Selling to EU from UK: VAT, customs, the new €3 duty and how marketplace sellers handle it

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Short answer: Yes, you can sell to EU customers from the UK, but since Brexit every parcel to the EU is an export. For UK VAT that is good news: goods you send from Great Britain to an EU address can be zero-rated, as long as you keep proof of export. The EU side is where the work is. The buyer's country charges import VAT; for parcels up to €150, that VAT is collected at checkout through the Import One Stop Shop (IOSS), and when you sell through a marketplace, the marketplace usually takes on that job. Since 1 July 2026 the EU also charges a temporary €3 customs duty per item on those small parcels, and a €2 handling fee per item is expected from 1 November 2026. Add product safety rules (GPSR) and the choice between shipping each order yourself or holding stock inside the EU, and selling abroad needs a plan per channel. If you also sell at home, keep one dashboard for stock and orders across your marketplaces so the extra channel does not cause oversells.

What changed after Brexit

Before 2021, a UK seller shipped to Germany or France as if it were a domestic order. Now goods leaving Great Britain for the EU follow export rules, and goods arriving in the EU follow import rules. In practice that means four things for a marketplace seller:

  1. A customs declaration on every parcel. Your carrier normally files it, but you supply the data: what the item is, its value and its origin.
  2. Import VAT in the buyer's country, at that country's rate.
  3. Customs duty for many goods, now including the flat duty on small parcels.
  4. EU product rules, which apply to you even though your business is in the UK.

Northern Ireland is a special case under the Windsor Framework and follows different rules; everything below is about selling from England, Scotland and Wales.

Your UK side: export rules, EORI and zero-rated VAT

HMRC's export notice says goods located in Great Britain and sent to an EU destination follow the export rules. If you are VAT registered, a direct export can be zero-rated: no UK VAT on the sale, provided the goods leave the UK and you obtain valid proof of export within 3 months. For parcels, that proof is usually the carrier's tracking and export records or, for small items by post, a certificate of posting.

Three practical steps from GOV.UK's export guide:

  • Get an EORI number. GOV.UK says you may need one if you move goods between Great Britain and any other country, including the EU. Most carriers ask for it before they will file declarations for you.
  • Find the commodity code for each product. It decides the duty rate and is needed on every declaration.
  • Check origin. You may need proof of origin if your goods can enter at a reduced or zero rate of duty. Goods made in the UK are not automatically "UK origin" for this purpose; the rules depend on where the materials came from.

The EU side: VAT and the €150 line

For goods shipped from outside the EU straight to an EU consumer, €150 is the key number. The European Commission's One Stop Shop pages explain the import scheme (IOSS):

  • It covers consignments with an intrinsic value of up to €150, sent from a non-EU country to customers in the EU.
  • The VAT of the buyer's country is charged at the point of sale, so the parcel is not held for VAT at the border.
  • A seller established outside the EU must appoint an EU-based intermediary to use IOSS itself. Returns are filed monthly.
  • When the sale goes through an online marketplace, the marketplace is treated as the "deemed supplier" for these parcels up to €150. In plain terms: on most marketplaces, the platform charges and pays the EU VAT on your small cross-border orders.

Above €150, IOSS cannot be used and the normal import rules apply. Goods that are already in an EU warehouse do not count as imported distance sales at all; they are sold under the EU's internal rules, which usually means a VAT registration in the country where the stock sits.

The new €3 duty and the €2 handling fee

This is the part behind most "selling to EU from UK new rules" searches. Until mid-2026, parcels worth up to €150 entered the EU free of customs duty. According to the Commission's guidance on Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382:

  • From 1 July 2026 to 1 July 2028, a customs duty of €3 per item applies to consignments with an intrinsic value of up to €150 sold in distance sales.
  • An "item" means goods in the parcel with the same tariff classification, description and origin. Because of how customs systems work, the duty is applied per declaration line, not per unit. Three identical mugs are one item; a mug and a tea towel are two.
  • It applies to every parcel where VAT was collected through IOSS. Goods that qualify for preferential origin under a trade agreement can only claim that preference on a full customs declaration (H1), and only if IOSS was not used.
  • Separately, a Union handling fee of €2 per item applies to goods sold in distance sales, whatever their value, and it is not temporary. The guidance says it is expected to apply from 1 November 2026.

Example. All figures are assumptions for illustration. A customer in Spain orders a phone case and a charging cable from your eBay or Amazon listing, €38 in total, shipped from the UK. That is two different products, so two items: €6 duty plus, from November, €4 handling fee, on top of Spanish VAT. On a €38 order, €10 of extra charges matters, and who pays them depends on how the parcel is declared and on the terms of your marketplace or carrier. Check it before you set your EU prices, and follow fee updates in our amazon seller fee changes log.

Product safety: GPSR applies to UK sellers too

The EU General Product Safety Regulation has applied since 13 December 2024, to new and second-hand goods. eBay's guidance for business sellers who list items for EU (and Northern Ireland) buyers sums up what each listing needs:

  • the manufacturer's name and contact details;
  • if the manufacturer is not in the EU or Northern Ireland, an EU-based Responsible Person with name and contact details. That can be an importer, the manufacturer's authorised representative, or a fulfilment service provider;
  • product details such as model number, pictures and type;
  • safety information and warnings in the local language;
  • the CE marking where the product's own rules require it.

eBay warns that listings missing this information may not be visible or purchasable for EU buyers. For a UK brand selling its own products, the Responsible Person is the step that takes longest, so start there.

Selling on Amazon Europe from the UK

Amazon's UK seller site says one account reaches its ten European stores: Amazon.co.uk, .de, .fr, .it, .es, .pl, .nl, .se, .com.be and .ie. With a Professional plan (£25 a month excl. VAT) and at least one active European store, the European Expansion Accelerator can create your listings, prices and shipping settings in the stores you choose. For delivery across the UK-EU border, Amazon offers two routes:

  • Where your stock sits — Remote Fulfilment: In your UK fulfilment centre; Local Inbounding: In the UK and in the EU
  • EU VAT registration — Remote Fulfilment: Not needed in the destination; Amazon collects and pays the VAT; Local Inbounding: A VAT number in each country where you store stock
  • Customs — Remote Fulfilment: Amazon handles clearance; Local Inbounding: You use your own broker or Amazon's service
  • Price limit — Remote Fulfilment: Must not exceed 135 EUR / 122 GBP; Local Inbounding: None stated
  • Buyer sees — Remote Fulfilment: An imported product; Local Inbounding: A domestic product

Remote Fulfilment runs between the UK and Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Sweden and the Netherlands. It is the low-effort way to test demand. Pan-European FBA goes further: you list the same SKU in Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands, store stock in at least two of them and ship it to Amazon's EU warehouses, which brings the VAT registrations described above. Amazon also notes a 1.5% fuel and logistics surcharge on FBA fulfilment fees in the UK and its EU stores since 17 April 2026.

Same-SKU rules make clean product codes essential; our guide on how to create sku numbers shows a simple system that works across stores.

Selling to Europe from the UK on eBay

eBay charges UK-registered sellers an extra international fee when the buyer's address is outside the UK; the rates, including the one for the Eurozone, are in our guide to ebay fees uk. Add that fee to your EU prices before anything else. The rest of this guide applies to eBay orders in the same way: the €150 line, the €3 duty per item, the handling fee from November and GPSR details on every listing, which eBay checks itself.

A checklist before your first EU order

  • EORI number and commodity codes for your products.
  • Proof of export kept for every zero-rated sale.
  • Prices that allow for EU VAT, the €3 duty and the €2 handling fee on parcels up to €150.
  • Manufacturer and EU Responsible Person details on each listing.
  • Safety information in the buyer's language.
  • A returns plan: returning goods cross the border again.
  • One stock figure per product across every channel, so an EU order does not sell your last unit twice.

How Pratienda helps

Pratienda is a multichannel dashboard for Trendyol, Hepsiburada and N11, the leading marketplaces in Turkey. It does not connect to Amazon or eBay. If you sell in Turkey as well as the UK and the EU, Pratienda keeps your stock and products in sync across those three marketplaces, recognises the same product on each one by its SKU and brings their orders into one list, with customer questions on one screen. In the Pro plan, the repricer and buybox tracking suggest prices without going below your floor price, and prices never change without your approval. Starter is $59 a month (tax excluded).

See Pratienda →

FAQ

Can I sell to the EU from the UK without an EU VAT number?
Often, yes. For parcels up to €150 sold through a marketplace, the marketplace normally charges and pays the EU VAT as "deemed supplier". Amazon's Remote Fulfilment also needs no VAT registration in the destination. Once you store stock in an EU country, you need a VAT number there.

What are the new rules for selling to the EU from the UK?
Since 1 July 2026 the EU charges a temporary €3 customs duty per item on parcels worth up to €150, and a €2 handling fee per item is expected from 1 November 2026. GPSR product information has been required on listings since 13 December 2024.

Do I charge UK VAT when I sell to EU customers?
Goods you export from Great Britain to an EU address can be zero-rated for UK VAT if you keep valid proof of export within 3 months. The buyer's EU country charges its own VAT instead.

Sources: GOV.UK, "VAT on goods exported from the UK (VAT Notice 703)", "Get an EORI number", "Export goods from the UK: step by step"; European Commission, "One Stop Shop" and "The temporary EUR 3 customs duty and the Union handling fee" (guidance, version of 5 October 2026); Amazon UK, "Sell across Europe", "Fulfilment between the UK and EU", "Pan-European FBA"; eBay, "General Product Safety Regulation". Information as of 30 October 2026; rules and fees may change. This is not legal or tax advice.

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