European Commission ‘toolbox’ for safe and sustainable e-commerce
The European Commission (EC) recently published a Communication with plans for making the e-commerce sector safer and more sustainable. These plans require finetuning before further implementation is discussed.
At least 70% of all Europeans regularly purchase products online.
Every day, an average of 12 million small items arrive in the EU, often from China. Overall, total e-commerce trade flows have more than tripled since 2022.
But this growth presents significant challenges. For example, many of the products are unsafe and violate EU consumer protection laws. The short life cycle of certain products has severe environmental and climate-related consequences.
Targeting non-compliant e-commerce companies
The EC proposes a ‘toolbox’ to address these issues. The toolbox includes a number of measures, such as:
- Following previous legislative initiatives in 2023, the Commission urges the EU Council to swiftly adopt new customs legislation for the establishment of an EU Customs Authority and an EU Customs Data Hub.
- The Commission proposes the introduction of a ‘handling fee’ for imported e-commerce items sent directly to consumers. The fee would be collected from the importer (e-commerce retailers and intermediaries) rather than the consumer.
European developments continue to unfold
The EU remains focussed on digital developments and regulating e-commerce. Proposed initiatives such as ViDA and Customs reforms underline this continued commitment.
Our Baker Tilly International network partners in the Netherlands previously published an article on this matter HERE.
