The 25 lei fee for extra-EU parcels causes confusion. Romanians think they will pay more for orders from Shein and Temu

The 25 lei tax imposed on parcels coming from outside the European Union, which also concerns the Shein and Temu shopping sites, and which will be applied in Romania from January 1, 2026, is causing extensive debates on social networks. Most Romanians understood that they had to pay the tax, a sign that the authorities did not communicate enough about this topic.

A fee of 25 lei will be applied in Romania on Temu and Shein parcels, from January 1. Archive photo

The main uncertainty surrounding the new parcel tax is who will ultimately bear its cost.

“I don't really order from AliExpress, so I didn't know exactly how they send the packages. Yesterday I placed an order for 3 things and it appears that they come separately, and they arrive after January 1, 2026. Who pays that 25 lei fee, me or AliExpress? I have already paid for the package contents and delivery charges on the app. Will I have to pay another 75 lei for three packages or will the tax be charged to sellers on AliExpress?” is the question asked by a young woman on the Reddit platform.

Most of the users gave her the wrong answer, that she is the one who has to pay, a sign that the authorities did not communicate enough about this fee.

The law actually states that the obligation to pay does not lie with the buyer, but with the shipper.

The money will have to be collected, on a case-by-case basis, by Romanian Post or courier companies. All of them will report monthly to ANAF and transfer to the state budget.

At the European level, this measure is a temporary solution, during the modernization of the Customs Union. At the same time, the current regime that allows small orders to be exempt from customs duties, although they remain subject to VAT and customs declaration, will be phased out.

The decision is expected to mainly affect e-commerce platforms that rely on deliveries from outside the EU, most often from China, such as Shein, Temu and AliExpress. The measure comes as Brussels officials try to address concerns about unfair competition, consumer safety, fraud by undervaluing orders, but also the environmental costs associated with the increase in the volume of small shipments.

The huge volume of orders forced the levy

According to data cited by European institutions, the European Union received approximately 4.6 billion low-value orders in 2024, most of which were sent from China. This high volume has created pressure to act faster than the original timetable for a broader reform, XTB analysts explain.

For platforms like Shein, Temu and AliExpress, introducing a flat fee per shipment could put pressure on either the final price or profit margins. The tax would affect products with a low unit price, such as small gadgets or discount clothing, and platforms may pass on some of the costs to the consumer or absorb some of the costs to remain competitive.

To reduce customs costs, platforms could move some of their inventory and distribution from EU warehouses, even if this involves more capital, higher storage costs and greater operational complexity.

The new tax is part of a broader move to tighten the “regulatory net” on low-value imports and e-commerce, including product, labelling, security and fraud concerns, which can lead to increased compliance and enforcement costs.

Who benefits after applying the additional tax

With this measure, the main beneficiaries are companies that already sell and ship from warehouses in the European Union. As direct orders from abroad will now incur an additional cost, the price differential with European trade will tend to decrease. We are talking about an effect that can therefore benefit European traders and markets with sellers and logistics in the EU.

In addition, if platforms such as Shein, Temu or AliExpress decide to store goods in Europe to avoid delays and costs, logistics companies and distribution centers in the EU could also see an increase in demand, XTB analysts say.

In short, small European sellers could benefit from some “relief” in terms of competition, especially in the case of cheap and impulse buys, added analysts at XTB, an investment company on international stock markets.

Who pays the tax on Temu and Shein parcels delivered to Romania

The 2nd package of fiscal measures approved in the Parliament imposes a tax of 25 lei on Temu and Shein parcels, whose declared value is below the ceiling of 150 euros, from January 1.

A logistics fee is established for the management of the flows of non-EU goods, in the amount of 25 lei for each parcel containing goods with commercial value, hereinafter referred to as parcel, entering the territory of Romania, with the starting place of delivery outside the territory of the European Union, whose declared value is below the ceiling of 150 Euros, hereinafter referred to as “tax”, regardless of the place of release for free circulation in the European Union.

The tax is applied to the parcels containing the goods delivered in the case of distance sales of goods imported from third territories or third countries.

Parcel means every shipment containing goods with commercial value, related to distance sales operations of goods imported from third territories or third countries.

The obligation to pay the tax rests with the supplier of the goods, the person who sends the parcel or the entity that facilitates the distance sale of goods through a digital platform, as the case may be.

Parcels whose delivery has not been made to the final recipient in Romania are not subject to the tax. In the case of parcels that are returned based on the provisions of Government Emergency Ordinance no. 34/2014 regarding the rights of consumers in contracts concluded with professionals, as well as for the modification and completion of some normative acts, approved with amendments by Law no. 157/2015, by the recipient in Romania, the fee is not reimbursed.

The parcel that is the subject of this normative act, delivered on the territory of Romania, is accompanied by information regarding its declaration of origin, as it was sent in order to carry out the simplified customs formalities through the customs declaration with a reduced set of data – H7, issued by the supplier of the goods, the person sending the parcel or the entity that facilitates the distance sale of goods through a digital platform, as the case may be.

The obligation to collect, declare and transfer the tax rests with postal service providers as defined in art. 2 point 2 of the Government Emergency Ordinance no. 13/2013. These tax provisions take effect on January 1, 2026