Two new charges in a single year, on top of a VAT liability that has existed since 2021, and constant confusion about who actually pays them. For the buyer, the question is what the parcel from Temu ends up costing. For the Romanian trader who imports small consignments or sells through platforms, the question is different: which of these obligations are his.
The national logistics tax, introduced by Legea nr. 239/2025, applies from 1 January 2026, as a fixed amount of 25 lei for each parcel of goods with commercial value entering Romania, dispatched from outside the Union, with a declared value under 150 euro. It is owed by the supplier, the sender, or the platform facilitating the sale, and it falls to the postal service providers delivering the parcel to collect and remit it.
The transitional customs duty of 3 euro per tariff heading applies from 1 July 2026, following the removal of the EU exemption for consignments under 150 euro, and it is added to the national tax, the two having a different legal nature. VAT is owed in Romania on goods sold and transported from outside the Union to individuals here, regardless of value, usually collected by the platform under the special import scheme. Three obligations, three legal bases, one final cost.
Parcels of goods with commercial value entering Romanian territory, dispatched from outside the Union, with a declared value under the 150 euro threshold, regardless of which member state releases them into free circulation. The amount is fixed at 25 lei per parcel, whatever number of products it contains.
The supplier of the goods, the person sending the parcel, or the entity facilitating the distance sale through a digital platform, as the case may be. Not the recipient. The public confusion since the tax was introduced started here: many buyers thought they would pay it on delivery.
The postal service providers, within the meaning of postal services legislation, who deliver the parcel to the recipient. They collect, declare, and remit it, which turns couriers into tax collectors and adds a new reporting obligation for an entire sector.
The measure was designed as a national response to an imbalance that the Union has since addressed. Once the European handling fee applies, it is expected to replace the national 25 lei tax. Until then, the two coexist.
For a 40 euro parcel with a single type of product, delivered after 1 July 2026: the 25 lei logistics tax, once per parcel; the 3 euro transitional customs duty, for the declared tariff heading; VAT at the applicable rate, calculated on the value of the goods. For a parcel with two different types of product, the 3 euro duty applies twice, while the logistics tax stays at 25 lei.
The difference in logic between the two taxes explains why they are added together: one is a domestic fiscal obligation on the logistics flow, the other a customs duty on the goods. And VAT, which already existed, is calculated separately and added on top of both. When the platform does not collect VAT under the special import scheme, it is requested on delivery, together with the courier's customs clearance fee, which produces large gaps between the price shown in the app and the amount actually paid.
For the Romanian trader, the effect runs the other way. The price gap against goods delivered from European warehouses narrows, and the cost advantage of importing small parcels directly falls. Whoever buys goods in bulk, under an ordinary customs declaration, does not fall under the small-parcel regime and does not bear the logistics tax; whoever was stocking their shop through individual orders does.
A company importing goods from outside the Union, regardless of value, owes import VAT, deductible if the goods are for taxable transactions, and needs the customs declaration and the documents evidencing the value. Stocking up through individual orders, placed in the administrator's name and paid from a personal account, creates exactly the type of discrepancy a tax inspection finds: goods sold with no purchase documents.
An individual who repeatedly orders quantities exceeding personal use and resells the goods moves onto different ground: that of undeclared economic activity, with income tax, contributions, and, above the threshold, VAT. Small parcels, individually insignificant, build a visible pattern over time, all the more so because postal service providers report cash-on-delivery consignments.
For those who sell, not buy, the obligations are those under the distance-selling regime: the 10,000 euro threshold, the special OSS scheme for sales within the Union, and the special import scheme for goods under 150 euro dispatched from outside it.
An individual or a company. The answer decides whether this is a parcel under the small-consignment regime or an ordinary import, with a customs declaration and deductible VAT.
The value of the goods, excluding transport and additional costs, measured against the 150 euro threshold. Below the threshold, the small-parcel regime applies; above it, the ordinary customs regime, with duties under the applicable tariff.
The platform, under the special import scheme, or the courier on delivery. The difference shows up in the price and in the documents you receive; for a company, in the ability to deduct it.
The 3 euro duty applies to each type of product declared, not to the parcel. Orders with many different items become disproportionately expensive relative to the value of the goods.
The customs declaration, the supplier's invoice, proof of payment from the company's account. Without them, the goods exist in the warehouse but not in the accounts.
For an individual, the frequency and quantity. For a company, stocking up through personal orders. Both give rise, over time, to questions about undeclared activity.
The price shown in the app, plus VAT, plus 25 lei, plus 3 euro per heading, plus any customs clearance fee. For goods intended for resale, the gap against suppliers within the Union has changed.
The tax is owed by the supplier, sender, or platform and collected by the postal operator. It is reflected in the price, not in an obligation of the recipient's own.
The customs exemption disappeared in July 2026, and VAT has been owed anyway since 2021, from the first leu.
They are added together, having a different legal nature: one is a domestic fiscal obligation, the other a customs duty.
Goods with no documents in the company's name do not exist in the accounts. It is the first finding of any inspection at a shop stocked this way.
Not directly. Under Legea nr. 239/2025, the logistics tax is owed by the supplier of the goods, the person sending the parcel, or the entity facilitating the sale through the digital platform, as the case may be, and the obligation to collect, declare, and remit it falls to the postal service providers delivering the parcel. Economically, it ends up in the final price; legally, it is not an obligation of the recipient.
A domestic fiscal obligation, not a customs duty, as the Ministry of Finance has stated. It applies as a fixed amount of 25 lei for each parcel of goods with commercial value entering Romanian territory, dispatched from outside the Union, with a declared value under 150 euro, regardless of the member state through which the goods are released into free circulation in the Union.
At Union level, the customs duty exemption for consignments under 150 euro was removed and a transitional customs duty of 3 euro per declared tariff heading was introduced. Both are added to the national tax, the two having a different legal nature. A parcel with two different types of product bears the 3 euro duty twice; the logistics tax stays at once per parcel.
Yes, and it has nothing to do with the 150 euro threshold: for goods sold and transported from outside the Union to individuals in Romania, VAT has been owed in Romania from the first leu since 2021. Platforms usually collect it under the special import scheme, known as IOSS, and show it in the price; when they do not, it is requested on delivery, together with the courier's customs clearance fee.
The import regime still applies, but the company's obligations arise: the customs declaration, import VAT deductible if the goods serve the business, and the record of the purchase. The logistics tax concerns parcels addressed to individuals, so it does not apply on the same terms; the actual classification is checked case by case.
The under-declaration is the sender's, but the consequences also reach the recipient: the goods can be held at customs, and the shortfall in duties and VAT is assessed by the customs authority. Repeated orders, with low declared values and quantities exceeding personal use, raise the separate question of whether the recipient is, in fact, trading.
Informative material, updated on 18 September 2026. It does not constitute legal or tax advice; individual situations must be assessed on their own facts.
If your company has received a notification or has an inspection under way, the related analyses are grouped under tax inspection. For the assistance provided to companies, see corporate taxation.
An initial discussion establishes which obligations belong to the company and which remain the supplier's or the platform's, which documents are missing for goods already brought in, and how the real cost is recalculated after the 2026 taxes.