Cypriot consumers were not deterred by the imposition of duties on packages from Shein and Temu.

According to data from the Customs Department for the first 15 days of July, we have surpassed 100,000 packages containing 400,000 different product categories, and it is estimated that by the end of the month, this number will reach 200,000–250,000.

Speaking on the Alpha News program, Customs Department spokesperson George Konstantinou explained that if consumers have not paid customs duties when ordering the products, then the three-euro charge per product category may be imposed on them by the courier company or the post office upon delivery or pickup. Unless the order was placed from a warehouse in another Member State, where customs duties have already been paid.”

As explained, in this case—where the products were ordered from a European warehouse and customs duties have already been paid by the companies upon their importation into another Member State or into Cyprus— then the consumer will not have to pay the 3 euros.

SEE ALSO: Small Packages Have “Overwhelmed” Customs: What’s Happening with Orders from Temu-Shein and the €3

So far, since July 1, the 100,000 parcels have contained an average of four to five items, with customs duties ranging from 12 to 15 euros.

As for the revenue from customs duties, Mr. Konstantinou noted that “Since we’ve had the first fifteen days, we’ve already collected around 400,000 at three euros each; if you do the math, that’s around 1.2 million euros for the first fifteen days. Of this amount, 75% will be remitted to the European Union, and 25% will remain with the Republic of Cyprus to cover administrative costs associated with enforcing the tariff.”

What Cypriots Are Ordering

On September 29, the new automated import system went into effect, through which platforms submit their declarations directly to Cyprus.

“And from that date on, this explosive increase in the submission of declarations for low-value packages had essentially begun, up until then, we could say that companies submitted their declarations to other Member States, any parcels released by those other member states would be sent to Cyprus; therefore, no declaration is required in the Republic of Cyprus.”

Over the past ten months, it appears that clothing ranks first and accounts for a large percentage of the shipments arriving in these low-value parcels, while a considerable number fall into the category of plastic goods.

As for packages arriving in Cyprus, the data show that the temporary 3-euro duty has not affected orders.

“This is what we’ve been saying from the start: that this temporary 3-euro duty won’t significantly affect consumer purchases, because buying from these platforms is still cost-effective.”