Mr. Wang from Shenzhen has been feeling a little stressed lately.

He’s been selling on Amazon Europe for three years, focusing on small daily necessities—€3 phone cases, €5 kitchen storage items, and €8 pet toys. Before July 1, these orders were processed through the tax-free channel for small packages under €150,Low profit margins but high volumeThe

After July 1, the EU’s new policy took effect—A flat tariff of 3 euros per product category...plus an additional 2 euros in customs clearance fees in November. He ran the numbers on his fingers and realized that the cost per item had jumped by 5 to 8 euros—meaning he was practically working for nothing on the phone cases that originally cost 3 euros each.

Before he could figure out how to adjust the prices, he received another notice from the tax authority on July 15—Enterprises participating in the third-party foreign exchange receipt pilot program must submit their filing documents by July 15.. Otherwise, you may face suspension of tax refunds or even be required to pay back taxes.

On the one hand, tariffs on the European market are increasing, and on the other, domestic tax compliance requirements are tightening,In the second half of 2026, the cross-border e-commerce sector faced two major setbacks at once. In today’s article, I’ll thoroughly explain these two critical factors.

Effective July 1, 2026, the European Union will officially end the duty-free exemption for low-value import packages valued at less than 150 euros, applying to small packages sent to end consumers.A uniform temporary tariff of 3 euros will be imposed on each category of goods., with a transition period ending on July 1, 2028.

Many people underestimate how damaging this is. Let’s look at three sets of data:

First.4.6 billion pieces. In 2024, the EU imported a total of 4.6 billion e-commerce packages valued at less than 150 euros,91% from ChinaThe

Second.5.9 billion items. By 2025, this figure will surge to approximately 5.9 billion items, equivalent to16 million items per daySmall parcels from China enter the EU.

Third.20%-60%. According to Flavorcloud’s estimates, for a $100 apparel order containing three different category codes, the total cost will increase by approximately 20% starting in November; for a mixed-category general merchandise order,The highest price increase per item can reach 60%The

The most problematic part is ”charging by product category”—in the same package, one T-shirt and one small fan fall under different HS codes, causing the customs duty to double to 6 euros; add a phone case, a charging cable, and headphones, and the total comes to 9 euros. A mixed order totaling 30 euros,Tariffs alone account for one-thirdThe

In light of Announcement No. 11 of 2026, new EU regulations, and audit notices issued by local tax authorities,These are the three situations most likely to trigger system alerts in the second half of the yearThe

The first type,Third-Party Foreign Exchange Receipts Without Filing. The contractual buyer is Company A, but the actual payer is Company B or Individual C. Even if the transaction is genuine, the lack of filing constitutes a risk indicator.

The second type,Single-entity store + Long-term 0110 customs clearance. There are no overseas companies; all exports are conducted under the 0110 general trade category. Under the penetrative supervision of the Golden Tax Phase IV system,The simple "0110" customs declaration model may not fully align with real-world cross-border e-commerce retail scenarios.The

The third type,Invoice-to-Shipment Matching / Circular Exports / Misdeclaration of Goods. These three types of behavior are the ones the tax authorities are best at detecting. Under the new regulatory environment,Facing back taxes, fines, or even criminal penaltiesThe

How to perform a self-check? Three steps, completed in 30 minutes:

Step 1,Retrieve a list of all third-party foreign exchange receipts from the beginning of 2024 to date, verify on a transaction-by-transaction basis whether the payer, the contracting party, and the customs consignee are the same.

Step 2,Log in to the ”Export Tax Rebate (Exemption)” module on the Electronic Tax Bureau, Check whether all actual receipt accounts have been registered. Those that have not been registered will be automatically highlighted in red by the system after July 15.

Step 3,Reviewing Store Entities and Customs Declaration Methods. For single-entity arrangements, consider setting up a Hong Kong or Singapore company as an intermediary; for long-term 0110 cases, assess the feasibility of switching to 9710/9810.

Here are three specific recommendations for cross-border e-commerce sellers regarding the regulatory landscape in the second half of 2026:

First, immediately initiate the filing process for third-party foreign exchange receipts.If you haven’t submitted it yet, the July 15 deadline has already passed. Although submitting it now is later than the deadline stated in the notice, proactively filing the late registration and preparing supporting documentation is far better than being flagged by the system and having to explain yourself later. When filing the late registration, please includeThird-Party Payment Agreement, Contractual Payment Provisions, and Explanation of the Relationship Between the Payer and the Purchaser...the pass rate will be much higher.

Second, prioritize shipping European orders to overseas warehouses.For direct-shipment products with a unit price below 15 euros, we must either raise the price, discontinue them, or transfer them to an overseas warehouse. There is no middle ground. With a fixed cost of 3 euros plus 2 euros,The direct-to-consumer model simply can't hold up.. Shein, Temu, and AliExpress have all invested in overseas warehouses; following the platforms’ lead is the safest approach.

Third, rebuild the core architecture.Starting in 2026, the fixed-rate taxation system for cross-border e-commerce will be completely phased out, and a uniform audit-based taxation system will be implemented. Sellers operating multiple stores,We should proactively apply the ”Saiwei Model”—Costs for multiple stores operated by the same entity are consolidated and allocated to each store based on their respective revenue shares. This is an officially recognized policy benefit,Why not take advantage of it?The

Ultimately, the cross-border e-commerce sector in the second half of 2026,It’s no longer a question of ”Can we sell it?” but rather ”Can we bring the money home clean after the sale?”The issue.

The tax-free benefit for small parcels in Europe ended 20 days ago, and domestic ”four-stream integration” regulations will only become stricter after July 15.Start a day earlier, and save 100,000 in back taxesThe

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