Greek retailers urge EU to bring forward fee on low-value parcels

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ATHENS (Reuters) -Greek retailers want the European Union to bring forward the introduction of a two euro ($2.30) handling fee for low-value e-commerce packages coming into the bloc, a letter, seen by Reuters, showed.

The EU disclosed plans in May to remove the duty-free treatment of low-value consignments worth no more than 150 euros and impose the 2 euro fee in 2028, as the bloc faces an influx of goods sold online from Asia.

In the letter to EU trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic, the president of the Hellenic Confederation of Commerce, Stavros Kafounis requested the implementation of the proposals “no later than 2026.”

EU customs authorities handled some 4.6 billion low-value packages bought online in 2024, 91% of them coming from China and a doubling from 2023.

About one in five euros from sales of e-commerce goods in Greece is going to Chinese platforms and is expected to rise exponentially in the next coming years, according to the Hellenic Confederation of Commerce.

“The rapid growth of mega e-commerce platforms based in China has already disrupted the level playing field across the EU retail market,” Kafounis said in the letter.

The proposed two euro fee, which needs approval from EU governments and the European Parliament, would be incurred by the online retailer, rather than by customers.

($1 = 0.8712 euros)

(Reporting by Lefteris Papadimas. Editing by Jane Merriman)