EU urged to act against unexpected duty charges on e-commerce parcels

By Philip Blenkinsop

BRUSSELS, July 27 (Reuters) - Europe's consumer federation and a leading EU lawmaker are pressing the European Commission to ensure that consumers do not face unexpected charges for online purchases to cover a new customs duty.

On July 1, the EU introduced a €3 ($3.41) fee on low-value e-commerce imports that had previously entered the bloc duty-free.

BEUC, the umbrella group for consumer organisations from 31 European countries, says consumers must know the total price, including duties. The group said it found that duties are sometimes only shown late in the checkout process or not shown at all, leading to a possible unanticipated surcharge.

European postal providers, such as PostNL and La Poste, say the end-recipient may face payment requests before delivery.

Dirk Gotink, the Dutch lawmaker who oversaw the customs file in the European Parliament, wrote to EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic in a letter dated July 7, seen by Reuters, to complain about this practice, stressing payments should be the responsibility of platforms.

"Consumers should not receive unexpected charges upon delivery or as a pre-condition for delivery," Gotink said.

In some cases, postal operators also add on substantial administration fees, said BEUC, which plans to canvas consumers in the coming months to get a full picture.

A European Commission spokesperson said businesses were legally responsible for customs and the duties should not be collected from consumers. It added it was monitoring the situation.

Chinese e-commerce platforms Temu and AliExpress do include customs duties at check-out, in the case of AliExpress what it calls an estimate. Shein does not, but it said it pays all applicable duties and prices factor this in. Some Shein deliveries are from EU warehouses, which are not subject to duties.

The duty is designed in part to curb what the EU calls unfair competition from online retailers and a surge in the number of of e-commerce parcels to 5.8 billion in 2025.

Dutch aviation consulting company Rotate says direct China to Europe freighter capacity fell 18% in the 48 hours after the duties came into effect, but that moderated to a 14% drop in the first full week. Belgium and Hungary, both large entry points for e-commerce imports, experienced steeper declines, while capacity into London Stansted airport in non-EU member Britain rose 25%.

($1 = 0.8794 euros)

(Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop; Editing by Susan Fenton)