Since 1 July 2026, the customs exemption that applied to small parcels imported from outside the EU (up to €150) is gone. A flat duty of €3 per product category now applies, with an extra €2 handling fee announced for November. Here is what this means in practice for Belgian online sellers.
1. What changes on 1 July
The de minimis rule, which exempted non-EU parcels worth €150 or less from customs duty, has been scrapped. In its place, a flat €3 duty applies per product category: a parcel with two pairs of trousers (one category) costs €3 more, one with trousers, shoes and earrings (three categories) costs €9 more. Presented as temporary until 2028, the measure primarily targets non-EU platforms such as Temu, Shein and AliExpress. Belgian customs processed over 1.3 billion parcels in 2025, with peaks of 4.7 million a day in January 2026: the volume shows what is at stake.
2. A competitive window for Belgian and EU retailers
Ultra-low-cost non-EU platforms lose part of their price edge. For Belgian and European e-commerce, this is a chance to win back price-sensitive shoppers with a simple message: the price shown is the price paid, no surprise fees on delivery. Shorter delivery times, easier returns, local customer service: all worth foregrounding in your campaigns.
3. If your SME itself imports from outside the EU
If you source products or components from outside the EU yourself, your costs go up. Two moves: review your margins now, and make sure your checkout displays a genuinely final price. Pricing transparency is no longer a minor detail: it echoes the mandatory withdrawal button that came into force in June, another sign that buying trust is built before the customer clicks pay.
4. The federal "E-commerce PLUS" plan
This customs reform sits within a broader federal action plan, driven by a taskforce bringing together the ministers of Economy, Finance, SMEs, Consumer Protection, Digital and Climate. The stated goal: let Belgium seize e-commerce opportunities while firmly tackling unfair practices and dangerous products, with more proactive, data-based market surveillance. In other words: further adjustments are likely in the coming months.
The AI lens, humans first
An AI tool can continuously monitor pricing on non-EU competitor platforms and compare it with yours, flag margin erosion, or draft a first version of ad copy highlighting the absence of surprise fees. But AI executes, it does not decide: choosing which products to promote, adjusting a pricing strategy or settling on a commercial positioning stays an expert's job. That is our stance: humans first, AI in support.
This week
Check whether your catalogue includes non-EU sourced products and recalculate your margins; add a clear "all-in price, no delivery surprises" note to your product pages; review your campaigns to highlight your local or EU stock.
At Vistalaro, we help Belgian online sellers turn this kind of regulatory change into a commercial argument. Vistalaro Build secures your site and clarifies pricing on your product pages, while Vistalaro Reach adjusts your campaigns to capture shoppers looking for a reliable alternative to non-EU platforms.
Are your campaigns capturing this window?
Let's review them together, without jargon, and identify the priority adjustments for your SME.
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