Guides / Selling to EU consumers · Updated 30 September 2026

UK sellers shipping to EU customers: VAT, IOSS and exports

Selling from the UK to EU consumers means handling EU import VAT as well as a UK export. Here is how IOSS, the intermediary rule, larger consignments, delivery terms, export evidence and returns fit together.

This guide is also available in Polish.

Why EU VAT is your problem, not just your customer's

When a UK online shop sells to a consumer in France, Germany or Poland, two tax systems meet. On the UK side the parcel is an export. On the EU side it is an import, and import VAT is due in the country where the goods end up. The question every seller has to answer is simple: who collects that VAT, and when? The answer shapes the price your customer sees at checkout, whether a courier asks them for money on the doorstep, and how many parcels come back refused.

This guide walks through the two sides of the transaction: the EU import (where the Import One-Stop Shop, IOSS, sits) and the UK export (where your declaration and VAT zero-rating evidence sit), plus what to think about when goods are returned.

What IOSS is

The Import One-Stop Shop is an EU scheme that lets a seller charge EU VAT at the point of sale and pay it to one EU tax administration, instead of leaving the customer to pay import VAT on delivery. According to the European Commission's One Stop Shop portal, it applies to distance sales of goods imported in consignments with a value not exceeding EUR 150.

Key points from the Commission's guidance:

The scheme covers consignments of up to EUR 150 in value. Consignments above that value fall outside it.
Goods subject to excise duty (such as alcohol and tobacco) cannot be declared in the scheme, whatever their value.
VAT is collected from the customer when they pay, so they are not asked for VAT on delivery.
The IOSS VAT return is filed monthly, through the registration system of the one EU country where you are registered for the scheme.

Your IOSS number travels with the shipment data so that the EU customs office can see the VAT has already been charged. Make sure your courier or postal operator knows it and passes it on correctly.

The intermediary requirement for UK sellers

Since Brexit, a UK business is a seller not established in the EU. The Commission's guidance is direct on this point: a taxable person not established in the EU who wants to use the import scheme needs to appoint an intermediary, and the intermediary has to be a taxable person established in the EU.

In practice the intermediary registers first in its own Member State, receives an intermediary number, and then registers each seller it represents. The Member State of identification then issues a separate IOSS VAT identification number for each seller the intermediary acts for. Choose the intermediary carefully: it files and pays the monthly returns on your behalf, so your records and its records need to agree.

Treat claims that a UK seller can register for IOSS directly with HMRC, or without an EU intermediary, with caution. The Commission's guidance states that a seller not established in the EU needs an EU-established intermediary. Check the current position on the One Stop Shop portal before you sign up to any arrangement.

Consignments above EUR 150

Once a consignment is worth more than EUR 150, IOSS is no longer available and the goods go through the normal EU import route. Import VAT, and any customs duty that applies to the goods under the EU tariff and rules of origin, are dealt with at import. Someone has to be the importer and make, or pay an agent to make, the import declaration in the EU country of arrival.

Watch for orders that tip over the threshold: a basket that is split into several parcels, or a single large order, can move you from the IOSS route into a full import. Build that logic into your checkout rather than finding out when a courier contacts your customer.

DDP or DAP: who pays at the door

Commercially, you have two broad choices for EU consumers:

Delivered duty paid (DDP) style: you include EU VAT (and any duty) in the price and arrange for it to be paid, through IOSS for low-value consignments or through an EU import declaration for larger ones. The customer pays once, at checkout.
Delivered at place (DAP) style: you sell at a price excluding EU import charges, and the customer settles VAT, any duty and any carrier handling charges on delivery.

DAP is simpler for you administratively, but consumers often do not expect a bill at the door, and unpaid charges mean refused parcels that come back to you. DDP gives a cleaner customer experience but puts the compliance work, and the VAT registrations, on your side. Whichever you choose, say so clearly on your product and checkout pages.

The UK side: your export

Every parcel leaving Great Britain for the EU is an export. GOV.UK states that to export goods you need an EORI number starting with GB, and an export declaration has to be made, either by you or by someone you hire, such as a customs agent or the courier. Parcel and post operators usually handle the declaration as part of their service, but the legal responsibility for the export is still yours.

For VAT, HMRC allows most exports from Great Britain to a destination outside the UK to be zero-rated, provided you hold the right evidence. HMRC guidance says you need evidence of the supply and official or commercial evidence that the goods left the UK, obtained within 3 months of the time of supply. For shipments by courier or fast parcel operator, the airway bill number for each shipment is acceptable evidence; for post, Royal Mail's dispatch paperwork or a certificate of posting serves the same purpose. Keep these with your sales records.

Northern Ireland sellers work under different rules: HMRC notes that goods sent from Northern Ireland to the EU cannot be zero-rated as exports.

GB EORI number in place and given to your courier
Correct commodity description and value on every shipment
IOSS number (via your EU intermediary) passed to the carrier for consignments up to EUR 150
Export evidence filed within 3 months of the sale
Checkout clearly states whether EU charges are included

Returns

Returns are where many sellers get caught out, because the goods now cross the border the other way. A parcel refused by an EU customer, or sent back under your returns policy, is an import into the UK. GOV.UK's export guidance points exporters to the rules on bringing goods back into the UK when goods are rejected abroad. Where the conditions are met, you may be able to claim returned goods relief so that you do not pay import duty and VAT again on your own goods; that relies on being able to show the goods are the same ones you exported, so keep your export records linked to each order.

On the EU side, if you charged VAT through IOSS and then refund the customer, that has to be reflected in the intermediary's IOSS returns. Agree the process with your intermediary before your first return arrives.

Getting help

A small shop can run all of this through a courier's standard service and an EU intermediary. As volumes grow, or once you start shipping higher-value orders that need full EU import declarations, it is worth reading this practical summary of IOSS and OSS for UK–EU online sales and weighing up whether you need a broker for the border work.

Related guides

Shipping online orders from the UK to the EU?

Easy Clearance is a UK–EU customs clearance agency handling import and export declarations, T1/T2 transit and UK–Poland removals. Its English guide explains IOSS and OSS for cross-border online sellers.

Read the IOSS guide

Sources

General information, not legal, tax or customs advice. Rules change; confirm current requirements on gov.uk or with a registered agent before you ship.