Selling to the EU from the UK Post-Brexit: A Practical Guide

Selling to the EU from the UK after Brexit is entirely possible — the goods still cross the border every day — but every parcel is now an export, which means an EORI number, a customs declaration, a commercial invoice, and a decision about who pays the import VAT and duty. Get those four things right and the rest is largely admin. Get them wrong and your customer gets an unexpected bill on the doorstep, refuses the parcel, and you eat the round-trip cost. This guide walks through what actually changed, what you need in place, and how to set customer expectations so EU orders stay profitable.

One note before we start: this is general information, not tax or legal advice, and the rules change. Always confirm the current position on GOV.UK or with a customs professional before you rely on anything below.

What Brexit actually changed for sellers

Before 2021, posting a jumper from Manchester to Munich was, paperwork-wise, no different from posting it to Manchester. Since the UK left the EU customs union and single market, that same jumper is a formal export leaving the UK and a formal import entering the EU. Practically, that means three new realities:

• Every shipment needs a customs declaration. The carrier files it, but it's built from data you provide — contents, value, weight, and commodity codes.

• Import VAT (and sometimes duty) is now charged at the EU border. Someone has to pay it. If you don't arrange this, the customer does — usually via a surprise handling fee from the delivery driver.

• Returns are exports and imports too. A parcel coming back from an EU customer is its own little customs event, which is why casual "just post it back" returns no longer work cleanly.

None of this makes EU selling unviable. Plenty of UK micro-brands ship happily across the Channel. It just needs a bit of setup. If you're weighing wider international expansion beyond Europe, our guide to customs and duties when selling internationally from the UK covers the broader picture.

Step one: get an EORI number

An EORI number (Economic Operators Registration and Identification) is the reference customs authorities use to identify you as a trader. To export goods from Great Britain you need a GB EORI number, which starts with "GB". You apply for free through GOV.UK, and it's usually issued quickly — often within a few days.

A few things worth knowing:

• If you're VAT-registered, your EORI is typically linked to your VAT number. If you're not VAT-registered, you can still get one.

• For some arrangements — particularly if you act as the importer of record in the EU — you may also need an EU EORI number, obtained from an EU member state. This is where a customs agent or your carrier earns their fee.

• Northern Ireland has its own rules under the Windsor Framework; if you move goods to or through NI, check the current GOV.UK guidance specifically, because it differs from Great Britain.

No EORI, no export. It's the first box to tick.

Step two: the commercial invoice and customs data

Every parcel leaving the UK for the EU needs a commercial invoice — the document customs uses to assess VAT and duty. Most carriers now generate this from the shipping data you enter, but you're responsible for it being accurate. A good commercial invoice includes:

• Sender and recipient details, including your EORI number.

• A clear description of each item — "women's cotton t-shirt", not "clothing" or "gift".

• The commodity code (HS/tariff code) for each product. This determines the duty rate and whether the goods qualify for zero tariffs under the UK–EU trade agreement.

• The value of the goods and the currency.

• Country of origin — where the goods were made, which matters for preferential (zero) tariffs.

A quick word on the "rules of origin" trap: the UK–EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement means zero tariffs on many goods — but only if they genuinely originate in the UK or EU. Goods you imported from outside Europe (say, blank garments from Asia) and simply resold may not qualify, and duty can apply. Never label a sold item as a "gift" to dodge charges; it's customs fraud and carriers increasingly reject it.

Step three: EU VAT and the IOSS for low-value goods

This is the part that trips up most new exporters. Since July 2021, the EU removed the old low-value VAT exemption, so import VAT applies to consignments of essentially any value. The question is only how it gets collected.

For goods valued at €150 or less, the EU created the Import One-Stop Shop (IOSS). It lets you charge the correct EU VAT at your checkout, then remit it through a single monthly return, so the parcel clears customs without the customer being charged again on delivery. The benefits are real:

• The customer pays the full price up front — no nasty doorstep surprise, which is the single biggest cause of refused EU parcels.

• Faster customs clearance, because the VAT is already accounted for.

• Better conversion, because EU shoppers see a total that won't change.

To use IOSS you register in one EU member state (non-EU sellers usually need an intermediary), get an IOSS number, and include it in your shipping data. For orders above €150, IOSS doesn't apply — those go through standard import procedures where VAT and any duty are handled at the border, typically via the DDP or DAP choice below.

Whether you register for IOSS or not, you'll want your storefront charging the right tax at checkout. Dirora's Tax Configuration lets you set up tax rules for the regions you sell to so the amounts shown to customers are consistent, and its Multi-Currency support means an EU shopper can see and pay in euros rather than mentally converting from pounds. For a deeper walkthrough, see our guide to setting up tax for international sales. For the broader currency-and-language side, the multi-currency and multi-language guide goes further. (Dirora gives you the tools to charge and display tax correctly; it doesn't file your IOSS or VAT returns for you — that remains your responsibility.)

DDP vs DAP: who pays the duty?

This single decision shapes your customer's whole experience. The two common Incoterms for parcels are:

• DDP — Delivered Duty Paid. You, the seller, cover the import VAT and any duty before the parcel reaches the customer. They pay the price at checkout and nothing more. Cleaner experience, higher conversion, but you carry the cost and admin.

• DAP — Delivered At Place (sometimes shown as DDU, Delivered Duty Unpaid). The customer is liable for import VAT, duty, and often a carrier handling fee, collected before or on delivery. Less work for you, but a real risk the customer is shocked by the bill and refuses the parcel.

For low-value goods, IOSS effectively gives you a DDP-like experience for the VAT portion. For higher-value orders, DDP almost always wins on customer satisfaction — the extra cost is worth the avoided refusals and support tickets. If you go DAP, say so loudly at checkout: "EU customers may be charged import VAT and duties on delivery." Transparency is cheaper than a returned parcel.

Handling shipping and carrier choice

Most UK carriers — Royal Mail, Evri, DPD, and the couriers — now handle EU customs electronically, provided you feed them clean data. The practical setup:

• Pick carriers with solid EU customs handling and, ideally, a DDP option so duties are prepaid.

• Feed accurate weights, values, and commodity codes from your store rather than typing them per order.

• Show EU shipping options clearly at checkout, with honest delivery estimates that account for customs.

Dirora's Shipping Management lets you define shipping zones and rates for the EU regions you serve, so an EU shopper sees the right options and price at checkout rather than a UK-only rate. Set your zones deliberately — you might treat the EU as one zone or split it by delivery cost. Our shipping strategy guide covers how to structure zones, thresholds, and free-shipping tactics without eroding your margin.

Returns: the friction nobody warns you about

Returns from the EU are the hidden tax on cross-border selling. A returning parcel is an import back into the UK, which means more paperwork and potentially reclaiming the VAT and duty you paid on the way out. Practical ways to reduce the pain:

• Reduce returns at the source with accurate sizing, detailed descriptions, and honest photography, so fewer parcels come back at all.

• Set a clear EU returns policy — who pays return shipping, the window, and how refunds work — and display it plainly.

• Consider a local returns solution if EU volume grows; a returns address within the EU can dramatically cut friction, though it adds cost.

• Keep your export records so you can reclaim import charges on genuine returns where eligible.

Remember that EU consumers have strong statutory rights, and UK sellers must still honour applicable consumer-protection rules when selling to them. Build a returns process you can actually sustain rather than promising frictionless returns you'll come to regret.

Setting customer expectations

Most Brexit horror stories come down to one thing: a customer who didn't expect a charge. You can prevent nearly all of them by being explicit up front. On your EU-facing pages and at checkout:

• State clearly whether prices include EU VAT (they should, if you're using IOSS or DDP).

• If you ship DAP, warn that import charges may apply on delivery.

• Give realistic delivery estimates that include customs clearance.

• Show prices in the customer's currency so there are no conversion surprises.

An EU shopper who knows exactly what they'll pay and when it'll arrive is a happy repeat customer. One who's ambushed by a €14 handling fee is a chargeback and a bad review. The paperwork is the boring part; expectation-setting is where you win or lose the sale.

Where this fits into your setup

Selling to the EU from the UK post-Brexit isn't about heroics — it's about having the boring infrastructure in place: an EORI number, accurate commercial invoices, a VAT strategy (IOSS for low-value goods), a clear DDP-or-DAP decision, and a returns policy you can live with. If you're also getting your UK VAT position straight, start with our UK VAT guide for online sellers.

On the platform side, the pieces you'll lean on — Multi-Currency so EU shoppers pay in euros, Tax Configuration so the right tax shows at checkout, and Shipping Management so EU zones and rates are correct — are all part of Dirora, with no transaction fees on any plan. You can see the full list of tools on the features page. Cross-border selling adds enough admin as it is; your platform shouldn't add a percentage of every European sale on top.