Shipping to Europe from Canada? Sell from EU stock.
The practical way to ship to Europe from Canada is in bulk: send stock to a warehouse inside the EU, have each shipment cleared through customs when it arrives, and fulfill every EU order from there. Primepack offers that setup from Gothenburg, Sweden. Goods that qualify as Canadian-origin under CETA, with the exporter's origin declaration, can enter at CETA's preferential duty rate – the agreement has removed customs duties on the vast majority of tariff lines.
How CETA duty works for goods shipped from Canada to the EU
CETA, the trade agreement between Canada and the EU, has applied provisionally since September 21, 2017. It has removed customs duties on the vast majority of tariff lines – but the preferential rate follows the goods' origin, not the port they leave from.
Three conditions for the CETA rate
Canadian origin under CETA's rules
The goods have to qualify as Canadian-origin under CETA's rules of origin. Anything made elsewhere and only shipped from Canada does not qualify for CETA rates.
No further processing on the way
On their way from Canada to the EU, the goods must not be further processed in another country.
An origin declaration from the Canadian exporter
The importer needs an origin declaration from the Canadian exporter, written on the invoice or another commercial document. It includes the exporter's Canadian Business Number if the exporter has one.
What CETA doesn't change
- Customs clearance
Every bulk shipment still goes through EU customs when it arrives in Sweden.
- Import VAT
The CETA rate is a customs duty rate. Import VAT on the shipment is still due – the FAQ below covers how it is reported.
- Your tariff code
Duty depends on each product's tariff code and origin, and rates change. Check yours free of charge in TARIC or Access2Markets before you ship.
Shipping stock from Canada to an EU warehouse in Sweden
Customs duty and import VAT are due once per bulk shipment, when it is cleared in Sweden – with duty at the CETA rate for goods that qualify. After that the goods are in free circulation: orders to EU customers are not imports, so there is no customs inside the EU and IOSS does not apply.
Paperwork before it leaves Canada
Expect your customs agent to ask for a commercial invoice, packing list and transport document, a commodity code per product and – if you claim the CETA rate – the origin declaration. They will also confirm whether your setup calls for an EORI number of your own.
Cleared, then received in Gothenburg
We coordinate the customs clearance of your bulk shipment with our customs partners. Acting as your customs agent, they can lodge the import declaration on your behalf. On arrival we receive the goods, check them and register every item by barcode in our WMS.
Out to customers across the EU
We pick and pack your DTC orders the same day. Parcels typically reach the Nordic EU countries (Sweden, Denmark, Finland) in 1–2 business days, Germany and Benelux in 2–3 and the rest of the EU in 3–5. EU returns come back to Gothenburg, where we inspect them and restock approved items.
Bulk freight by sea from Canada takes weeks, so time your first shipment around your European launch date. Our warehouse is in Hisings Kärra, near the Port of Gothenburg – Sweden's largest port, which handles more than half of Sweden's container traffic. Considering the Netherlands or Germany instead? Our guide on where to fulfill in Europe compares the three.
Why not keep shipping parcels from Canada?
On July 1, 2026, the EU ended duty-free entry for low-value parcels shipped to consumers from outside the EU, and more changes are scheduled. Those rules target goods that are sold while still outside the EU. Inventory that is imported in bulk and cleared before any of it is sold comes in under the normal import rules.
One condition: it must be genuine stock. Goods that were already sold to individual customers before they were imported count as distance sales – shipping them together in the same bulk shipment doesn't change that.
- July 1, 2026: Parcels to EU consumers valued at up to €150 and sent from outside the EU now pay a flat, temporary customs duty of €3 per item type, under any VAT scheme. The flat duty is planned to last until July 1, 2028.
- Late 2026: A per-item EU handling fee is due to start on goods sold straight to EU consumers from outside the EU.
- July 2028: Without IOSS, the import VAT on a low-value parcel to an EU consumer becomes, as a rule, the seller's own liability – not the customer's. IOSS in turn generally requires a Canadian seller to appoint an EU-based intermediary.
Still sending some parcels straight from Canada? Read our IOSS guide.
Does a Canadian company need EU VAT registration and an EORI number?
VAT registration: normally yes, in Sweden. An EORI number of your own: it depends on the customs setup. And one piece that is easy to miss: an EU responsible person for product safety. Your company registers or appoints each of these itself; for each one, you can see where we help.
A customs agent inside the EU
Apart from limited exceptions, a company established outside the EU cannot itself act as declarant on an import declaration in the EU. The usual route is to use an EU-established customs agent, which files the declaration in its own name for you – known as indirect representation. EU law can then hold both the agent and your company liable for the customs debt.
Whether you also need an EORI number – the EU's customs ID for businesses, valid in every member state – depends on how the import is set up. If you do, and your first customs activity in the EU takes place in Sweden, the application goes to Swedish Customs (Tullverket) and costs nothing.
Who sets it up
Your company and its customs agent, who agree the setup and a power of attorney before shipping
Where we help
Our customs partners can take on the agent role: they can lodge the import declaration on your behalf as your customs agent, while we coordinate the clearance of each bulk shipment with them.
What an EORI number is forEU VAT: registered in Sweden, filed through OSS
A sale to a consumer from your Swedish stock is a Swedish sale, which normally calls for a Swedish VAT registration, with Swedish VAT charged on the sale. Sweden's small-business VAT exemption is not available to businesses based outside the EU. Sweden also requires a business that owes Swedish VAT but has no establishment in Sweden to be represented by a VAT agent (ombud) approved by the Swedish Tax Agency, Skatteverket – unless an exception applies. Canada is neither an EU nor a Nordic country, so a Canadian company should plan for this requirement and check it with Skatteverket or a tax advisor.
For consumers in other EU countries, each sale is, as a rule, subject to the VAT of the customer's country from the first sale. The EU's €10,000 distance-selling threshold is reserved for sellers established in a single EU country, so it does not apply to a Canadian company. Through the One Stop Shop (Union scheme), joined in Sweden, all of that VAT is declared and paid in a single return; sales to Swedish consumers go in your ordinary Swedish VAT return instead.
Who sets it up
Your company registers
Where we help
You register; we guide you through the VAT setup and can introduce you to accounting partners.
VAT for non-EU sellers, in detailA GPSR responsible person in the EU
No consumer product covered by the GPSR, the EU's General Product Safety Regulation, may be placed on the EU market without an economic operator established in the EU who is responsible for it. Canadian manufacturers therefore appoint either an EU importer or an authorized representative with a written mandate, and have that person in place before the stock is shipped.
Their contact details – name, postal address and electronic address – belong in every online listing, beside your own as the manufacturer, and on the product, its packaging, the parcel or an accompanying document.
Who sets it up
Your company appoints
Where we help
Relabeling and inserts can be handled in our warehouse if your packaging needs updating for the EU.
Time difference between Canada and Sweden: how we work together
Canada's West Coast is roughly 8–9 hours behind Sweden, which leaves a short window when both teams are at work. The further east you are, the smaller the gap.
Your dedicated contact person – like the rest of our team – works in English on Central European Time, which is one hour ahead of UTC and two in summer. Keep calls for the decisions that need one, such as your launch plan or a first inbound shipment, and handle the day-to-day by email.
If you sell on Shopify, orders reach us through our ready-made Shopify integration, and we send stock levels and tracking numbers back to your store. That flow runs without anyone needing to be online at the same time. Other platforms and marketplaces can be connected via API.
Everything we handle day to day – warehousing, pick & pack, kitting, returns and quality checks – is on our services page.
CETA and customs questions from Canadian brands
Does the CETA origin declaration need our Business Number?
It includes the exporter's Canadian Business Number if the exporter has one. The Canadian exporter puts the declaration on the invoice or another commercial document, and the importer needs it to claim the CETA rate. Send it along with the rest of the paperwork your customs agent typically asks for – the commercial invoice, a packing list, the transport document and each product's commodity code – and keep copies on file, since Swedish Customs can ask for supporting documents after the declaration.
What if some of our products are made in Asia?
Only goods that qualify as Canadian-origin under CETA's rules of origin get the CETA rate. Shipping a product from your Canadian warehouse doesn't make it Canadian – its duty follows its real country of origin and its tariff code. Extra duties, such as anti-dumping duties, also apply to some products and origins, so look up each product in TARIC or Access2Markets before you ship. After clearance, products made in Canada and elsewhere sit in one inventory in Sweden and ship to EU customers the same way.
Does CETA also remove import VAT?
No. Each bulk shipment still goes through customs clearance, and import VAT is due on it. If your company is registered for VAT in Sweden when the goods are cleared, it normally reports the import VAT in its Swedish VAT return and deducts it there, to the extent it has a right to deduct. A company without a Swedish VAT registration pays the import VAT to Swedish Customs (Tullverket) instead. Settle who acts as importer with your customs agent and tax advisor before the first shipment.
Can we also reach the UK, Norway and Switzerland from Sweden?
Yes, from the same stock. Great Britain, Norway and Switzerland are all outside the EU customs union, though, so shipments there are exports and go through customs. Between EU member states there is no customs once the goods are in free circulation.
EORI numbers
What an EORI number is, where a business outside the EU gets one and when you need it.
Read moreEU VAT for non-EU sellers
Swedish VAT registration, the One-Stop Shop and import VAT – what changes once your stock sits inside the EU.
Read moreShopify fulfillment in Europe
How your Shopify store connects to a European warehouse – orders in, stock levels and tracking back.
Read moreWhat EU fulfillment costs
Every cost line from bulk import to returns – and the questions to ask when you compare 3PL quotes.
Read moreSelling from Canada? Plan your first EU shipment.
Tell us which products you make in Canada, which you source elsewhere and where in the EU you want to sell, and we'll send an itemized quote – you're under no obligation.