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New EU customs clearance requirements for business shipments from the UK

New EU customs clearance requirements for business shipments from the UK

Starting November 1, 2026, new requirements will apply to online sellers shipping orders to the EU, and a parcel handling fee will be introduced.

What changes for sellers:

For the customs clearance of each item, you will need to provide three new types of Product Identifiers (PID):

  • M-PID (code C127) — the item article used by the seller or marketplace, such as SKU, listing ID, or ASIN. Each product variant must have its own code.
  • NS-PID (code C128) — the internal article assigned by the manufacturer or supplier of the product.
  • S-PID (code C129) — the international product identifier, such as EAN/GTIN, ISBN, UPC, or UDI-DI. If it is missing (e.g., for a handmade item), you must specify the special code Y081.

What changes for the recipient in the EU:

  • €2 per line item* in the invoice

When clearing parcels from a non-EU country, customs will charge a Handling Fee. This is a fixed fee for processing the parcel at customs. The fee is charged only for shipments arriving from outside the EU from legal entities.

The fee is charged in addition to other customs payments, including the fixed duty of €3 introduced on July 1, 2026. These payments are non-refundable regardless of whether the shipment is delivered to the recipient, including if it is returned to the sender.

* A line item is one or more goods in a consignment that have the same tariff classification (HS code), description, and origin as defined by REGULATION (EU) 2026/2108 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL.

Recommendations for sellers

In accordance with the new requirements, we recommend that sellers shipping goods to the EU do the following by November 1:

  • inform recipients about the additional customs fees;
  • check if each product and its variant has a separate article number;
  • obtain the necessary codes from manufacturers or suppliers and check for the availability of international identifiers;
  • ensure that the order number is not used instead of the product identifier;
  • verify whether the necessary data is stored in the CRM, product catalog, or on the marketplace, and if it can be transmitted via the API and the business account.

Technical requirements and details for data transmission via API are available in the Nova Post guide for developers.