Further charges for online shoppers as EU parcel costs set to rise to €5

The €3 customs duty was introduced last month.

An Post says it understands the additional €2 per package will be “very much on top of [the €3 charge]”.

“The €3 is a customs charge whereas this €2 will be a handling fee to cover costs,” they added.

This means shoppers could face €5 in customs and handling charges on purchases from outside the EU once the new fee takes effect, as well as VAT where applicable.

However, the €2 fee has yet to be finalised as it forms part of wider EU budget negotiations, a core part of the Irish EU presidency.

Last month, the €3 charge on online orders from outside the EU was introduced under new customs rules aimed at promoting fairer trade, amid concerns that low-value imports have an advantage over domestic retailers.

The handling fee is set to be introduced under the Union Customs Code and must come into force no later than November 1, 2026.

The €3 customs charge affects orders from the likes of Temu, Shein and AliExpress and applies to each item rather than each parcel.

However, the exact details of how the proposed €2 handling fee will be applied have yet to be finalised.

The €3 charge applies to goods bought online from outside the EU worth up to €150, including goods bought from Great Britain.

The new rule means many low-cost purchases will become more expensive, with Revenue warning consumers to check where their orders are coming from, as some websites that appear to be Irish or European may actually dispatch their products from non-EU countries.

The customs charge will also be included in the VAT calculation, increasing shoppers' overall totals.

How the charge is paid will vary from retailer to retailer, with some collecting it at checkout and others leaving the charge to An Post or courier companies ahead of delivery.

Unfortunately, that's not all - the new charge could also make returns more costly, as the fee is non-refundable unless the goods are faulty.

Just in time to affect the Christmas shopping... great.