Non-EU sellers register for VAT in every EU country where they store stock, use IOSS for parcels up to EUR 150 shipped from abroad, and rely on the marketplace as deemed supplier for many consumer sales. Since July 2026 low-value parcels carry a flat EUR 3 customs duty. Consumer products need an EU responsible person under the GPSR, and packaging, electronics and batteries need EPR registrations country by country. A Dutch company with an Article 23 licence ties it together.
Why selling into the EU feels complicated
The European Union is one market for customs but 27 countries for VAT, product registration and consumer law. A seller from China, the United States, the UK or Turkey therefore deals with one customs border but many tax and compliance systems behind it. Most of the complexity comes from where the goods are stored and who the customer is.
If you ship each order from outside the EU and the parcel is worth EUR 150 or less, the Import One-Stop Shop lets you charge the customer's VAT at checkout and file one monthly return. Above EUR 150, import VAT and duty are paid at the border, usually by the carrier on the customer's behalf, which annoys customers and kills conversion.
Once you store goods in an EU warehouse, including an Amazon fulfilment centre, you become a seller inside that country and register for VAT there. Pan-European fulfilment programmes spread your stock across several countries, and each one needs its own VAT registration and returns. For many sales to consumers the marketplace collects the VAT as the so-called deemed supplier, but the registrations and import filings remain yours.
Selling into the EU from outside: what applies
| Topic | Rule |
|---|---|
| VAT on stock in the EU | Register in each country where goods are stored |
| Marketplace sales to consumers | The marketplace is often the deemed supplier and collects VAT |
| Own web shop, parcels up to EUR 150 | IOSS: VAT at checkout; non-EU sellers need an EU intermediary |
| Distance sales from EU stock | OSS above EUR 10,000 EU-wide |
| Customs | EORI number; flat EUR 3 duty on low-value parcels since July 2026 |
| Product safety | EU responsible person under the GPSR |
| Packaging, electronics, batteries | Extended producer responsibility registrations, country by country |
Selling in the EU is easy. Staying compliant in 27 countries is where the work is.
Why many sellers set up a Dutch company
- Import VAT deferral. A Dutch Article 23 licence removes import VAT from cash flow.
- One EU face. EU responsible person, EORI, VAT, bank and marketplace account in one entity.
- Logistics. Rotterdam, Schiphol and fulfilment centres within a day of most EU customers.
- Luxembourg alternative. Low VAT administration, 17% VAT on local sales, strong for payments and marketplaces headquartered there.
Product rules that catch new sellers
Since December 2024 every consumer product sold in the EU needs an economic operator established in the EU, whose name and contact details appear on the product or its packaging. For non-EU sellers this is either their own EU company or a contracted representative. Marketplaces now check this before listing.
Packaging, electronics and batteries carry extended producer responsibility. You register with the national scheme in each country you sell to and pay for collection and recycling. Germany, France and Spain enforce this strictly, and marketplaces can delist sellers without a registration number.
A Chinese electronics brand opens a Dutch B.V. with an Article 23 licence, imports containers into a Rotterdam warehouse without paying import VAT up front, sells through Amazon and its own shop across the EU using OSS, names the B.V. as its EU responsible person, and registers for packaging and electronics schemes in its main markets.
What do you need to sell in the EU?
The result updates with each answer.
What do you need to sell in the EU?
Answer five questions. You get your VAT, customs and compliance list.
Every warehouse country.
For shipments from outside the EU.
Required for consumer products.
Packaging, electronics, batteries.
Selling on Amazon and online in the EU: frequent questions
Do non-EU Amazon sellers need EU VAT numbers?
Yes, in every EU country where the stock is stored. For sales to consumers, the marketplace is often the deemed supplier and collects VAT, but the seller still registers where it holds stock and imports goods.
What is IOSS?
The Import One-Stop Shop lets sellers charge EU VAT at checkout on goods up to EUR 150 shipped from outside the EU, so the parcel clears customs without VAT at the border. Non-EU sellers need an EU intermediary to use it.
Is there still a EUR 150 customs duty exemption?
No longer in full: since 1 July 2026 the EU applies a flat EUR 3 customs duty to low-value parcels that used to be duty-free, pending the wider customs reform.
What is an EU responsible person?
Under the General Product Safety Regulation, consumer products sold in the EU need an economic operator established in the EU, named on the product or packaging, who answers to the authorities.
Do I need an EU company to sell on Amazon Europe?
Not legally, but an EU company makes VAT, import VAT deferral, banking, product compliance and the EU responsible person simpler, and some marketplaces and payment providers prefer it.