Cross-border e-commerce continues to grow rapidly in Europe. Every day, millions of small parcels arrive from outside the EU, shipped directly to consumers through marketplaces and international sellers. However, recent customs data suggests that a significant share of these shipments may not comply with European rules.
According to Belgian customs authorities, around one-third of inspected e-commerce parcels are found to be in violation of EU regulations. These violations include counterfeit products, safety concerns, and incorrect product value declarations.
The findings highlight a growing challenge for the European e-commerce ecosystem: ensuring product compliance amid an unprecedented influx of cross-border online purchases.
The numbers behind the investigation illustrate how large the challenge has become. Liège Airport in Belgium, one of Europe’s major logistics hubs for online retail shipments, now handles around 3.6 million e-commerce declarations every day. In peak periods such as early 2026, this number even reached 4.7 million daily declarations.
Overall, customs authorities registered 1.3 billion e-commerce declarations in 2025. Yet only a tiny fraction of these shipments can be physically inspected. In fact, just 0.006% of all declarations were checked, representing around 216 cases per day.
Despite the limited number of inspections, the violation rate is strikingly high. Among the parcels examined, roughly 30% were found to violate EU rules.
The detected violations span several categories.
In 2025, customs authorities recorded 25,840 cases of counterfeit goods, representing a 64% increase compared with the previous year.
Other issues were also identified:
These types of violations are particularly relevant in the context of cross-border e-commerce. Many shipments arrive from outside the EU as small individual parcels, making enforcement more difficult than with traditional import channels.
European policymakers have already expressed concern about the rapid rise of cross-border e-commerce shipments. The huge volume of small parcels entering the EU every year places significant pressure on customs authorities and market surveillance systems.
Recent EU discussions have focused on strengthening enforcement mechanisms and ensuring that non-EU sellers follow the same product safety, environmental, and consumer protection standards as European businesses.
Without effective oversight, non-compliant products can undermine consumer safety and create unfair competition for EU-based retailers that must comply with strict regulations.
At the same time, the rapid growth of e-commerce imports is forcing authorities to rethink how customs control works in the digital retail era.
For e-commerce platforms, retailers, and brands, the findings highlight the importance of transparency and accurate product information in cross-border trade.
As more products are sold online across international borders, reliable product data becomes essential for ensuring regulatory compliance, clear product identification, and proper classification during customs processing.
Structured product information can help marketplaces and retailers provide detailed specifications, safety information, and standardized product attributes. This not only improves product discovery and comparison for consumers but also helps authorities verify product compliance more efficiently.
In the broader e-commerce ecosystem, better product data and standardized content can help reduce compliance risks and improve trust in cross-border online retail.
The EU e-commerce market continues to expand rapidly, driven by marketplace growth and cross-border shopping. However, the customs data suggests that regulatory enforcement is struggling to keep pace with this growth.
With billions of parcels entering the European market each year and only a small fraction inspected, authorities face a complex balancing act: supporting digital trade while protecting consumers and maintaining fair competition.
For retailers, marketplaces, and technology providers, the message is clear. As e-commerce becomes more global and data-driven, compliance, transparency, and accurate product information will play an increasingly important role in the future of European digital commerce.
Read further: News, e-commerce, ecommerce, EU, Icecat
