The European Union is preparing to tighten the rules for the import of inexpensive goods from third countries, which may lead to higher prices for purchases on popular platforms Temu, Shein, AliExpress and other marketplaces.

According to the new initiatives of the European Commission, the current discount for parcels worth up to 150 euros will be gradually abolished. As a transitional measure, the introduction of an additional levy on imported goods is being considered, which should offset the cost of customs clearance and strengthen control over the flow of cheap goods from outside the EU.

The main purpose of the innovations is to protect European manufacturers and small businesses from unfair competition from foreign Internet sites, as well as to increase control over the quality and safety of imported products.

Experts note that the new rules can significantly increase the cost of small orders. This will especially affect customers who regularly purchase inexpensive goods on Chinese marketplaces.

Every year, billions of small parcels arrive in EU countries from online platforms outside the EU. It was the sharp increase in such imports that became one of the reasons for the revision of the current customs clearance system.

The new measures are expected to be implemented gradually and will affect consumers in all European Union countries, including Cyprus and Greece.

This means that if the same parcel contains goods of different categories, the amount of the fee will increase in proportion to the number of declared items. For example, if a customer orders one silk blouse and two woolen blouses, customs may classify them as two different goods, resulting in a fee of 6 euros instead of 3 euros. If there are three or four different categories of goods in the parcel, the amount may increase to 9 or 12 euros, respectively.

In practice, this can significantly increase the cost of inexpensive purchases. So, an item worth 1 euro, after adding a fee of 3 euros, will cost 4 euros without VAT. A purchase worth 5 euros will increase to 8 euros, and an order for 20 euros will increase to 23 euros.

The price increase will be especially noticeable for mixed orders. For example, if a package worth 20 euros contains five different items — a glass, a phone case, a fan, socks and a bracelet — the additional fee may amount to 15 euros. In this case, the total cost of the order will increase to 35 euros even before VAT is charged.

At the same time, the number of identical items does not affect the amount of the fee. If a customer orders 15 identical shirts or 15 identical glasses with a total cost of 20 euros, the additional payment will be only 3 euros, since all products belong to the same product category. Similarly, for the purchase of several bags of the same type in the amount of 60 euros, the fee will remain at 3 euros.

A source: reporter.com.cy

https://cyprusbutterfly.com.cy/news/direktive-kipr-vvodit-dopolnitelnyij-sbor