The tariff war on the US side has just stopped, and the EU has made another big move!

EU proposes to levy a processing fee of 2 euros

According to foreign media reports, on May 20, 2025, the European Commission submitted a proposal to impose a unified processing fee of approximately 2 euros (approximately 2.26 US dollars) on cross-border small parcels entering the European Union; The bulk goods sent to the warehouse also require a payment of 0.5 euros per item.

Image source: Foreign media

Mainly targeting cross-border small packages with a value below 150 euros, these packages are currently eligible for tax-free entry into the EU. After the proposal is implemented, packages with a value below 150 euros may no longer be exempt from tariffs.

The reason given by the EU is due to high customs pressure.

According to data, a total of 4.6 billion small parcels will enter the EU market in 2024, with an average of over 145 parcels per second, of which 91% will come from Temu and Shein platforms. The huge volume of packages puts "enormous work pressure" on the customs department, and the fees can subsidize administrative costs, improve inspection capabilities and regulatory efficiency.

Image source: Financial Times

At present, the proposal has not been approved, but if the policy is implemented, it will still have a significant impact on sellers. Especially the sellers on Temu and Shein.

If the cost of a 20 euro item is 2 euros higher per shipment, the performance cost will directly increase by 10%. For these already low profit sellers, it's even worse.

Faced with this additional cost, one must either grit their teeth and bear it themselves, or raise the price and pass it on to consumers; If they choose to bear the cost themselves, small sellers may be directly squeezed out of the market; If the cost is passed on to consumers, it may lead to consumer dissatisfaction with the price increase, which in turn affects the seller's sales.

Nowadays, various countries are imposing fees on small packages. In the short term, the cost for sellers will inevitably increase. Therefore, sellers must reduce their dependence on low prices by improving service quality, optimizing product structure, and strengthening localized operations.

Chinese sellers need to pay a deposit of 50000 euros

One wave has not yet subsided, and another wave has emerged. Recently, there has been another piece of news that has sparked heated discussions throughout the cross-border community.

Non EU enterprises who register their Italian VIES tax number through a tax representative and wish to retain it must pay a deposit of 50000 euros. Payment must be made before June 13th, 2025.

Tax representatives are required to pay a gradient deposit of 30000 to 2 million euros based on the number of clients they serve. Payment must be made before June 17th.

It is reported that the reason why companies are required to pay security deposits is because many companies have non-compliance issues, and the purpose of the new policy is to prevent and combat value-added tax (VAT) evasion and fraud.

You should know that this is 50000 euros, about 400000 euros in Chinese yuan. This is not a small amount for any enterprise.

This also means that even sellers on platforms such as Amazon and Temu need to pay a deposit of 50000 euros. If the tax number is not paid on time, it will be removed from the VIES system, and multiple e-commerce platform backends may display the tax number as "invalid", which will affect the normal sales of the product.

Many sellers are concerned that other EU countries may follow suit, and if the cost is too high, sellers may be forced to exit the market.

However, regardless of the situation, relevant sellers must be vigilant. Many service providers have already issued announcements: Solution 1: Keep the tax ID and pay a guarantee deposit, and maintain the validity of the tax ID; Option 2: Abandoning the tax number → Not paying the guarantee deposit tax number will become invalid after the deadline and be removed from the VIES system.

Although the margin policy has not been officially launched yet, relevant cross-border enterprises are already taking measures. Contact the tax service provider to appeal and provide feedback to the Italian tax authorities, hoping to waive the deposit of 50000 euros.

Because many sellers on cross-border platforms withhold and pay taxes to the tax bureau through the platform, it would be unreasonable to charge an additional deposit of 50000 euros.

Sellers can wait and see the results for now.

Whether it is the processing fee for small packages imposed by Europe or the 50000 yuan deposit, sellers are facing significant adjustments. If the policy is implemented, small and medium-sized sellers will bear the brunt and face heavy cost pressures, making operations even more difficult.

In this period of uncertainty, cross-border sellers must maintain a high degree of flexibility and sensitivity, adjust their strategies in a timely manner to cope with possible more variables.