European UnionEUR-Lex
AEOs keep 30% guarantee for distance sales as new F00 fee starts 1 November
Regulation 2026/2403 extends the 30% comprehensive-guarantee cut to distance-sales amounts for trusted traders, adds handling-fee code F00 and swaps H7 code C07 for F53.
By Taxxa AI OyPublished 28 October 2026
Industry: Across industries
Authorised economic operators for customs simplification keep a reduced comprehensive guarantee for distance sales.Europa The amount of the comprehensive guarantee is reduced to 30 % of the parts of the reference amount
Europa determined under Article 155(2) and Article 155(3)(a) and (c) of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447, so the existing 30 % cut now also covers the reference amount for release for free circulation of goods sold in distance sales
Europa.
Customs authorities must monitor whether authorised operators using the cut for the distance-sales part of the reference amount still meet the Article 39 criteria of the Union Customs Code, in particular financial solvency, and take appropriate measures under Article 28 of the Code where necessary. The recitals link this safeguard to the fact that a significant part of distance-sales goods had been exempt from customs duties until July 2026. The monitoring is without prejudice to the general monitoring duty in Article 23(5) of the Code.
Declaration systems change at the same time. For H7 release-for-free-circulation declarations, only additional procedure codes C08, F48, F49 and F53 specifically allowed for that column may be used: the explanatory note is amended to include the new code F53Europa and to delete code C07
Europa. A new tax type F00 for the Union handling fee is added to the tax-type table
Europa, allowing the fee to be calculated in customs declarations. The fee itself is the handling fee for requests to place distance-sales goods under release for free circulation, whose amount is set in Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/2152 supplementing Regulation (EU) 2026/2108.
The measure sits in the distance-sales package for consignments whose intrinsic value does not exceed EUR 150 in total where importation is VAT-exempt or the goods are in a postal consignment. Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382 introduced a temporary EUR 3 customs duty per item in such consignments.
The Regulation enters into force on the day of its publication and applies from 1 November 2026Europa, the same date as the Delegated Regulation setting the handling-fee amount, to avoid delay to the handling-fee suite.
Legal basis is Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/2403 amending Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447 as regards the comprehensive-guarantee reduction for authorised economic operators for distance sales and data elements for the Union handling fee.
Update H7 declaration logic to F53 and F00 by 1 November 2026 and check AEO guarantee coverage for distance-sales volumes.
Sources
- COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) 2026/2403 of 28 October 2026 amending Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447 as regards the reduction of comprehensive guarantees for authorised economic operators in relation to distance sales and the adjustment of certain data elements for the Union handling fee
- COMMISSION DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) 2026/2152 of 21 September 2026 supplementing Regulation (EU) 2026/2108 of the European Parliament and of the Council by establishing the amount of the Union handling fee