Italy to Impose ?2 Domestic Tariff on Small Parcels from October, Adding to Existing ?3 EU Fee

[Ebrun Original] On July 26, Italian Minister of Economy Giancarlo Giorgetti informed parliament that the government plans to impose a ?2 domestic tariff on each parcel entering Italy with a commercial value not exceeding ?150, starting this October.

This measure will be applied on top of the existing ?3 tariff for low-value parcels set by the European Union, further increasing the cost for cross-border small parcels to enter the Italian market.

According to the currently effective arrangement, the EU's ?3 tariff on low-value parcels entering its territory has been implemented since July. Italy's own ?2 domestic charge, originally stipulated by the Budget Law and once postponed to July, was not implemented simultaneously but has been further delayed to early October.

If both charges are implemented concurrently, each parcel will face an additional cost of ?5, comprising the ?3 EU tariff and the ?2 Italian domestic tax, in addition to Value-Added Tax (VAT).

In fact, to avoid the so-called 'double taxation' scenario where the Italian domestic charge and the EU tariff would coincide, the government previously included a postponement clause in the relevant implementing decree, deciding to temporarily suspend the ?2 domestic fee to create a time gap with the EU's ?3 tariff.

Despite this, opposition within the industry to this domestic tax set to take effect in October has not subsided.

Meanwhile, cost pressures at the EU level continue to intensify. The EU also plans to implement a separate 'handling fee' starting this November, intended to cover customs administrative costs. Currently, EU member states have reached an agreement on this charging mechanism, and it is expected that all member states will initiate collection by November at the latest.

This means that starting this autumn, low-value parcels entering Italy will successively face multiple cost layers: the EU's ?3 tariff, Italy's ?2 domestic tax, and the customs handling fee. The overall tax burden for small parcel imports will increase significantly.

For many product categories with inherently low value, an additional cost of several euros per parcel is considered an 'excessively heavy' burden.

The Italian Transport and Logistics Federation has publicly called for the cancellation of the ?2 domestic charge and sent a letter to Economy Minister Giorgetti, warning that this policy could be a decision that 'boomerangs' or 'shoots itself in the foot.'

The Federation pointed out that if Italy's import costs become significantly higher than other EU countries, major international express companies would have a strong incentive to shift their cargo flights to neighboring markets like Germany, Belgium, or the Netherlands, clearing customs there and then transporting goods into Italy by truck.

Such adjustments could trigger a series of chain reactions: Italy's airports are expected to lose approximately 50% of their cross-border cargo volume, customs revenue would actually decrease, and the ability to supervise imported goods would be weakened as more goods clear customs in other countries.

The Federation believes that compared to the long-term loss of logistics market share and the diversion of cargo business to other European logistics hubs, the additional fiscal revenue generated by the domestic tax is insufficient to offset the potential losses.

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