NEW CUSTOM CHARGES are kicking in today for people who receive a delivery that was shipped from outside the EU and valued under €150.

These online orders were previously exempt from customs charges, but a €3 fee will now be applied to each unique item in an order.

The fees, which will be imposed in every EU member state, will not only raise the cost of orders, but also impact the returns process, as the charge is non-refundable.

The new charges will be imposed on orders coming from the UK. However, orders entering Ireland from Northern Ireland are exempt under the Windsor Framework.

The consumer protection watchdog has advised shoppers that even if they ordered products before 1 July, they still have to pay the new charges if they arrive in Ireland from 1 July.

Revenue said the change is “designed to ensure fairness for Irish and EU businesses”.

However, Fine Gael MEP Regina Doherty has criticised the new tax for impacting shoppers “trying to stretch their wages”, rather than big online platforms “flooding” Europe with cheap imports.

Doherty said online platforms should make a “fair contribution towards customs enforcement and compliance costs”, rather than consumers.

Separate charges

As each different product type in an order, for example a skirt and a cap, will be charged separately, the fees will particularly impact people buying many items from fast fashion retailers as many are located outside the EU.

If a package contains three different items, they will each have a €3 fee imposed, plus Value-Added Tax (VAT) due. But if two items are identical in an order they will only be taxed as one item. 

Doherty was critical of this fee structure. “If someone orders a few inexpensive household items online, those charges can quickly add up. At a time when many families are already feeling the pressure of rising costs, we need to think very carefully before introducing new charges that ultimately fall on consumers,” she said.

An Post’s website outlines that for most large retailers, the fees will be included at the point of sale, but in some instances, you will need to pay this charge to An Post on behalf of Irish revenue even if VAT was already included at checkout.

They said that if you are buying from smaller non EU retailers, and you don’t pay the VAT at checkout, you will need to pay the VAT and duty before delivery.

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) warned the public to be alert to text message scams as the new charges come into effect.

They said the new scam texts may pose as a delivery company or Revenue asking the recipient to pay a fee.

However, charges are never paid directly by consumers to the Revenue Commissioners and An Post has also said they will never send people a click through link to pay charges.

Bank of Ireland has also warned that the change will likely result in a “surge of fraud attempts”, while the head of the fraud protection department at the bank encouraged a “zero trust” approach to unexpected contact.

The bank warned the public to not click on or open suspicious links and attachments, never respond to a text message unless you are sure the text is genuine and never share full card details, passcodes, activation codes and online bank credentials.

Read our explainer to find out more about how exactly the new charges will work.