set. The measure concerns e-commerce, not private shipments between relatives or friends.
The Council of the European Union adopted, on Thursday, September 3, its position at first reading on the sweeping reform of European customs. The text provides for a processing fee applicable throughout the Union to small consignments resulting from distance sales, according to the official statement.
The measure does not target any particular country. It will therefore concern goods purchased online from a seller established in Morocco when they enter the European Union in the form of a small parcel. Gifts and other private shipments that do not result from a distance sale are not covered by this scheme.
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The amount of the fee will be determined by the European Commission before its implementation by the member states, no later than November 1, 2026. It is therefore impossible at this stage to quantify precisely the additional cost for an order shipped from Morocco.
Platforms and distance sellers will be considered the importers of the goods. They will have to complete the formalities and ensure payment of the amounts due, instead of the European consumer. However, the text does not specify whether they will absorb these costs or include them in the sale or delivery price.
Two different levies on small parcels
This new fee should not be confused with the temporary 3-euro customs duty applied since July 1, 2026, to consignments with a value of no more than 150 euros. According to the European Commission, this duty is calculated for each tariff category present in the parcel: five T-shirts therefore incur 3 euros, while a T-shirt accompanied by a watch incurs 6 euros.
Goods benefiting from a preferential tariff under a trade agreement may nevertheless avoid this 3-euro duty when the required declaration conditions are met. This exception does not eliminate the future processing fee, which serves a different purpose: financing the monitoring of the growing number of small parcels entering the Union.
In 2025, European customs processed approximately six billion parcels resulting from e-commerce. More than 90% came from China. The reform is nevertheless not limited to Chinese platforms: its rules will apply to sellers and intermediaries from all countries outside the Union, including Morocco.
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Moroccan operators selling directly to European customers will therefore have to adapt their prices, declarations and logistics networks. The most serious violations may be sanctioned with fines reaching 6% of the annual value of the imported goods, or even with access restrictions on the platforms concerned.
The European Parliament must still approve the final text in September, before its signature and publication in the Official Journal. The principle of the fee and its deadline have been established, but its exact amount remains the main unknown for Moroccan sellers and their European customers.