Selling to EU customers from the UK: a practical overview

This guide gives a general overview, not legal or tax advice. Customs and VAT rules for parcels change, and the EU has been reforming how low-value parcels are treated. Check current guidance on gov.uk and the European Commission's taxation and customs pages, or speak to an adviser or your carrier, before you start shipping. Northern Ireland has different arrangements, explained on gov.uk.

What changes when you ship to the EU

When you send goods from Great Britain to a customer in the EU, the parcel leaves the UK customs territory and enters the EU's. In practice this means:

• Every parcel needs customs information describing what is inside, its value and where it was made.
• Import VAT is due in the customer's country on the goods, whatever their value.
• Customs duty may be due, depending on the goods and where they originate.
• Someone has to pay these charges: either you at checkout, or the customer on delivery.

Who pays, and when, is the decision that most affects your customers' experience.

Customs declarations

For parcels sent by post or courier, you usually provide customs data electronically through your carrier when you create the label, and sometimes on a printed customs form attached to the parcel. You will need for each item:

• A clear description. "Gift" or "clothing" is not enough; "women's cotton T-shirt" is.
• The commodity code, which classifies the product for customs. The gov.uk trade tariff tool helps you find it.
• The value and currency.
• The country of origin, meaning where the goods were made, not where you sent them from.
• The weight and quantity.

Store commodity codes and origin on each product in WooCommerce, using product attributes or a customs plugin, so your shipping labels fill in automatically. Our guide to shipping options for UK webshops covers carriers and label tools more generally.

Import VAT and IOSS

EU import VAT applies to goods of any value. For low-value consignments, up to a value limit set by the EU, the Import One Stop Shop (IOSS) lets you charge EU VAT at the customer's rate during checkout and pay it to one EU tax authority each month. The parcel then clears customs without the customer paying VAT on delivery.

Points to know about IOSS:

• Businesses based outside the EU usually need to appoint an EU-based intermediary to register for IOSS, which is a paid service.
• You must pass your IOSS number to the carrier with each parcel's data.
• Higher-value parcels, and certain goods such as those subject to excise duty, fall outside IOSS.
• Your checkout has to calculate VAT at the rate of each customer's country. WooCommerce can do this with the right tax settings or a tax plugin.

Without IOSS, the customer usually pays import VAT, plus a handling fee from the carrier, before the parcel is handed over. Customers who were not expecting this often refuse delivery, and you may end up paying for the return and refunding them. If you ship without IOSS, say clearly on product pages and at checkout that the customer may have to pay import charges.

The European Commission's website explains IOSS, the current value limit and the wider reform of low-value parcel rules. For your own UK VAT, sales of goods exported to the EU are generally zero-rated, provided you keep evidence of export; see our guide on VAT for online shops and HMRC's guidance on exports.

Customs duty and rules of origin

The UK and the EU have a trade agreement under which goods that qualify as originating in the UK can enter the EU without customs duty. Whether your goods qualify depends on the rules of origin for that product. Making something in the UK from imported materials does not automatically make it UK origin.

Goods that do not qualify, such as stock you bought from outside the UK and resell unchanged, may face EU customs duty at the rate for that commodity code. For low-value items this may be small, but it adds cost and paperwork. Check the gov.uk guidance on rules of origin, and the EU's tariff tools for duty rates.

Consumer rights and returns from EU customers

If you actively sell to consumers in an EU country, for example by offering delivery there and pricing in euros, those customers will often keep the protection of their own country's consumer law. EU consumers generally have a 14-day right to withdraw from an online purchase, and your terms and returns policy should reflect that. Our returns policy guide explains the UK side.

Returns are where cross-border selling gets expensive:

• The returned parcel is an import into the UK, so it needs customs data marking it as returned goods.
• Returned Goods Relief may allow you to bring your own goods back without paying UK duty and import VAT, if the conditions are met. Check gov.uk.
• Return postage from the EU can cost more than the original shipping. Decide in advance who pays, and say so in your policy.
• Some shops offer EU customers a refund without return for low-value items, where the return would cost more than the item.

Product rules and practical set-up

EU product rules apply to goods sold to EU consumers. For many products, EU product safety rules require an economic operator based in the EU to be responsible for the product, and some categories such as cosmetics, toys and electrical goods have their own requirements. Check the European Commission's guidance for your product before you open your shop to EU countries.

A sensible way to start:

1. Pick a few EU countries where you already get interest, rather than all of them.
2. Add a shipping zone for each with clear rates and delivery times.
3. Decide on IOSS or customer-pays, and explain the choice at checkout.
4. Add commodity codes and origin to every product you will ship abroad.
5. Test the full journey with one order, including a return.

If the numbers do not work yet, it is fine to sell only within the UK and revisit EU sales once you have more demand.

Frequently asked