Shein Faces New Hurdles as Italian Senate Proposes ‘De Minimis’ Measures Before EU

Italy is losing patience and refuses to wait until 2028 or the end of 2026 to curb the arrival of parcels of less than €150, which enter European homes without paying taxes. Giorgia Meloni’s government is considering incorporating into the 2026 Budget Law a new “administrative fee” of two euros per parcel, a measure initially aimed at shipments of less than €150 from non-EU countries, but which could be extended to all low-value shipments, including domestic ones.

The measure, in the form of an amendment to the budget, has been presented in the Senate by Fratelli d’Italia with the signature of Senator Matteo Gelmetti and is incorporated into the basic text of the budget, which is currently under political and technical debate. In its current wording, the surcharge is justified as a fee to cover the administrative costs of customs formalities and would fully affect the model of platforms such as Temu or Shein, whose business relies precisely on the high volume of micro-shipments.

Italy, Brussels and the industry agree on the diagnosis: 2028 is too late for the abolition of de minimis

The proposal faces a fundamental legal limit: Italy cannot unilaterally introduce new selective tariffs, since customs policy is the exclusive competence of Brussels. For this reason, the Executive is considering transforming the measure into a universal surcharge for all low-value packages, including those circulating within the country. The measure would entail a possible specific surcharge for deliveries handled by ecommerce platforms, which would extend the impact to marketplaces such as Amazon or eBay.

Such an extension would increase the collection potential, but also the political sensitivity of the measure, government sources admit, but at least the Italian executive would respond to the internal clamor in the country that denounces the competitive disadvantage of European companies compared to Asian ones.

The advance of the project comes after months of pressure from the sector. Both the Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana (Cnmi) and Confindustria Moda have denounced that the avalanche of low-cost micro-shipments erodes the competitiveness of made in Italy.

Customs policy is the responsibility of Brussels, so the Italian government is considering extending the surcharge to all low-value packages

The Minister for Enterprise, Adolfo Urso, has reiterated that “tariffs also for products below €150 must come into force now, not in 2028”, insisting that the response must be immediate.

Europe steps on the accelerator: abolition of de minimis in 2026

The Italian move puts more pressure on the European agenda. The Commission is preparing a key breakthrough in the withdrawal of de minimis, the regime that exempts packages of less than 150 euros entering the European Union from customs duties. At the proposal of Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic, it is on the table to abolish the exemption in the first quarter of 2026, two years ahead of schedule.

The objective: to shield the competitiveness of European companies from the 4.6 billion micro-shipments that enter the EU annually from abroad, mostly from China. Brussels admits that it is coming under increasing pressure from the European business community to curb the flood of packages that fuels the meteoric growth of Shein and Temu.

In this context, the Italian surcharge is not just a tax measure, but a strategic instrument to respond to international competitive pressure and align with the European regulatory shift. Although the final text has yet to be negotiated, its approval would mark a milestone in the redefinition of the competitive framework for fashion ecommerce in Europe and in the country’s attempts to protect the added value of its supply chains.