EU Customs Reform 2026: What It Means for Exporters in Brazil

The EU customs reform was adopted on 16 September 2026 and will be phased in through 2034. For exporters in Brazil, three changes already matter: the €3 duty per item on consignments up to €150, a new handling fee due by November 2026, and the Customs Data Hub, mandatory for e-commerce from July 2028.

If you sell to consumers or businesses in Europe from Brazil, the cost of your orders changed in July and will change again before the end of the year. The good news: almost everything the reform asks of an exporter comes down to accurate shipment data, and that is within your control.

What is the EU customs reform?

The EU customs reform rewrites the customs rules for all 27 Member States. The European Parliament and the Council adopted it on 16 September 2026, following the political agreement of 26 March, and gradual implementation began on 21 September. Source: European Commission, September 2026.

The driver is volume. In 2025, 5.9 billion low-value e-commerce items entered the EU, four times the 2022 figure. That is a lot of small boxes for customs administrations still running national IT systems that do not talk to each other.

The reform answers with four building blocks: a single data platform, a European customs agency, a new status for trusted traders and dedicated rules for e-commerce. For a Brazilian exporter, the e-commerce rules are the ones that hit the margin first.

When does each change apply?

The reform does not happen all at once. Some rules already apply and others only arrive in 2034, so the calendar is the best way to plan. The table below lists the official dates and the practical task for anyone shipping from Brazil.

Source: European Commission, September 2026, and Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382.

How does the €3 duty work, and what happened to the €150 exemption?

Since 1 July 2026, every consignment worth up to €150 entering the EU pays €3 per item in customs duty. The measure is temporary and runs until 1 July 2028; after that, each product pays its normal EU tariff rate. Source: Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382 and European Commission, June 2026.

Here is the detail most people miss: an "item" is not each unit. It is each different tariff classification in the order. Picture a swimwear brand from Santa Catarina, in southern Brazil, selling three bikinis and a sarong to a customer in Madrid. The bikinis share one code and the sarong has another: that is two items, €6 in total, not €12.

This changes how you build your product bundles. Sets made of products under the same classification carry less duty than mixed orders of the same value, and a correct description on each line now has a direct effect on cost.

Import VAT is a separate story. It has had no exemption since 2021, when the EU introduced the IOSS (Import One-Stop Shop) for distance sales. What ended in July was the customs duty exemption, not the VAT one.

What is the EU handling fee on small parcels?

It is a new EU charge on each small parcel, due to be introduced by 1 November 2026. According to the European Commission, in September 2026, the amount will be set in a delegated act.

Until that act is published, there is no official figure. Be wary of anyone quoting one.

The handling fee is separate from the €3 per item and separate from VAT. In practice, a small low-value consignment may carry all three charges. If your average order value is low, the fee weighs proportionally more, so build a buffer into your prices and adjust once the amount is known.

Who becomes the importer when your store sells directly to EU consumers?

Under the reform, platforms and distance sellers become the importer of the goods, instead of the end consumer. The European Commission (September 2026) sets out what that covers: customs formalities, payment of duties and taxes, and product compliance with EU rules.

For a Brazilian online store selling through its own website, the message is simple: the responsibility will sit with you. If your customers currently pay duties on the doorstep, it is time to review your checkout, because the model is moving towards the seller collecting everything before delivery.

The arrangement that already works this way is the DDP Incoterm, where the seller delivers with duties paid. Combined with IOSS for VAT, it removes the surprise at delivery, a common cause of refused parcels and returns in cross-border sales.

Why do product descriptions and HS codes matter more now?

Because the reform introduces a dedicated penalty framework for e-commerce, aimed at errors repeated across thousands of shipments. A vague description such as "clothing" or "accessories", copied onto every order, stops being a minor slip and becomes systematic non-compliance.

Three habits cover most of the risk:

• Clear descriptions: what it is, what it is made of and what it is for ("polyamide bikini", not "beachwear").
• The right classification on every line, using the product's HS code, which also sets how many items the order counts for the €3 duty.
• The real transaction value on the commercial invoice, matching what the customer paid.

Undervaluing goods or splitting an order into two or more boxes to fit under a threshold is not a strategy: it is exactly the behaviour the new framework is designed to catch.

What is the EU Customs Data Hub?

The Data Hub is the single digital platform that will gradually replace the national customs IT systems of the 27 Member States. The European Commission's timeline, updated in September 2026, has three steps: mandatory for e-commerce on 1 July 2028, open to other businesses on a voluntary basis from 2031 and mandatory for all imports in 2034.

The idea is that businesses submit data once, through one portal, and reuse it shipment after shipment. For a Brazilian exporter, that means your product master data (description, code, origin, value) needs to be clean and stable.

Data that changes with every shipment defeats the purpose.

What is a Trust and Check Trader?

It is the new trusted trader status, an evolution of the Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) programme. Qualifying businesses face fewer controls and may reach "self-release", meaning goods are released without active customs intervention in certain cases. Source: European Commission, September 2026.

If you sell B2B into Europe, ask your importer whether they plan to apply for this status. A qualified partner tends to clear goods with fewer stops, and that shows up in the lead times you can offer your own customers.

Does the new EU Customs Authority change anything for you?

It changes consistency. The EU Customs Authority (EUCA), based in Lille, France, starts operational activities in 2027, according to the European Commission (September 2026).

It will coordinate the Data Hub and produce common guidance, standards and training for all 27 Member States.

Today, each country applies the rules with its own interpretations. With a central authority, rules should be applied more uniformly, which makes life easier for anyone selling into more than one EU country.

Does the EU-Mercosur agreement exempt your goods from these rules?

No. The agreement has been provisionally applied since 1 May 2026 (Brazilian Decree No. 12,953/2026), and on entry into force the EU liberalises about 80% of industrial tariff lines and 77% of agricultural ones. Source: Siscomex (Brazil's foreign trade portal), September 2026.

The tariff cut, however, depends on proof of origin and does not remove customs formalities or the handling fee. How origin certification works is covered in our guide to trade agreements and proof of origin.

Two other EU rules run in parallel and have their own guides on Discover: the EUDR, for deforestation-linked products, and the CBAM, the carbon border adjustment mechanism. If your product falls under either, the customs reform adds to them. And if Germany or Portugal are among your main markets, the country shipping guides complete the picture.

What should Brazilian exporters do now?

Start with what already applies and leave the Data Hub for your 2027 planning. The steps below follow the calendar.

1. Review your EU selling prices to include the €3 per item and a buffer for the handling fee.
2. Check the HS code of every product in your catalogue and group those that share the same classification.
3. Replace vague descriptions with precise ones on the commercial invoice and in your store's product data.
4. Decide who pays duties and taxes: if you sell to end consumers, consider DDP with IOSS for VAT.
5. Check whether your products have proof of origin to use the EU-Mercosur preference.
6. Ask your EU importer or logistics partner how they are preparing for Trust and Check Trader status.
7. Build a stable product database by the end of 2027, ready for the Data Hub in July 2028.

This roadmap works for a small online store and for a manufacturer alike. What changes is the number of lines in the catalogue, not the logic.

For the full picture on the Brazilian side, from registration to dispatch, our guide to exporting from Brazil walks through each stage.

What do the Belgian and Dutch customs counsellors say?

DHL Express brought together two Member State representatives to explain the reform: Clara Van Hemelrijck, Customs and Excise Counsellor at the Permanent Representation of Belgium to the EU, and Frank Heijmann, Customs Counsellor at the Permanent Representation of the Netherlands to the EU. Here is the full conversation.

Frequently asked questions about the EU customs reform

Sources

• European Commission: EU Customs Reform, September 2026
• Council of the EU: EU customs: Council and Parliament agree on landmark reform, 26/03/2026
• European Commission: Ensuring fairness and safety: €3 customs duty on low-value parcels, 29/06/2026 (Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382)
• Siscomex/gov.br: Acordo Mercosul-União Europeia

How can DHL Express help you prepare?

Under the reform, what separates a shipment that clears from one that stops is data quality: description, HS code, value and who pays the duties. DHL Express combines international express shipping with customs expertise, so your shipment leaves Brazil with the right documentation.

For business account rates and support from customs specialists, open a DHL Express business account.