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Selling to the EU from the UK means settling four things once: EU VAT on each sale, through the Import One-Stop Shop for orders up to 150 euros; customs clearance and, since 1 July 2026, a flat duty on small parcels unless your goods qualify as UK origin; a responsible person in the EU for products you make or import; and EU consumer, accessibility and data rules for the shop itself. Once those are in place, a UK shop sells to EU customers much as it did before 2021, with clearer prices at checkout and fewer surprises at the door.
This guide follows a parcel from a UK online shop to a consumer in the EU, and then the shop pages that customer sees. It explains the technical side; your accountant or customs broker decides the VAT and customs route for your figures and products. Northern Ireland has its own arrangements under the Windsor Framework and is not covered here.
VAT: charge it at checkout
Every sale of goods to an EU consumer carries the VAT of the customer's country. For consignments worth up to 150 euros, the Import One-Stop Shop (IOSS) lets you charge that VAT at checkout and declare it in one monthly return. The parcel then clears customs without further VAT, and the customer pays nothing at the door. A UK business needs an intermediary established in the EU to register for IOSS.
| Order value | How VAT works | What the customer experiences |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 150 euros, IOSS | you charge destination VAT at checkout and declare it monthly | the price at checkout is the final price |
| Up to 150 euros, no IOSS | VAT is collected at import, often with a carrier's handling fee | a bill at the door, a frequent cause of refused parcels |
| Above 150 euros | import VAT and any duty at import, unless you sell delivered duty paid through an EU registration | agree who pays, and say so before the order |
Marketplaces such as Amazon collect and pay the VAT themselves on sales they facilitate up to 150 euros, so a seller who only sells through them does not register for IOSS for those sales. For your own shop, the checkout has to calculate VAT per country; most shop platforms can, once the rates are set.
Customs and the new duty on small parcels
Every parcel to the EU needs a customs declaration, usually prepared by your carrier from your commercial invoice. Two rules decide whether duty is due:
- UK originUnder the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, goods that meet the rules of origin enter the EU without customs duty. You state origin on the invoice; the goods must really be made or sufficiently processed in the UK, not just shipped from it.
- Small parcelsSince 1 July 2026, the EU charges a flat 3 euros per item type on low-value parcels up to 150 euros sent to consumers, with a 2-euro handling fee following on 1 November 2026. Goods with preferential origin fall outside it when VAT is not collected through IOSS. What the change means in detail is in our news piece on the EU 3 euro customs duty.
Goods made in China and resold from a UK warehouse are not of UK origin, and pay duty at their normal rate above 150 euros.
A parcel from the UK to a customer in the EU
Is the order worth 150 euros or less?
Yes: Charge EU VAT at checkout through the Import One-Stop Shop (IOSS), so the parcel clears without fees at the door.
No: Import VAT and any duty are due at import; decide whether you or the customer pays them, and say so before the order.
Are the goods of UK origin under the trade agreement?
Yes: No customs duty on most goods if you can prove origin; the EU's 3-euro duty on small parcels does not apply when VAT is not collected through IOSS.
No: Duty applies: since 1 July 2026, 3 euros per item type for parcels up to 150 euros, normal rates above.
Do you make or import the product yourself, from outside the EU?
Yes: Name a responsible person in the EU on the product page and the product, under the product safety regulation.
No: Check that your supplier's EU responsible person is named.
VAT and customs choices depend on your figures and products; your accountant or customs broker confirms the route.
Products: a responsible person in the EU
The EU General Product Safety Regulation, in force since 13 December 2024, requires every consumer product sold in the EU to have an economic operator established in the EU: the manufacturer, an importer, an authorised representative or a fulfilment service provider. Its name and contact details appear on the product or its packaging, and on your product page, with the manufacturer's details and any safety warnings in the customer's language. A UK manufacturer selling directly to EU consumers appoints an authorised representative in the EU. Some product groups, such as cosmetics, toys and electronics, have their own EU representative rules on top.
Extended producer responsibility also applies per country: packaging in Germany is registered in LUCID before the first parcel, France asks for registration and the Triman logo, and other countries have their own schemes. Germany's list is in selling online in Germany.
The shop: EU rules for EU customers
| Rule | What it asks of your shop |
|---|---|
| Consumer law of the customer's country | for consumers you target, their law protects them whatever your terms say: 14 days to withdraw, clear total prices, information before the order |
| Withdrawal button | since 19 June 2026, a button to withdraw online as easily as ordering; see our withdrawal button guide |
| Accessibility | the European Accessibility Act since 28 June 2025 for shops selling to EU consumers; see UK website accessibility law for how it sits next to the Equality Act |
| Data protection | the EU GDPR for EU customers, often with a representative in the EU; see UK GDPR vs EU GDPR |
| Cookies | consent before analytics in most EU countries, unlike the UK since February 2026; see UK cookie law |
| Payment methods | the local method of each country, such as iDEAL or Wero, Bancontact, or PayPal and invoice in Germany; see payment methods in Europe |
| Language | the shop, the terms and the product safety information in the customer's language |
Personal data can flow from the EU to your UK systems without extra paperwork: the EU renewed its adequacy decision for the UK on 19 December 2025, valid until 27 December 2031.
Prices and delivery at the checkout
The most common reason EU customers abandon a UK shop is uncertainty about the final price. Show prices with the customer's VAT included as soon as the country is known, state delivery costs and times per country, and say clearly that there is nothing more to pay at the door when you use IOSS. Returns from the EU cost more than domestic ones; consider an EU returns address through your carrier or a fulfilment partner, and state the return route in the withdrawal notice.
The order of work
- With your accountant: IOSS through an EU intermediary, or another VAT route; VAT rates per country in the shop.
- With your carrier or broker: customs declarations, origin statements, the new small-parcel duty.
- An EU responsible person for your products, named on product pages and packaging.
- Packaging and other producer registrations in your main EU markets.
- The shop: languages, local payment methods, withdrawal notice and button, accessibility, cookie consent for EU visitors, privacy policy with your EU representative.
- Prices with VAT per country and delivery costs shown before the checkout.
Marketplace or your own shop
Selling through EU marketplaces is the quickest start: the marketplace collects the VAT on sales up to 150 euros, handles the checkout in the local language and accepts the local payment methods. Your own shop gives you the customer relationship, your own prices and your own data, at the cost of setting up IOSS, customs and the EU rules yourself. Many UK sellers do both: marketplaces to test a market, their own shop for the countries that sell.
Which EU market first
Start where the work pays back soonest. Ireland shares the language and needs the least adaptation, though it is a customs border like any other EU country since 2021. The Netherlands and the Nordics buy in English more readily than most. Germany and France are larger, and expect their own language, payment methods and legal pages; see selling online in Germany. Measure requests and orders per country before adding the next one.
Selling into the EU from Britain
Do I need to charge EU VAT when selling from the UK?
Yes, on sales of goods to EU consumers. For orders up to 150 euros, register for the Import One-Stop Shop through an EU intermediary and charge the customer's VAT at checkout; above 150 euros, VAT is collected at import.
Is there customs duty on UK goods sent to the EU?
Not on goods that meet the UK origin rules of the trade agreement. Other goods pay duty: since 1 July 2026, 3 euros per item type on parcels up to 150 euros, and normal rates above.
Do I need an EU representative to sell from the UK?
For product safety, yes: an economic operator in the EU must be named for consumer products. For data protection, usually also a GDPR representative in the EU.
Does EU consumer law apply to a UK online shop?
Yes, for consumers in EU countries you target: they keep the protection of their own country's law, including the 14-day right of withdrawal.