EU fulfillment for UK brands after Brexit
Since Brexit, every parcel from Great Britain to an EU customer is an import into the EU, with customs clearance and EU VAT on each one. EU fulfillment moves that to your bulk shipments instead: your stock is cleared once, when it arrives at an EU warehouse, and each order then ships to EU customers with no customs inside the EU. Primepack runs that warehouse in Gothenburg, Sweden – storing, packing and shipping your stock.
Selling to EU customers after Brexit: customs on every parcel
Until the end of 2020, a parcel from London to Stockholm moved inside the EU customs union. Today the same parcel crosses a customs border, and your customer may be asked to pay before it is handed over.
Customs on every parcel
Great Britain left the EU customs union and VAT area when the Brexit transition period ended on 31 December 2020. A parcel from a warehouse in Great Britain to a customer in Germany or Sweden now crosses a customs border, and it goes through EU customs clearance and import VAT even when the duty rate is zero.
VAT and duty before delivery
Without IOSS, VAT is charged when the parcel enters the customer's country, and the carrier often collects it from your customer before delivery – sometimes with its own clearance fee on top. IOSS moves the VAT to checkout, but a seller based in Great Britain generally has to appoint an EU-based intermediary to use it. Consignments above €150 can't use IOSS and go through normal import clearance, with duty at the product's normal tariff rate – zero under the TCA only if the goods qualify as UK-originating and the origin is claimed.
Returns cross the border twice
When an EU customer sends an item back to an address in Great Britain, it leaves the EU and crosses into Great Britain – a second customs crossing for an item that already cleared EU customs on its way to the customer.
What changed in 2026
Low-value parcels into the EU lost their duty exemption
- The duty-free treatment of parcels worth up to €150 ended on 1 July 2026. Sent straight to an EU consumer from outside the EU, such a parcel now pays a temporary flat customs duty of €3 per item type – with or without IOSS – planned until 1 July 2028.
- A per-item EU handling fee on goods sold to EU consumers from outside the EU is due to start in late 2026.
- From July 2028, the import VAT on a low-value parcel shipped into the EU without IOSS will, as a rule, be owed by the seller rather than the customer.
- The EU customs reform adopted in September 2026 will, over the coming years, make online sellers outside the EU responsible as importers for customs on goods they sell directly to EU consumers.
All four measures are aimed at goods sold to EU consumers while the goods are still outside the EU. A bulk shipment of genuine stock, cleared in Sweden before any of it is sold, follows the normal import rules: duty at the product's normal rate and import VAT, both due at clearance, with no flat parcel duty. The condition matters – goods that were already sold to individual customers before import are treated as distance sales, not stock, even when they travel in one shipment. More in IOSS explained.
Do UK goods pay EU import duty under the TCA?
Not if they qualify as UK-originating and the importer claims the preference. Under the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), goods that meet its rules of origin can enter the EU with zero tariffs and zero quotas. What counts is where your products were made, not where they ship from – goods mainly made outside the UK don't qualify just because they leave from your UK warehouse.
Made in the UK
The TCA's zero tariff applies when the goods meet its rules of origin and the importer claims the preference – with a statement on origin from the exporter, or on the basis of the importer's own knowledge that the goods originate.
Made elsewhere, shipped from the UK
Goods that were mainly made outside the UK and are only stored in or sent on from a UK warehouse do not count as UK-originating. They pay whatever EU duty applies to their actual origin and tariff code.
Zero duty is not zero customs. Goods moving from Great Britain to the EU still go through customs clearance and import VAT, even when the duty rate is zero. Anti-dumping and other extra duties can also apply to certain products and origins.
Check your own rate. The duty depends on your product's commodity code and its origin. Look it up in the EU's TARIC database or on Access2Markets before you ship. With stock in Sweden, the origin claim is made on each bulk shipment, with the paperwork your customs agent asks for, instead of parcel by parcel.
Is a GB EORI number valid in the EU?
No. An EORI number issued by the UK – the one starting with GB – is not valid for customs formalities in the EU. It still does its job: you use it for the UK side of the shipment.
On the EU side, a business that is not established in the EU generally can't lodge the import declaration itself. The import into Sweden is therefore normally handled by an EU-established customs representative, or the goods are imported by an EU-established company, for example one in your own group.
That is where we come in: we coordinate the customs clearance of your bulk shipment with our customs partners, who can lodge the import declaration on your behalf as your customs agent. Typically the agent declares in its own name on your behalf – called indirect representation – and under EU law both the agent and your company can be held liable for the customs debt. You agree the setup and the power of attorney with the agent before the goods ship.
Do you need an EU EORI number of your own? Your customs agent will tell you whether your setup needs one. When it does, a business with no EU establishment applies in the EU country where it first carries out a customs activity that requires one. If that is your import into Sweden, the application goes to Swedish Customs (Tullverket) and costs nothing. Read the details in our guide to EORI numbers.
What your customs agent will ask for
Typical documents for a commercial bulk shipment into the EU. Keep them on file – Swedish Customs can ask to see them after the declaration.
- Commercial invoice
- Packing list
- Transport document, such as a bill of lading or air waybill
- The commodity code for each product
- Proof of origin, if you claim the TCA zero rate
- Licenses, permits or certificates, for products that need them
EU warehouse for UK e-commerce: how orders ship from Sweden
Once your bulk shipment is cleared in Sweden, the goods are in free circulation in the EU. They move between member states with no customs at internal borders, so every EU order leaves our warehouse as an EU parcel, not an import.
Ship stock to Gothenburg
Send pallets or a container to our warehouse in Hisings Kärra, near the Port of Gothenburg, Sweden's largest port, which handles more than half of Sweden's container traffic.
Cleared in bulk
Our customs partners can lodge the import declaration for the whole shipment on your behalf as your customs agent, and we coordinate the clearance with them. Duty and import VAT are due on the shipment, not on each parcel.
Received and registered
Every item is checked at receiving, registered by barcode in our warehouse management system (Ongoing WMS) and put away on pallet or shelf locations.
Orders ship inside the EU
Orders from your store come in automatically, are picked and packed the same day and ship to EU customers with no customs inside the EU.
What your EU customers get
- Delivery in days. From Gothenburg, parcels typically take 1–2 business days to the Nordic EU countries (Sweden, Denmark, Finland), 2–3 to Germany and Benelux and 3–5 to the rest of the EU.
- No import charges at the door. An order shipped from stock already cleared in Sweden isn't an import, so your customer isn't asked for import VAT or customs duty before delivery.
- An EU return address. We receive, inspect and restock returns in Sweden, so EU returns don't have to cross back into Great Britain.
- Your store stays in charge. Shopify connects ready-made: orders in automatically, stock levels synced back, tracking pushed back to your store. Read about Shopify fulfillment from Sweden; other platforms connect via API.
The honest trade-offs
Two stock pools
UK orders keep shipping from Great Britain and EU orders from Sweden, so you plan replenishment for both. Real-time stock visibility helps, but the forecast is yours.
Customs moves, it doesn't vanish
Each bulk shipment is still cleared, with duty and import VAT due at clearance. What disappears is customs on every single EU order.
VAT comes before the first shipment
The import VAT on a bulk shipment is normally reported in your Swedish VAT return only if your company is VAT-registered in Sweden when the goods are cleared. If it isn't, the import VAT is paid to Swedish Customs instead. Settle the registration – and the VAT agent question – before your first shipment leaves.
Not sure Sweden should be your EU base? We set it side by side with the Netherlands and Germany in where to fulfill in the EU. For the cost side – storage, pick & pack and returns – see how our pricing works.
EU VAT, OSS and GPSR: what UK sellers need to set up
For EU VAT and customs, a company in Great Britain is now a business from outside the EU. Settle these three before your first bulk shipment is on its way to Sweden.
A Swedish VAT number – and a VAT agent
Selling to consumers in Sweden from stock held here means Swedish sales, so you will normally register for VAT in Sweden and charge Swedish VAT. That registration is also what normally lets you report the import VAT on your bulk shipments in your Swedish VAT return and deduct it there. Because your company isn't established in Sweden and will owe Swedish VAT, Sweden requires it to be represented by a VAT agent approved by the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket), unless an exception applies. Skatteverket's guidance makes the agent optional for businesses from other EU or Nordic countries – the UK is neither, so plan for one and confirm it with Skatteverket or a tax advisor.
The One Stop Shop for other EU countries
A company established in the UK can't use the EU's €10,000 distance-selling threshold – it only helps sellers established in a single EU country. Sales to consumers in other EU countries are, as a rule, taxed at the VAT rate of the customer's country from the very first sale. The One Stop Shop (Union scheme) lets you declare and pay that VAT in one place, registered in Sweden with your Swedish VAT number. It is optional, but without it you would normally register for VAT in each EU country you sell to. Sales to Swedish customers are reported in your Swedish VAT return, not through the One Stop Shop. If you sell through a marketplace, it may account for the VAT on those sales itself.
An EU responsible person under GPSR
Under the EU General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR), which has applied since 13 December 2024, a consumer product can only be placed on the EU market if an economic operator established in the EU is responsible for it. A brand based in Great Britain doesn't meet that on its own, so you need your own EU importer or an authorized representative appointed by written mandate – in place before the goods ship. Print that person's name, postal address and electronic address on the product, its packaging, the parcel or an accompanying document, and show the same details in every online listing.
Check your labels too. CE marking belongs only on products covered by EU legislation that provides for it. Instructions and safety information generally need to be in a language your buyers can easily understand, and each EU country where you sell decides which – for Sweden, that is Swedish.
You register, we guide. Your company registers itself, and we guide you through the setup and can put you in touch with accounting partners. The full walkthrough is in our guide to EU VAT for non-EU sellers and on how EU fulfillment works.
One hour apart: working with a 3PL in Sweden
Sweden is only one hour ahead of the UK, so your office hours and ours almost line up. A call about a launch, an inbound delivery or a stock question fits into a normal working day on both sides.
+1 h
One hour ahead of the UK
Sweden runs on CET (UTC+1, UTC+2 in summer). Your 9 am call is at 10 am here, and our working days overlap almost completely.
English
Your working language
Our team works in English on CET – during onboarding, in daily operations and whenever something needs sorting out.
1
One contact person
A dedicated contact person who knows your account, your products and your launch plan.
Ready to talk it through? Request a quote and we'll guide you through the customs and VAT setup for your first shipment.
Questions UK brands ask about EU fulfillment
Do I still need IOSS if my stock is in Sweden?
Not for orders shipped from that stock. IOSS is for low-value parcels (up to €150) shipped to EU consumers from outside the EU, and a seller based in Great Britain generally has to appoint an EU-based intermediary to use it. Once your stock is imported in bulk and cleared in Sweden, orders shipped from it are not imports, so IOSS does not apply – the VAT goes through your Swedish VAT return and the One Stop Shop instead. This only holds for genuine stock: goods already sold to individual customers before they are imported are treated as distance sales.
Can I serve UK customers from the same stock in Sweden?
Yes, we can ship orders to Great Britain from your stock in Sweden. Since Great Britain is outside the EU customs union, each of those shipments goes through customs. If you already run a warehouse in Great Britain, you can keep UK orders there and let the stock in Sweden focus on the EU.
Does any of this change for Northern Ireland?
It can. Northern Ireland follows EU rules for goods, and businesses there with an XI EORI number are covered by separate rules. This page is about goods moving between Great Britain and the EU – if you trade from Northern Ireland, check your setup with your customs agent.
EORI numbers
What an EORI number is, where a business outside the EU gets one and when you need it.
Read moreIOSS explained
What the Import One-Stop Shop covers, who needs it – and why it drops out when you ship from EU stock.
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 moreSell to the EU without customs on every parcel
Send us your product range, where it's made and roughly how many EU orders you ship from Great Britain today. We'll put together an itemized quote for holding and shipping your EU stock from Sweden – no obligation.