One-third of Hungarian consumers have scaled back the frequency of their purchases from Asian webshops since the introduction of a European Union customs duty on low-value parcels on July 1, a survey commissioned by delivery company DODO shows.

The representative survey, conducted by Ipsos, shows 29pc of Hungarian consumers have stopped using Asian webshops since the rollout of the EUR 3 customs duty levied on each product category for items valued up to EUR 150 from sources outside of the EU.

Around 5pc of survey respondents still buy as frequently from Asian webshops, but take care to limit their product categories per package.

About 29pc now buy products from Hungarian webshops that they earlier ordered from Asia, while a further 21pc now choose webshops based in other EU member states.

From November 1, the EU has slapped an additional EUR 2 handling fee per item on non-EU packages on top of the EUR 3 customs duty.

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How do the new EU customs charges affect Asian webshops?

The new rules apply to low-value goods shipped directly to EU consumers from countries outside the bloc, including purchases from popular Asian online marketplaces such as Temu and Shein. Crucially, the EUR 3 customs duty is calculated according to product categories rather than the total number of products in a parcel.

For example, a package containing several identical T-shirts attracts a EUR 3 duty, while an order containing T-shirts, shoes and electronic accessories could incur EUR 9 in customs charges if the goods fall under three different tariff classifications. The additional EUR 2 handling fee, introduced on 1 November, further increases the costs associated with importing low-value goods.

Why is the EU tightening rules on low-cost imports?

The European Union introduced the measures to address the rapid growth of low-value e-commerce imports and create fairer competition between European retailers and sellers based outside the bloc.

According to the European Commission, the previous customs exemption gave non-EU businesses a competitive advantage and made it more difficult to tackle undervalued shipments and products that fail to meet EU safety standards.

The changes are part of a broader reform of the EU customs system, aimed at improving oversight of cross-border online shopping. For Hungarian consumers, the DODO survey suggests that the new charges are already influencing purchasing decisions, with domestic and EU-based webshops gaining attention as alternatives to Asian platforms.

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