16 September 2026, Brussels
The European Parliament has today adopted the reform of the Union Customs Code, completing the legislative process. Toy Industries of Europe welcomes this milestone to address the influx of illegal toys, especially through small parcels..
For customs purposes, the reform makes online platforms and distance sellers the “importer for distance sales”, responsible for the goods they bring into the EU. It also establishes an EU Customs Authority and an EU Customs Data Hub to improve risk targeting, and introduces a handling fee on small parcels, discouraging business models built on flooding the EU with consignments that are almost impossible to control.
The need is urgent. In 2025, TIE tested 70 toys sold by non-EU sellers on online platforms: 96% failed to comply with EU law, and 86% were outright dangerous for children.
Two things will now determine whether this reform works:
- The “importer for distance sales” concept has to work in practice.
It should be clear that customs authorities can act against online platforms on non-fiscal grounds, not only where non-compliance is considered ‘systematic’, but when a shipment is illegal, such as a dangerous or counterfeit toy.
- The customs rules must be backed by strong market surveillance and product rules.
The reform can make platforms accountable at the border, for customs purposes. But it does not give them responsibility for a product’s compliance once that product is on the market. Today, market surveillance authorities are frequently unable to act because no economic operator responsible for a product exists in the EU. The European Product Act must close this gap: every toy sold to an EU consumer should have an identifiable EU-based operator responsible for its compliance and, where none exists, the platform still choosing to facilitate the sale should assume that responsibility.
This is the ask that 180 toy companies put to European Commission President von der Leyen this month, from family-owned SMEs to global brands.
Customs reform is a decisive step. The European Product Act must be the next one.
