Legal News for Businesses in Europe: October 2026

The state of legislation and legislative proposals is captured as of October 14, 2026. This edition covers developments since September 17, 2026, i.e., including the date of publication of the September edition.

We are following up on the edition Legal News for Companies in Europe: September 2026. For the same month, we are also publishing Legal News for Companies in the Czech Republic: October 2026 and Legal News for Companies Worldwide: October 2026.

What is Happening at the EU Level

You Will Pay Two Euros Per Item for E-commerce Imports, Not for Manufacturing Materials

This is the most practical change in this edition and also the one described most extensively in overviews. However, its scope is narrow, and it pays to know it precisely – it will save you an unnecessary project.

Who the fee applies to. According to Article 20(2) of the new Customs Code, customs authorities collect it on goods sold under distance sales that are released for free circulation. Distance selling is defined by reference to the VAT Directive – it concerns goods imported from a third country and dispatched to a customer in the Union. The debtor is the so-called importer for distance sales, i.e., either the person supplying the goods or the person facilitating the sale, typically an online platform. The fee is payable at least once a month and is non-refundable.

Who it does not apply to. European Commission guidelines explicitly state that business-to-business (B2B) flows are fundamentally unaffected because they fall outside the scope. A Czech manufacturer importing components, materials, or spare parts from a third country for its own production outside the distance selling regime therefore typically does not pay the fee. However, watch out for one exception: a bulk shipment that actually contains individual distance sales is assessed based on its content, not the form of transport.

In the Czech Republic, this practically affects three situations: An e-shop selling goods dispatched to the customer directly from a third country, typically in a dropshipping model. A person facilitating the sale as a platform operator. And a customs declarant or indirect representative acting as the importer on behalf of a foreign seller. If you do not fall into any of these roles, the fee will only affect you through the price you pay to the supplier.

What happened and why the date is not yet certain. On September 19, 2026, Regulation (EU) 2026/2108, the new Union Customs Code, was published and entered into force the following day. Two days later, on September 21, the European Commission adopted Delegated Regulation C(2026) 6694, Article 1 of which is a single sentence: the Union handling fee is EUR 2 per item.

However, as of the editorial deadline, the act is still within the scrutiny period of the Parliament and the Council, which runs until October 21, 2026, at the latest, and has not been published in the Official Journal. It will only apply from the tenth day after publication. November 2026 is expected, but the exact day has not yet been set – and the first affected customs declaration depends on it.

What "item" means. It is neither a shipment nor a single piece. An item is one or more goods in a single shipment that share specified data – primarily the tariff classification at the Harmonized System subheading level and origin. Thus, five identical t-shirts in one shipment constitute one item and EUR 2. A t-shirt, a watch, and a cable are three items and EUR 6. For shipments with mixed content, this changes the calculation significantly more than it seems at first glance.

Two things most commonly confused. The fee has no value threshold – it applies to all distance sales into the EU, including shipments over EUR 150. A shipment worth EUR 400 will pay standard customs duty according to the tariff and, on top of that, EUR 2 per item. And the fee is different from the existing flat-rate duty of EUR 3: the latter only applies to shipments up to EUR 150 and is temporarily valid until July 1, 2028. Once the fee begins to apply, both layers will run side-by-side for low-value shipments.

One piece of good news. Under the Customs Code, the Union handling fee is the only fee that customs authorities can collect for these services. Member States must abolish national handling fees as soon as it begins to apply. Anyone currently paying a national fee in an import country should verify whether it is set to be eliminated from November.

In parallel, a second obligation is being phased in, and this one has a fixed date. As of November 1, 2026, product identifiers are mandatory for imports under the distance selling regime; they could be provided voluntarily since July. The scope is the same as for the fee, i.e., distance selling, not all imports. Customs administrations are to use them to track down and block dangerous and non-compliant goods, so a missing identifier is not a mere formal defect – the shipment will not get through.

What to Do by the End of October

• First, verify whether you fall into the role of an importer for distance sales or a facilitator at all. If you only import materials and components for production and it is not a distance sale, you generally do not need to deal with the fee or identifiers. Customs declarant, by the end of October.

• If you fall within the scope, recalculate the landed cost based on the number of items, not the number of shipments, and reflect the fee in the price the customer sees at checkout. Those who fail to do so will have to cover it from their margin.

• For shipments with mixed content, consider consolidation based on tariff classification – a smaller number of different subheadings in a single shipment means a lower fee.

• Resolve with your logistics partner or customs declarant who will provide the product identifiers and in what format. Without this, your shipments will get stuck starting November 1.

• Verify for imports to individual states whether a national handling fee was previously charged there and whether the carrier will stop charging it from November.

Do you need to review the impact on a specific product range and adjust delivery and pricing clauses? Write to consultation@arws.cz – the Prague-based ARROWS law firm's legal team will discuss it with you, including the contractual implications.

From December 9, You Can Be Liable for Software as a Product, but Differently in Each Country

Member States are required to transpose Directive (EU) 2024/2853 on liability for defective products by December 9, 2026, and national regulations are to apply to products placed on the market or put into service from that date. However, the practical regime in a specific state depends on its transposition. We point this out due to a widespread error: a corrigendum dated May 7, 2026, shifted the decisive threshold to placement after December 8, meaning the new regime applies to products placed on the market from December 9 inclusive. Many publications still cite the uncorrected text.

What is changing. Software is now explicitly a product, whether standalone or embedded, including artificial intelligence systems. Liability is strict, i.e., regardless of fault. The lower threshold for damage and the upper limit of liability are abolished, and you cannot contract out of strict liability through terms and conditions. An exception applies to free and open-source software developed or supplied outside the course of a commercial activity.

However, two things are simplified in overviews, and the difference is substantial for companies. Compensation for destruction or corruption of data applies only to data not used for professional purposes – damage to business data does not fall under this heading. And the scope of liable parties is not expanded across the board: an online platform operator is liable only under specified conditions, a fulfillment service provider only in a certain position in the supply chain, and anyone who further handles the product is considered a manufacturer only in the event of a substantial modification to the product. Standard repair or refurbishment do not in themselves trigger liability.

But something else is new: the gap between countries is widening. Hungary was the first to complete transposition. The German Ministry of Justice has submitted a draft of a standalone law to replace the existing Product Liability Act, and the legislative process is ongoing. The Netherlands is taking the route of amending its Civil Code with the declared intention of transposing the directive one-to-one without national additions. As of the editorial deadline, some states have not even published a draft.

And now the essential part for Czech manufacturers: the Czech Republic has not completed transposition. In our country, product liability is regulated under Czech legislation in Section 2939 et seq. of the Civil Code – the separate Act No. 59/1998 Coll. was repealed as of December 31, 2013.

In the wording effective as of the editorial deadline, as well as in the wording promulgated for January 1, 2027, Section 2939(3) still contains a lower threshold derived from EUR 500, which is exactly what the new directive abolishes. An amendment to remove it had not been promulgated as of the editorial deadline. It may be promulgated later with retroactive effect, but today a Czech manufacturer must calculate with the old regime.

This leads to a practical conclusion that you will not read in overviews. A Czech company supplying to Hungary or Germany may find itself under the new regime before Czech law changes – the law governing the injured party's claim is decisive, not the manufacturer's registered office. If you supply to several states, a different regime may apply in each from December. And for long-life products, the new regime will easily run alongside the old 1985 regulation for ten years.

What to Do by the End of November

• Separate products you place on the market from December 9 from older versions in your documentation. This determines which regime applies and what you need to prove.

• Review liability limitations in your terms and conditions and licenses, and verify with your insurer whether your insurance covers data damage and the new scope of liable persons.

• For the countries you supply to the most, find out the status of transposition – in states without a new law, the existing regulation applies until its adoption.

Green Claims Without Proof Are an Unfair Commercial Practice as of September 27

The rules adopted to transpose Directive (EU) 2024/825 on empowering consumers for the green transition are to apply from September 27, 2026, and there is no transitional period. However, this is a directive, not a directly applicable regulation: your new obligation arises from the national regulation by which the state transposed it. Where a state completed transposition on time, the regime is already running. Where it did not, the directive itself does not apply directly to you as a private company, and the national status must be verified. The transposition deadline expired back on March 27, 2026.

Generic environmental claims such as "eco-friendly" or "green" are prohibited unless you can demonstrate recognized excellent environmental performance relevant to the claim. Claims of product climate neutrality based on carbon offsetting outside the value chain are prohibited. For sustainability labels, the decisive factor is whether they are based on a certification scheme with independent third-party verification or were established by a public authority – not whether the label is private.

What to watch out for now. Enforcement is national and varies depending on how each state transposed the directive and what penalties it set. If you sell to multiple countries, review the language versions of your e-shop separately and verify for each market whether the national regulation is already in force – you need substantiation for every market where you use the claim. However, the practical recommendation is simple: remove any claim you cannot substantiate everywhere, as waiting for transposition in individual states is not worth it.

Poland

Polish Subsidiaries Were Required to Submit an Application for Entry into the Cyber Registry by October 3

The Polish amendment to the Cybersecurity Act, which implements the European NIS2 Directive, has been effective since April 2026, and October 3, 2026, marked the deadline for submitting registration applications for entities that met the conditions on the date of entry into force. The scope is substantial – tens of thousands of entities fall within its purview, with the public sector making up the majority.

Why this matters to a Czech group. Five sectors that the previous Polish law did not cover are now entering the Polish regulation – postal services, waste management, chemical substances, food, and manufacturing. This is not a Polish gold-plating: these sectors are listed directly in Annex II of the NIS2 Directive. Poland goes beyond the European minimum elsewhere, for example in the energy sector, where it also covers coal mining.

However, the territorial aspect is crucial. The Czech Act No. 264/2025 Coll., on Cybersecurity, effective from November 1, 2025, applies under its Section 1(2) to persons established in the Czech Republic. The Czech and Polish obligations therefore exist side-by-side, and fulfilling one does not cover the other. Your Polish subsidiary may be an obligated entity even if the Czech parent company does not fall within the scope, and classification is assessed according to the Polish list.

Those who missed the deadline should submit the registration application as soon as possible and document when they became aware of the classification. Moreover, liability does not fall only on the entity. The NIS2 Directive imposes its own obligations on management personnel – they must approve risk management measures and oversee their implementation, can bear internal liability for damages, and, under specified conditions, can be temporarily banned from exercising managerial functions.

For a Czech executive director (jednatel) who also sits on the statutory body of a foreign subsidiary, this is not a theoretical matter. However, the specific sanction framework varies from state to state and must be assessed under local regulations, not according to a general list.

In parallel, the Polish invoicing agenda is underway. From January 1, 2027, penalties for failing to issue an invoice in the KSeF system will take effect, reaching up to 100% of the VAT amount on the invoice, along with the obligation to include the KSeF identifier in the bank transfer description, and even the smallest taxpayers, who currently benefit from an exemption up to PLN 10,000 per month, will enter the system.

Netherlands

The Dutch Presumption of Employment Will Kick In on New Year's Eve

The closest Dutch deadline is December 31, 2026, when a rebuttable presumption of employment for low hourly rates comes into effect. The decisive threshold is below EUR 38 per hour; the base amount in the law is EUR 36 with indexation, and the applicable amount for the first implementation will be set by ministerial decree.

The mechanism is not an automatic reclassification. The low rate establishes a presumption that the worker can invoke; only then must you prove that it is not an employment relationship. The threshold is not a ceiling – even above it, it could be a disguised employment relationship (švarcsystém). Therefore, review contractors slightly above it as well. Eleven weeks remain to restructure the cooperation model.

The 2027 tax package is currently in parliament. Discussions are ongoing, and it will only be finalized after approval by both chambers, usually in December. The most solid item is the reduction of the tax benefit for foreign workers from 30% to 27% from 2027, with increased salary thresholds, which is already in the law.

However, it does not apply across the board: for employees who started using the scheme by the end of 2023, transitional rules with the preserved rate apply, and for those starting in 2024, a different transitional salary limit regime applies. Offers with a start date from January must therefore be recalculated based on the date the specific person entered the scheme.

Meanwhile, the Dutch implementation of NIS2 has been effective since mid-August 2026, meaning Dutch subsidiaries are already dealing with registration and security measures today.

Germany

Germany Still Lacks a Pay Transparency Act

The transposition deadline for the European directive expired on June 7, 2026, and Germany has not completed transposition as of the editorial deadline. The adoption date is uncertain. The existing Entgelttransparenzgesetz of 2017 remains in force unchanged.

Nevertheless, waiting is not advised. The Federal Labour Court (Bundesarbeitsgericht) already confirmed peer comparison in October 2025 – a single better-paid colleague in a comparable position establishes a presumption of pay discrimination. Against the public sector, the direct effect of sufficiently precise and unconditional provisions of the directive may be relevant after the deadline has expired in vain. How urgent this is depends on size: employers with 150 or more employees must report for the first time by June 7, 2027, i.e., using data for 2026. Employers with 100 to 149 employees do not have their first report until June 7, 2031.

Selected Other Monitored Developments

France – Electronic Invoicing. The regime is fully live as of September 1, 2026. Businesses established in France must be able to receive invoices regardless of their size, while only large enterprises and mid-caps (ETIs) with 250 to 4,999 employees are currently required to issue them. For non-established businesses, the transmission of data to the tax authority applies to large enterprises and ETIs starting this September, and to micro-businesses and SMEs only from September 1, 2027. Size is assessed based on total turnover both in France and abroad.

Spain – Invoicing. Mandatory B2B electronic invoicing has started: Ministerial Decree HAC/1028/2026 was published in the Spanish Official State Gazette on October 5 and is effective from October 6, 2026, triggering the statutory deadlines. Businesses with a turnover exceeding EUR 8 million must invoice electronically from October 6, 2027, others from October 6, 2028. For VeriFactu, the deadlines currently remain before January 1, 2027, for corporate income tax payers and before July 1, 2027, for others. The Ministry of Finance announced on October 5 its intention to postpone them to October 2028, but the regulation had not changed this as of the editorial deadline.

Romania – VAT. The suspension of notifications for pre-filled returns for taxpayers under the cash accounting scheme ended on September 30, 2026, so it is necessary to respond to them again within the set deadlines. In the e-invoice system, the 5-working-day deadline continues to apply.

Hungary – Investment Screening. The special national regime applies under current regulations until December 31, 2026, and its future is undecided as of the editorial deadline, while the new European regulation will not be applicable until January 17, 2028. If you are planning an acquisition of a Hungarian target with signing in 2027, include a question in your due diligence regarding which approval regime the transaction will fall under.

Packaging. The European Packaging Regulation is applicable from August 12, 2026, but Member States do not have to finalize national sanction frameworks until February 12, 2027. Until then, the absence of a national fine does not mean smooth passage – market surveillance can stop non-compliant goods using general powers.

In other Member States, we did not identify any new developments between September 17 and October 14, 2026, that met the criteria of materiality and relevance for the target segment.

Deadlines for Companies to Watch in the Next 90 Days

Final Summary

Address November 1 immediately, but first verify whether it even applies to you. Mandatory product identifiers and the handling fee apply to distance sales, i.e., goods dispatched to a customer in the Union from a third country, and to the person making or facilitating such sales. Typical imports of materials and components for production outside the distance selling regime do not fall under them. If you fall within the scope, recalculate the landed cost based on the number of items, not the number of shipments – for mixed assortments, the difference is substantial. The date for identifiers is fixed, while for the fee, it depends on publication in the Official Journal.

Two deadlines require preparation prior to their entry into force: product liability as of December 9, where the date of placing the specific product on the market is decisive, and the Dutch presumption of employment as of December 31. For both, preparation takes longer than compliance itself. A longer but already fixed horizon applies to Spanish mandatory B2B e-invoicing: businesses with a turnover exceeding EUR 8 million from October 6, 2027.

For now, just monitor the publication of the handling fee regulation in the Official Journal, as the exact date of the first affected declaration depends on it, and whether Spain will actually reflect the announced postponement of VeriFactu to October 2028 in the regulation – until then, the 2027 deadlines apply.

Request local verification for four things: The status of product liability transposition in the countries you supply to the most. Whether the state you sell to has transposed the green claims directive and with what penalties. The registration of your Polish subsidiary in the cyber registry and the sanction framework applying to it and its management. And whether the existing national handling fee in the import country will indeed be eliminated from November.

Are you dealing with customs duties and cost allocation in supply contracts, a subsidiary, product liability, or a cross-border acquisition? Write to us at consultation@arws.cz. The Czech legal team at ARROWS law firm will assess your situation and, for projects spanning multiple countries, coordinate individual jurisdictions through the ARROWS International network. For professional liability cases, ARROWS law firm is insured with a limit of CZK 350,000,000.