Shopping on Temu and AliExpress May Become More Expensive by the End of Autumn: What Will Happen to Parcels up to 150 Euros

The preferential regime for international parcels worth up to 150 euros may be canceled as early as autumn 2026. The relevant committee of the Verkhovna Rada on finance, tax, and customs policy expects the adoption of legislative changes that will provide for the taxation of such shipments with value-added tax (VAT).

The committee notes that the adoption of the relevant law is one of Ukraine's obligations to the European Union and the International Monetary Fund, which must be fulfilled this autumn.

As previously reported the "Judicial and Legal Newspaper", in May, the Verkhovna Rada rejected bill No. 12360 on amendments to the Customs Code regarding key performance indicators of the State Customs Service. The document, among other things, provided for the cancellation of the VAT exemption for international parcels worth up to 150 euros. There were not enough votes to support it.

After the bill's failure, the government must prepare and submit a new legislative initiative to parliament regarding the cancellation of the tax exemption for such shipments.

The relevant committee emphasizes that fulfilling this obligation is stipulated both by agreements with the European Union and the IMF's Extended Fund Facility (EFF) program. According to the updated program schedule, fulfilling this structural benchmark is necessary for further financing of Ukraine.

What May Change for Temu, AliExpress, and Amazon Buyers

Currently, international parcels worth up to 150 euros are exempt from VAT.

The previous draft bill provided for the actual introduction of a 20% VAT on goods that Ukrainians order from foreign marketplaces, including Temu, AliExpress, Amazon, and other online platforms.

The proposed mechanism envisaged that marketplaces would automatically charge VAT when placing an order. Then the funds would be transferred to the state budget through delivery operators.

If the seller was not integrated into the Ukrainian VAT administration system, the tax would have to be paid directly by the recipient through the postal operator or express carrier.

For tax administration, it was planned to use the UCR — a unique code for international postal shipments, which would allow automating the processing of parcels, including consolidated shipments when several orders are combined into one parcel.

At the same time, the final taxation mechanism will depend on the content of the new bill, which still needs to be submitted to the Verkhovna Rada.

Why the Authorities Want to Cancel the Exemption

Earlier, the Ministry of Finance stated that canceling the exemption for parcels up to 150 euros could provide additional revenues to the state budget of about 10 billion UAH annually.

Besides the fiscal effect, the changes are explained by the need to harmonize Ukrainian tax legislation with European Union legislation.

Business representatives have also repeatedly supported the cancellation of the current exemption, emphasizing that it creates unequal competition conditions between Ukrainian sellers and large foreign marketplaces.

Europe Is Also Tightening Rules for Cheap Parcels

Similar changes are happening in the European Union.

According to European media, from July 1, 2026, new rules for small international shipments will come into effect in the EU. They provide for the cancellation of the current preferential regime for parcels worth up to 150 euros and the introduction of a temporary fee of 3 euros per product category in the order.

The new rules will be in effect for two years — until July 2028.

The EU explains the innovations as a fight against schemes of artificially splitting large orders into small parcels and undervaluing goods to avoid customs payments.

According to the European Commission, about 4.6 billion cheap parcels arrived in EU countries in 2024 alone, almost twice as many as the previous year.

The popularity of platforms such as Temu, Shein, and AliExpress in EU countries continues to grow, which has also become one of the factors for reviewing customs rules.

Thus, despite the failure of bill No. 12360 in spring, the issue of taxing international parcels remains relevant. The relevant committee of the Verkhovna Rada expects the issue to return to the session hall this autumn, so the current exemption for parcels up to 150 euros may be canceled by the end of the year.

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