National handling fees in Romania, Italy, and France: challenges to the functioning of the EU customs union and the common commercial policy

This article examines the legality under EU law of national handling fees introduced by Romania, Italy and France in response to the growth of low-value consignments imported directly from third countries, especially China. Using a doctrinal and comparative approach, it argues that these fees qualify as prohibited charges having equivalent effect to customs duties, thereby infringing EU rules governing the customs union and the common commercial policy, areas that fall within the Union's exclusive competence. It further shows that the Romanian regime raises a distinct and underexplored problem: obligations and sanctions imposed on postal operators to secure the collection of an unlawful charge are themselves contrary to law, as measures having equivalent effect to quantitative restrictions affecting third-country goods. The article concludes that any handling fee reflecting the actual administrative costs should, in principle, be designed at Union rather than Member State level.