France €2 parcel tax raises €2.3M monthly

France’s €2 tax on low-value parcels from outside the European Union is bringing in about €2.3 million a month, far below the 2026 budget target cited when the measure was adopted. Florian Colas, director general of customs, gave that estimate on May 13 during a hearing at the French National Assembly, saying operators had largely rerouted flows since the tax took effect on March 1. French media reports said platforms including Shein, Temu and AliExpress shifted parcels through logistics hubs in neighboring EU countries and then trucked them into France. The tax was designed as a temporary national measure ahead of a broader European regime later this year. ### How far below target is the tax running? The French customs administration put monthly proceeds at about €2.3 million, versus a budget assumption of €400 million for the year in the 2026 finance law. Colas told lawmakers that the figure in the budget would “probably” have to be updated, though he did not give a revised annual estimate. (moneyvox.fr) March 1 is when the levy took effect in France on goods valued below €150 arriving from outside the EU under the H7 simplified customs declaration. The charge is €2 per item category, not €2 per parcel, and in some cases the seller or e-commerce platform is the party liable for payment. (moneyvox.fr) ### What did customs say changed after March 1? Colas told the Assembly on May 13 that “volume diversion” had been on the order of 90% since March 1. He said declarations dropped from about 500,000 a day to about 50,000, which is what produced the current revenue run-rate. (entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr) French reports citing the hearing said the targeted platforms had found a workaround by sending small parcels to hubs in other European countries before moving them into France by road. Those reports named Temu, Shein and AliExpress among the companies affected by the measure. (moneyvox.fr) ### Why was France collecting on its own before the EU? Article 82 of France’s 2026 Finance Law created the tax as a temporary measure that the government said was meant to raise the delivered price of very cheap imported goods and curb impulse purchases, particularly in fast fashion. Official guidance says the tax applies in metropolitan France and some overseas territories, and is due to lapse once an EU-level system takes over, and in any event no later than Dec. 31, 2026. (moneyvox.fr) KPMG’s summary of the law said the French parliament adopted the 2026 Finance Act on Feb. 2 and that the national tax was expected to run until the EU-wide parcel tax enters into force in November 2026. ### What happened at Paris-Vatry airport? (entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr) Paris-Vatry airport in the Marne department said freight activity fell sharply after March 1 as e-commerce parcel flows moved elsewhere. A report published May 11 said cargo volume at the airport dropped 65% in less than 10 weeks, from about 2,000 tonnes in January to 800 tonnes after the tax took effect, and that 17 positions were being cut. (kpmg.com) Jean-Marc Roze, president of the Marne departmental council, said in that report that pallets of small parcels from Shein and Temu were now transiting through Belgium to avoid the French levy. He said the airport wanted the government to revisit the measure because of the effect on jobs and freight traffic. (observatorial.com) ### What changes next at the European level? Colas told lawmakers that a €3 European customs duty per item type was due to start in July, followed by handling fees on small imported parcels in the EU by November at the latest. He said that was when member states would have a fully harmonized system. (observatorial.com) Service-Public and tax advisers describing the French measure also say the national levy is transitional and is expected to disappear once the EU regime takes effect later in 2026. The next public marker in the case is the European rollout cited by customs: July for the €3 duty and, at the latest, November for parcel handling fees across the bloc. (entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr) (moneyvox.fr)