How EU fulfillment works – from your factory to an EU doorstep
EU fulfillment means you import your stock into the EU in bulk and ship every order from a warehouse inside the EU. You send pallets or a container to Gothenburg, the shipment is cleared through customs once on arrival, you normally register for VAT in Sweden – and from then on, orders reach customers across the EU with no customs on the way.
How to move inventory into the EU, step by step
Most of the work sits in the first three steps, and you do it once per bulk shipment – not once per customer order. After that, fulfillment is our day-to-day job.
Prepare the paperwork
Commercial invoice, packing list and a commodity code for every product. Put your EU responsible person in place, make sure your labels meet EU rules and start your Swedish VAT registration early.
Ship in bulk to Gothenburg
Pallets or a container go 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.
Clear customs once per shipment
We coordinate the clearance with our customs partners, who can lodge the import declaration on your behalf as your customs agent. Duty and import VAT are due on the bulk shipment – not per order.
Sell across the EU
Your stock is received, checked and barcode-registered in our WMS, your store is connected, and orders are picked, packed and shipped with no customs inside the EU.
What you need before shipping inventory to the EU
Before a commercial bulk shipment leaves for the EU, have the points below in place. For every shipment, your customs agent will typically ask for the commercial invoice, a packing list, the transport document and the commodity code for each product.
Settle one thing early: every brand based outside the EU needs its own EU responsible person for product safety – an EU importer or an authorized representative with a written mandate – in place before the goods ship. Their name, postal address and electronic address go on the product, its packaging, the parcel or an accompanying document, and in your online listings.
The duty on your stock depends on each product's commodity code and where it was made, not where it ships from. A preferential rate needs proof of origin, and the rules differ by market – see our pages for brands from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia.
- EORI number – the EU's customs ID for businesses. Your customs agent will tell you whether your setup needs your own; a GB EORI number is not valid for EU customs formalities.
- Commercial invoice & packing list – with accurate product descriptions, plus the transport document (bill of lading or air waybill).
- Commodity code for each product – the duty depends on this tariff code and on where the product was made. Look up the current rate in TARIC or Access2Markets before you ship.
- Product labeling for the EU market – your EU responsible person's contact details, and safety information in a language consumers in each market can easily understand.
Who clears your stock through EU customs?
A business based outside the EU generally can't be the declarant on an EU import declaration itself. 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. You agree on the setup and the power of attorney with them before the goods ship – and they tell you whether you need your own EORI number. Our EORI guide explains when you do.
Customs duty and import VAT are due once, when the bulk shipment is cleared. After that, your goods are in free circulation and move to customers anywhere in the EU with no customs on the way. VAT still applies to each sale, as the next section explains.
Good to know
- Since 1 July 2026, parcels worth up to €150 sent directly to EU consumers from outside the EU pay a temporary flat customs duty of €3 per item type. Stock imported in bulk and cleared before it is sold does not.
- It has to be genuine stock: goods already sold to individual customers before import are treated as distance sales, even if they ship together.
- Great Britain, Norway and Switzerland are outside the EU customs union, so orders shipped there go through customs.
Which VAT applies once your stock is in Sweden?
With inventory in Sweden, your sales to EU consumers are no longer imports. That decides which VAT schemes apply – and which one drops out.
Swedish VAT registration
Sales to consumers in Sweden from your Swedish stock are Swedish sales, and a Swedish VAT registration is also what normally lets you report and deduct the import VAT on your stock. Brands from the US, Canada, Australia or the UK should also plan for a VAT agent approved by the Swedish Tax Agency – and confirm it with a tax advisor.
One Stop Shop for the rest of the EU
Sales to consumers in other EU countries can be declared in one place through the One Stop Shop, at each customer's national VAT rate; your Swedish sales stay in your Swedish VAT return. The EU's distance-selling threshold does not apply to sellers based outside the EU, so as a rule the customer's VAT applies from the first sale.
Why IOSS drops out
IOSS is built for parcels worth up to €150 shipped straight to EU consumers from outside the EU. Once your stock is imported, your EU orders are not imports – so IOSS does not apply.
Start early: if you are VAT-registered in Sweden when the goods are cleared, you normally report the import VAT in your Swedish VAT return and deduct it there, to the extent you have a right to deduct – instead of paying it to Swedish Customs. We guide you through the setup and can put you in touch with accounting partners. The details are in our guides to EU VAT for non-EU sellers and IOSS.
What a 3PL handles in EU fulfillment – and what stays with you
Registrations, product compliance and the documents for each shipment stay with you as the owner of the goods. The warehouse work, and coordinating the customs clearance of each bulk shipment with our customs partners, is ours.
Primepack
- Coordinating customs clearance of each bulk shipment with our customs partners
- Receiving, quality checks and barcode registration of your stock in our WMS
- Storage on pallet and shelf locations in Gothenburg
- Pick & pack – same day for DTC orders, carton or pallet for B2B
- Kitting, bundles, inserts and relabeling
- Shopify integration – orders in automatically, stock levels and tracking synced back
- Shipping orders across the EU from one stock
- Returns – received, inspected and restocked
- Guidance on the VAT setup and introductions to accounting partners
You
- Your EU responsible person for product safety, in place before the goods ship
- Swedish VAT registration, a VAT agent if required, and the One Stop Shop for sales to other EU countries
- Commercial invoice, packing list and commodity codes for each bulk shipment
- Power of attorney for your customs agent – and your own EORI number if your setup needs one
- Product compliance and labeling for each EU market you sell into
EU 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 moreIOSS explained
What the Import One-Stop Shop covers, who needs it – and why it drops out when you ship from EU stock.
Read moreEORI numbers
What an EORI number is, where a business outside the EU gets one and when you need it.
Read moreWhat EU fulfillment costs
Every cost line from bulk import to returns – and the questions to ask when you compare 3PL quotes.
Read moreLet's map out your EU setup
Tell us what you sell, where it's made and where your customers are. We walk through the route for your products and send a clear, itemized quote – no obligation.