Khaberni - Intermediaries who buy through e-commerce applications such as SHEIN and Teemo protest against the new parcel tax.
Intermediaries believe that this tax threatens their business, especially since they gather orders to benefit from the delivery discount.
Intermediaries make purchases through e-commerce applications to save on delivery costs imposed by these companies on small parcels, then they distribute the orders to their owners, benefiting from the discounts provided by the applications.
16% tax on postal parcels starting from the beginning of February
The Customs Department will start applying a 16% tax on postal parcels from next Sunday, corresponding to the first of February, as part of the regulation of e-commerce and balancing it with traditional commerce.
The Director-General of Jordan Customs, Customs General Ahmad Al-Akhalik, stated that the decision was made in November last year, and it stipulates the imposition of a 16% tax on e-commerce postal parcels valued at less than 200 Jordanian dinars, indicating that the decision will take effect starting from the first Sunday of February 2026.
He explained that this tariff includes all purchases made online, whether from within Jordan or abroad, including shipments coming from China and other countries around the world.
The Director-General of Customs confirmed that parcels valued over 200 dinars will remain subject to previous instructions and decisions, and the tax on them will be calculated according to the existing customs tariff items, noting that the new specificity is limited only to the category of parcels that do not exceed 200 dinars.
He added that shipments valued over 1000 dinars are regulated by original customs declarations according to the current legislation.
Al-Akhalik pointed out that customs rely on the invoice value and the attached bill of lading to calculate the tax, and in case of doubt about the declared value, it is estimated according to customs procedures in a manner consistent with the nature of the goods.
He noted that the collection of sales tax on postal parcels is carried out through the E-Commerce Center in Muqabalin, confirming that there has been no change in customs procedures, except for the tax rate imposed on this category of parcels.
Al-Akhalik alerted that the decision has maintained a minimum sales tax amount of 5 dinars, contrary to what was previously circulated about its cancellation, explaining that this measure aims to maintain balance between e-commerce and traditional commerce, which has been affected by the growth of online purchases.
The Director-General of Customs confirmed that there is no fixed ceiling for the number of purchases for each citizen, indicating that dealings are based on customs value brackets, not on the number of parcels, such that each bracket is subject to its own customs rules.
Al-Akhalik clarified that the new tariff does not relate to the country of origin of the parcel; it is applied to all parcels received from various countries around the world, regardless of whether the shipments are coming from China or elsewhere.
Al-Akhalik revealed that the number of bill of ladings cleared since the launch of the E-Commerce Center on September 1, 2024, exceeded 3.5 million bills of lading, explaining that the vast majority of them were for parcels valued at less than 200 dinars, with about 3.227 million bills of lading processed, reflecting the growing trend of online shopping in Jordan.
