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Business, Economy, Euro
Taxation and Customs Union

Goods bought online

Customs handle the huge and ever-increasing number of goods bought online and imported directly to consumers into the EU. It is part of customs function to oversee the additional risks brought by e-commerce to EU citizens and businesses.

Ever increasing share of customs activity 

A huge share of imports handled by customs are goods bought online and directly imported to consumers into the EU in small packages of less than 150 EUR (the so-called ‘e-commerce low value consignments (LVC)’). Between 2022 and 2023, the volume of this e-commerce activity increased by 75% and then almost doubled between 2023 and 2024, to reach an estimate of 4.6 billion e-commerce items at the end of 2024. Between 2024 and 2025, the growth slowed down to 26% and at the end of 2025, the volume had reached 5.8 billion items.

Evolution of the total number of import declarations, showing the surge in ‘low value consignments (LVC)’ compared to the volume of more traditional trade (EU27, billion items and share of LVC in total imported items (%), 2022-2025).  

CUP LVC in total import
DG Taxud – Surveillance database

Technical note:  The ‘LVC’ scope is “all low-value imported consignments, including the vast majority of e-commerce consignments and a few other imports. The value is widely and regularly used as an estimate for the total number of e-commerce items”. It includes all H7, all IOSS and all items with intrinsic value below EUR 150. Extraction from SURV on 6/2/2026.

Most goods bought online carry very low price tags

Infographic comparing the number and value of imported items in the EU between low-value consignments (LVC) and non-LVC in the first semester of 2025, highlighting a strong contrast between volume and value.

Low value consignments (mainly online goods deliveries from abroad) account for the lion’s share of imports in terms of parcels (around 97% of), but amount to only around 1.8% of total import value, as the average price in this segment is less than 9 €. 

Most e-commerce products are exported from China

Percentage of products imported by country

Products by CN code

A challenge for customs

The communication "A comprehensive EU toolbox for safe and sustainable e-commerce", published in February 2025, recognises the risks and challenges to customs and discusses possible measures to make customs and market surveillance authorities more resilient and effective, in particular through an advanced implementation of the Customs Union Reform, as well as through other measures (a possible non-discriminatory handling fee for imported goods delivered directly to consumers).