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European subscription FAQs

What has changed for magazines dispatched to Europe?

From 1 July 2026 an additional customs duty of €3 per delivery impacts magazines delivered to EU countries from outside the EU.

What has happened with my DC Thomson magazine subscription delivered to Europe?

The impact on DC Thomson magazine subscriptions varies by title.

  • Beano and The People's Friend: Subscription copies for delivery to Europe are now printed and dispatched from within the EU.
  • The Scots Magazine and all Puzzler titles: Subscription copies for delivery to Europe continue to be dispatched from the UK.
  • bunkered, Commando, The People's Friend Special, The People's Friend Pocket Novel and My Weekly: Subscriptions for delivery to Europe are no longer available.

      Do I need to pay the €3 duty on delivery?

      No. Customers receiving magazines in Europe do not need to pay a separate €3 fee on delivery.

      Where can I read about the €3 duty?

      The European Commission published this article ("Ensuring fairness and safety: €3 customs duty for low-value parcels") on their website on 29 June 2026.

      Doesn’t the €3 duty target e-commerce parcels? Why are magazines impacted?

      Through membership of the Professional Publishers Association (PPA), DC Thomson has contributed to discussion about the application of this duty to magazines.

      You can read an open letter to the UK Chancellor signed by the PPA here ("PPA calls on the Government for an exemption from new EU customs").

      Why is the price of my Europe subscription changing?

      We’ve been working hard to find a way to continue providing subscriptions for delivery to Europe and to minimise the impact of these changes.

      We’re pleased to be able to put in place arrangements for some titles: Beano, The People’s Friend, The Scots Magazine and Puzzler (all titles).

      Unfortunately, these changes have still increased costs.

      Even where production and distribution has moved to the EU for Beano and The People's Friend, we have implemented a separate, smaller, printing operation, which makes things more expensive.

      Where titles are still dispatched from the UK (The Scots Magazine and all Puzzler titles) we incur the €3 duty per delivery.

      If you have a current Beano, The People’s Friend, The Scots Magazine or Puzzler (all titles) subscription with delivery to Europe, it continues at its existing price until your renewal. We are absorbing additional costs in the meantime. When the time comes, you can choose whether to allow your subscription to continue.

      If these changes came into place in July, why wasn't I contacted until now?

      Bill payers for Puzzler titles delivered to the EU were contacted in September 2026, where we had a valid email address. With 35 subscription titles across the Puzzler portfolio, it took us longer to confirm our approach and update renewal pricing accordingly.

      Where delivery to Europe continues, will these changes impact delivery reliability?

      For Beano and The People’s Friend, copies for delivery to Europe (excluding the UK) are now dispatched from within the EU, and this may mean deliveries reach some Europe-based subscribers earlier than before.

      If you have any delivery problems you can report a missing or damaged copy by managing your subscription online.

      My delivery address is in Europe but not the EU, why am I impacted?

      To keep administration and fulfilment processes manageable, we have applied a consistent approach to subscriptions delivered to Europe outside the UK.

      What are the alternatives to paying more for delivery to Europe? or How can I still access my magazine even though delivery to Europe has stopped?

      We offer digital subscriptions for Beano, Commando, The People's Friend, The People's Friend Special, The People's Friend Pocket Novel, The Scots Magazine and My Weekly. Click on the relevant link to find out more.

      Digital subscriptions for bunkered are expected to be available in the future.

      If you are interested in a Puzzler title, we provide the Puzzler app for Apple devices, available from the App Store.

      Can I get a refund?

      Where we have ceased delivery of a title to a destination country and subscribers have paid-for issues remaining, we wrote to the bill payer to explain their options. In some cases have been able to offer digital access as an alternative, but a refund was available as an alternative.

      This only applies to existing subscriptions for the titles where we have ceased delivery to Europe: bunkered, Commando, The People's Friend Special, The People's Friend Pocket Novel and My Weekly.

      I bought my subscription recently. Why was my subscription offered?

      Customers were prevented from purchasing or renewing subscriptions for delivery to Europe from June 2026 until the publication of this article, and in the case of renewing Puzzler subscribers until 24 September 2026.

      We did everything we could to explore continuing to send magazines to Europe and didn’t finalise our decisions until all avenues had been pursued.

      What about the €2 handling fee impacting e-commerce deliveries to the EU from November 2026?

      We are aware of this new handling fee and have priced Europe subscriptions (where delivery to Europe is still offered) accordingly. As with the €3 duty, customers receiving magazine in Europe do not need to pay a separate fee on delivery.

      Why did the publisher of another magazine I receive from the UK take different action?

      Other publishers may have different production, fulfilment and distribution arrangements, so their response to these changes can differ.

      If you have a question about a magazine that isn’t published by DC Thomson, please contact the publisher directly.

       

      Content on this page last reviewed or updated: 10 September 2026
      Content on this page next due for review: 10 January 2026