Belgium’s Package Tax Raises €42.5 Million in First Month

Belgium’s share of the new European package tax generated €42.5 million for the national treasury in its first month, according to figures confirmed by the Belgian customs authority to VRT NWS. The tax, which took effect on July 1, 2026, applies a flat fee of €3 per product category to parcels valued under €150 arriving from outside the European Union, as explained in a VRT NWS consumer guide and detailed by TechPulse.

A Significant Revenue Stream

In July, the tax generated €170 million in total revenue across the EU. As a European import duty, 75 percent of that amount — €127.5 million — goes to the European Union budget, while 25 percent — €42.5 million — stays with the member state where the goods enter, in this case Belgium. Business AM reported that the levy could potentially yield up to half a billion euros annually for the Belgian government.

Kristian Vanderwaeren, Director-General of Belgian Customs, confirmed the figures but struck a measured tone. “Because it’s a European import duty, 75 percent goes to the European Union,” he told VRT NWS. “25 percent, about 42.5 million euros, goes to Belgium. Those revenues are welcome, but in itself it’s not yet such a spectacular amount.”

Vanderwaeren expects revenues to rise in the coming months. “We’re in the low season, and Black Friday traditionally makes all the numbers explode,” he said. As stockpiles in European warehouses are gradually depleted and peak shopping periods approach, the monthly yield is projected to increase significantly.

Belgium at the Heart of Europe’s E-commerce Gateway

The tax targets a massive flow of goods. Last year, approximately 1.3 billion packages entered the EU through Liège Airport — about 3.6 million per day — the vast majority from Chinese platforms such as Shein, Temu, and AliExpress. This made Belgium a central entry point for the flood of cheap goods that previously entered the EU without paying customs duties.

The EU had maintained an import exemption for packages under €150 since 2010, when e-commerce was still in its infancy. The December 2025 agreement among EU finance ministers to introduce the €3 levy was designed to curb this influx and address what many European retailers viewed as unfair competition. Belgium initially planned its own €2 national tax but shelved those plans in December to align with the European measure, as RetailDetail also reported. A VRT NWS analysis from March estimated the tax could generate billions for the Belgian budget over time.

Chinese Platforms Adapt Quickly

Initial customs data shows a 35 percent decrease in declarations for cheap packages — about 1.26 million fewer packages in July. However, experts caution that this figure is misleading, as RetailDetail noted. There was a simultaneous 10 percent increase in packages valued above €150, on which the flat tax does not apply.

Chinese e-commerce platforms have developed several strategies to minimize the tax’s impact, as detailed in an HLN investigation. Vanderwaeren explained that companies have pre-positioned inventory in EU warehouses. “They have massively imported goods into Europe to sell from their storage facilities,” he said. “What is sent from there to European consumers does not receive the €3 levy.” He noted that these companies still pay normal customs duties on those imports.

Platforms are also bundling products to push packages above the €150 threshold, where percentage-based duties apply instead of the flat fee. Many have absorbed the tax costs or subtly incorporated them into prices to avoid deterring customers.

Business Community Response

Belgian business organizations have welcomed the tax as a step toward fairer competition, while calling for stronger enforcement. In a press release, Bart Buysse, Managing Director of UNIZO, the Belgian SME federation, said: “We are satisfied with this package tax because it finally makes cheap packages from outside the EU less non-committal. Today, Belgian SMEs have to compete against webshops that bring dirt-cheap products to our market, often without the same costs, controls, or responsibilities. This €3 won’t change the world, but it is a clear signal.”

UNIZO has also warned that Belgium must not be left to bear the costs of EU-wide customs enforcement. Buysse cautioned: “This must not become a European cash-register operation where Belgium is left with the bill. A large part of those packages enters Europe through our country, but in the new European multi-annual budget, Belgium risks keeping less of the customs duties: from 25 to 10 percent.”

Greet Dekocker of Becom, the Belgian e-commerce federation, expressed skepticism about the tax’s effectiveness, arguing that a small price increase will not stop the influx of low-quality goods that don’t meet standards, since these products remain overwhelmingly cheap due to poor production standards.

What’s Next

A separate ‘handling fee’ of €2-3 per package is expected to take effect from November 2026, designed to fund enhanced customs controls. From 2028, the EU plans to fully abolish the import exemption for packages under €150, meaning normal customs duties will apply from the first euro.

For Belgium, the package tax represents a meaningful new revenue source for a federal budget under pressure. As Vanderwaeren noted, the summer months are traditionally quieter, and the true impact of the measure will become clearer as peak shopping seasons approach and European warehouse stockpiles are depleted.

The coming months will reveal whether the tax achieves its broader goals: curbing the flood of cheap imports, leveling the competitive playing field for European retailers, and generating sustainable revenue for both national and EU budgets.