After German Minister of Economic Affairs Robert Habeck, Austrian Finance Minister Magnus Brunner also spoke out in favor of abolishing the tax-free limit of 150 euros in the discussion about Asian shopping portals such as Temu and Shein. The background is the enormous amounts of parcels that are delivered from China to the EU.
The Asian online platforms mainly use air freight. For orders from non-EU countries, no import fees are charged for packages with a value of less than 150 euros. Recently, authorities have increasingly found defects and violations of requirements, such as under-invoicing, in products from third countries shipped to the EU.
The European Commission has therefore already proposed a number of changes in the area of e-commerce. For example, the customs exemption should be abolished and online sales platforms should be made more accountable by making them responsible for collecting customs duties and sales tax and by making the necessary data on internet sales available on a newly implemented EU customs data platform.
Brunner wants to pick up the pace
Brunner is not doing it fast enough. “We are determined to treat the regulation of e-commerce as a priority and not to wait until the planned implementation of the EU customs data platform in 2028,” the finance minister said in a press release. “This is about the customs’ own task. Namely, the protection of the European internal market and fair trade and a level playing field for all.”
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
