Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of proposed EU (a) taxes and (b) charges on small packages entering the EU on Northern Ireland, including parcels sent within the United Kingdom internal market.

We are aware of changes to the EU’s rules of low value imports and the announcement in December of its intention to introduce customs duty on these goods from 1 July 2026.

At Autumn Budget 2025, the Chancellor announced the removal of the UK's relief from customs duty on goods below £135 from March 2029 at the latest.

There is currently a consultation on these changes that closes on 6th March 2026.

We are committed to ensuring that the current facilitations available for parcels under the Windsor Framework continue to operate. This means that goods eligible to move under the UK Carrier Scheme and the UK Internal Market Scheme will continue to do so. These schemes are designed to protect goods moving within the UK internal market from incurring duty.

The benefits of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement will also continue to be available.

The Government continues to engage with industry and the EU to ensure any applicable arrangements are implemented correctly and to minimise any negative impacts on Northern Ireland consumers and businesses.