In 2024, 4.6 billion parcels under €150 entered the European Union. Twelve million a day. According to the Commission itself, up to 65% arrived undervalued.
Since 1 July 2026 the exemption is gone. Every e-commerce shipment pays a flat €3 duty per category, and in 2028 the full reform arrives, with the customs Data Hub and duties from the first euro.
What changes for a forwarder or a parcel locker
Until now, the argument with customs was about paperwork: whether the description was coherent, whether the HS code existed, whether the value added up. Compliance platforms have specialised in exactly that.
What nobody checks is whether the physical contents match what was declared. With the exemption gone and ICS2 demanding precise descriptions per line, that discrepancy becomes a sanctionable risk for whoever signs the declaration. That is, for the intermediary.
Where evidence comes in
A contents record issued at origin, with a photo, weight, dimensions and a time sealed by a neutral third party, does not replace the declaration. It accompanies it. It is proof that the intermediary did what it could do: look at the parcel before moving it, and leave a record.
That is what we call demonstrable diligence. And it is why Know Your Parcel starts in the warehouse, not at customs.