The rules of the game for low-cost electronic purchases from outside community borders have changed radically.
Since last July 1st, a tariff of 3 euros has been in force for items in packages with a value of less than 150 euros, many of them from Chinese platforms such as Shein, Temu or Aliexpress.
This puts an end to a tariff exemption that, according to Brussels, caused the European market to be flooded with 5.9 billion products that did not pay tariffs in 2025 alone.
The main purpose of the European Commission is to address a structural imbalance: "fractionation fraud", a loophole through which large foreign marketplaces undervalue goods or artificially split orders into millions of small packages to stay below the 150 euro threshold.
With this decision, agreed in the major customs reform of March 26, 2026, the EU seeks to save traditional local trade, mitigate the carbon footprint of mass transport and, above all, protect consumer safety.
A European investigation in 2025 revealed that more than 60% of low-cost goods entering the EU did not comply with safety standards.
The fine print: The surcharge is per item and platforms will pay in advance
Although the fee has raised fears among buyers, the European Commission has designed the regulation to assign tax responsibility directly to sales or transport platforms.
Consumers will not have to pay anything to customs authorities at the time of delivery, avoiding surprising retentions at destination. However, the Spanish Consumers Association (Asescon) warns that the logical reaction of firms such as Temu or Shein will be to pass on this cost by raising sales prices, which will make the digital shopping basket more expensive.
In addition, the final text introduces an important twist to curb illegal products: the Product Identifier (PID). Platforms must voluntarily declare this code from this July (and obligatorily from November 2026), allowing customs to massively track dangerous items.
To top it off, by November 1, 2026 at the latest, a new handling fee will also be applied to compensate for the logistical costs of European customs systems.
How does it affect Lanzarote? Differences and particularities compared to the peninsula
One of the main doubts among consumers was whether the particularities of the Fiscal and Economic Regime (REF) exempted the archipelago from this new surcharge. The customs answer is blunt: in the Canary Islands, you pay the same.
Although the islands have their own fiscal competence and are outside the VAT territory (applying IGIC), they are part of the Customs Territory of the Union (CTU). As it is a community customs duty and not a consumption tax, the rule affects without distinction.
However, the impact on the islands presents unique nuances that the buyer should be aware of.
Firstly, the exemption from IGIC remains intact. In the Canary Islands, orders from individuals under 150 euros are still exempt from paying the local tax (IGIC is 0%). The Canary Islands consumer will not pay this indirect tax, but will see the European tariff of 3 euros per item reflected.
Nor will it involve additional customs procedures (DUA) upon delivery. Since the regulations oblige platforms to collect the fee at the origin of the commercial transaction, the surcharge of 3 euros will be charged directly at the web payment gateway.
For the citizen of Lanzarote, this means that the package will arrive directly at their home without being held up at Canary Islands customs or requiring the presentation of the Single Administrative Document (DUA) upon arrival.
Although the fixed 3 euros alleviate current bureaucracy, e-commerce platforms usually apply additional transport surcharges to the Canary Islands due to their outermost region status. The local commerce sector of the archipelago has welcomed the measure, trusting that this increase in cost will reduce the volume of returns and mass shipments, boosting internal consumption on the islands.
This flat rate of 3 euros will operate as a temporary emergency solution until July 2028, when the new EU Customs Data Centre will become operational. From that date, the exemption for 150 euros will definitively die, and all foreign products, however cheap, will pay the ordinary tariff dictated by the standard tariff classification.