France is suspending its tax on small parcels, bypassed by Asian platforms, due to the entry into force of a European customs duty.
The French government announced this Tuesday, June 30, the suspension, from Wednesday, July 1, of the 2-euro tax on small parcels, introduced in March. This decision comes as the measure, intended to curb the influx of packages from China, has been largely circumvented by the large Asian platforms and as the European Union (EU) is implementing a new customs duty applicable to the entire single market.
A national tax quickly circumvented
Since March 1, France has implemented a tax of 2 euros per category of items purchased on non-European e-commerce platforms to curb the influx of “small parcels”, less than 150 euros, from China. This measure was initially to be combined from July with a European customs duty of 3 euros per type of item ordered, applied on EU soil, bringing the total to 5 euros per category of items.
But the targeted players – Shein, Temu, AliExpress – found a solution by shipping the goods by air to other European countries, then transporting them by road to France. Hence a “volume shift” of “around 90% since March 1”, the Director General of Customs, Florian Colas, estimated in mid-May, assessing the yield of the tax at “2.3 million per month”, far from the 400 million euros planned for the year by the 2026 budget.
European harmonization in sight
“As we are in a single market, as we work with our European partners, it is no longer justified to keep only our small parcel tax” in addition to the new European “customs duty of 3 euros”, explained the office of the Minister of Commerce, Serge Papin. The national tax was then to be replaced by a similar, 100% European system, planned for November, thus harmonizing the rules for the entire single market.
Asked at the end of March about the possible suspension of this measure, an option already chosen by Italy, Serge Papin described its circumvention as “ephemeral”. But with taxation higher than that of its neighbors, France risked being harmed from July to November. “We love our Belgian friends, but it is not normal (…) that it is only them who get their change” when “the small packages continue to arrive in France despite everything”, summarizes Serge Papin’s office. “Our objective was (…) to push Europe to take measures” and “we won our case”, he insisted.
