Since 1 July 2026, the European Union has ended the customs duty exemption for parcels worth up to €150. Norway is not a member of the EU customs union, but this reform affects almost everyone who trades goods on the China–Norway–EU route, whether they are a private person or a company.

What changed in the EU — in short

Until 30 June 2026, parcels worth up to €150 sent from countries outside the EU were exempt from customs duty. From 1 July, this exemption disappeared. In its place, the EU introduced:

• a fixed customs duty of €3 for each separate product line (HS code) in a parcel (not per parcel),
• a shift of responsibility for paying duty and VAT to the seller or the sales platform, instead of the consumer,
• an announced extra handling fee (around €2) starting in November 2026, for e-commerce parcels.

The €3 fee applies only to distance sales to consumers (B2C), usually reported by the seller through the IOSS system. B2B imports to companies registered for VAT are clearly excluded from this fee.

Norway: part of the EEA, but outside the EU customs union

Norway is a member of the European Economic Area (EEA) and benefits from trade simplifications with the EU, but it is not part of the EU customs union. This means every parcel moving between Norway and the EU still goes through customs, no matter what happens with the €150 threshold inside the EU itself. There are two separate issues here:

1. The reform from 1 July 2026 applies to goods from outside the EU (for example, from China) entering the EU –  including goods passing through Norway.
2. Trade between Norway and the EU follows separate rules based on EFTA agreements and preferential documents (EUR.1)  and the reform does not change these rules.

Let’s break this down into specific situations.

For individual customers in Norway

If you are a private person ordering goods from outside the EU to Norway (for example, from China, through AliExpress or Shein) – this specific EU reform does not affect you directly, because it applies to parcels entering the European Union, not Norway.

 Norway has its own separate system for charging VAT on foreign online purchases  VOEC (VAT On E-Commerce), independent of the EU changes.

However, if you order goods from Norway to an address in the EU (for example, sending a gift to family in Poland), or you buy from a Norwegian online store that ships goods directly from China to the EU, this now falls under the new EU rules: €3 per product line, if the parcel is worth up to €150, with the seller (not you as the recipient) responsible for paying the duty.

For trading companies: two different scenarios

Here, the B2C/B2B distinction matters a lot, both in practice and financially.

Scenario A: a company imports goods to Norway and sells to consumers in the EU

If a Norwegian company sells directly to consumers in the EU through distance selling (its own online store, a marketplace), then the company itself as the seller  becomes the «importer» responsible for paying duty and VAT in the EU, not the customer receiving the parcel. This means:

• the €3 fee per product line applies, for parcels up to €150,
• the company needs to register and connect with the EU’s payment system (IOSS or another VAT scheme),
• correct HS classification becomes more important — a wrong classification can change how much is owed.

Scenario B: a company sells to its own branch registered in the EU, for example in Poland

If the branch in Poland is a separate legal entity registered for VAT, moving goods from China either directly or through Norway  to that branch counts as a regular commercial import, not a sale to a consumer. In this case:

• the €3 fee does not apply, because this is not distance selling to a consumer,
• but the general customs duty exemption for parcels up to €150 also disappears Duty is now calculated using the standard tariff rate for that specific product (this could be 0%, or it could be more than €3, depending on the HS code),
• since this is a transaction between related companies, it’s important to pay close attention to the customs value declared at clearance. It should reflect a fair market value, not just the internal transfer price between the parent company and the branch,
• VAT is handled the same way as before, with no changes.

Scenario C: a company sells to independent companies in EU (pure B2B)

This is similar to Scenario B. A normal commercial transaction between independent businesses, not «distance selling» as defined by the reform. It is not subject to the €3 fee, nor to the shift of importer responsibility onto the seller. The same rules as in Scenario B apply: the general duty exemption for values up to €150 ends, standard tariff duty applies, and VAT stays the same.

The common thread for B and C

For companies operating purely on a B2B basis (whether with their own branch or an independent trading partner), the most important change is not the new €3 fee, but it’s the end of automatic duty exemption for small shipments. Until now, many low-value shipments within a company, or trade samples, crossed the border duty-free. Since 1 July 2026, this is no longer the case, and every shipment now requires correct tariff classification.

An extra factor: where the goods come from, and the route through Norway

If goods from China first arrive in Norway and only afterward move on to the EU, there are two separate customs clearances . Once entering Norway, and again entering the EU. This is unrelated to the reform described above. 

Preferential customs rates under EEA/EFTA agreements apply only to goods originating in Norway or the EU. 

Goods of Chinese origin do not get any preferential treatment just because they passed through Norway. The standard customs duty rate for Chinese-origin goods still applies, based on rules of origin, not the shipping route.