If you’ve found shipping to EU markets challenging in recent years, you’re not alone. Increased taxes, duties, and complex customs procedures can make it complicated to sell and deliver goods to Europe.
The good news? There are plenty of ways to make it easier, not matter the size of your business. Whether you’re looking to boost your EU sales or starting from scratch, here are five things you’ll want to consider when shipping to EU countries:
Before you start selling to customers in the EU, you need to decide where you’re fulfilling their orders from. There are two main options: Local fulfilment from a warehouse in the EU, or centralised fulfilment from the country where you’re based.
Having your products closer to your customers means faster delivery times. Quick delivery can give you the competitive edge and help you win repeat customers, making it an important factor. If you wanted to do this, you would:
Storing stock for sale in an EU country means you’ll have to register for VAT there. That registration will cover sales to that country. However, you’ll need to register for OSS to sell those goods to people in other EU Member States.
Shipping from outside the EU usually means longer delivery times and higher shipping costs. However, there’s less overhead, as you’re not paying for space in multiple warehouses. You also have greater visibility over your inventory.
Shipping from outside the EU to customers in an EU Member State still means having to handle VAT. You can either register for VAT in every country where you have customers or register for IOSS. Import One Stop Shop covers all of the EU on a single monthly return, but only for consignments worth up to EUR 150.
It may sound boring, but data is possibly the most important part of shipping to EU countries. The data required to send a parcel to an address in the EU is very different to non-EU addresses. For example, to ship internationally, you will need to know your Harmonisation Codes (HS Codes). They denote which product type you are sending and are one of the ways Import VAT and duties are worked out. Selecting the wrong HS code could cause you to pay more tax or duties than you should. Your shipment could even be held up at customs. Nobody wants that. Here’s some other data to include:
The Combined Nomenclature is the system used by the EU to classify goods when they’re declared at customs. CN Codes are the internationally recognised Harmonised System Codes, with further EU-specific subdivisions.
If you’re shipping from Great Britain you’ll need a CPC Code. It declares the reason for export and is a universally recognised indicator of why goods are entering the EU. For example: 10 00 001 Free circulation goods being exported outside the UK.
Northern Ireland remains in the customs union for goods, so goods shipped from NI to the EU are within the single market.
Invoices need to follow EU-wide and nation-specific rules. Every invoice needs a unique, sequential number. The number and value shown on the invoice should match CN22 customs declaration documentation. If the transaction is B2B, you need to include your customer’s VAT number on the invoice as well.
If you’re registered for VAT, you can reclaim import VAT. You’ll need these to prove when the shipment cleared customs.
An Economic Operator Registration and Identification (EORI) number is a requirement for importing into the EU. You need to present it with your VAT number within your shipping data. If your customer is another business, you should include the consignee’s VAT number too.
You need to be thinking about your product type, value and sales channels to get the most out of shipping to EU markets. Thinking you can duplicate your domestic shipping success without planning will make things complicated further down the line. For example, customs clearance options include:
IOSS-Enabled clearance is the industry standard into the EU. However, knowing all the options available allows you to be flexible and make the best choice for each shipment.
The country of origin of your products will impact the cost of shipping them to EU territories. The origin of goods is outlined in Article 60 of the UCC (Union Customs Code) and determines whether your goods are subject to tariffs and duties.
Whether you’re sourcing raw materials or manufacturing entirely overseas will impact the country of origin. Calculating tariffs and duties can be complicated – they can be as niche as commodity codes. It’s not as simple as every product imported from a country is subject to a single tariff rate.
The simplest way to ship orders to the EU is with a single carrier. Afterall, it’s just one vendor relationship to manage. It can even save you some money if you send enough to earn volume discounts. However, relying on a single carrier might limit your flexibility and therefore your ability to fulfil orders. A multi-carrier strategy can keep you adaptable and boost the quality of your service.
By working with a one-to-many carrier solution, you can:
Shipping to EU customers shouldn’t feel like a challenge. By giving your customers more delivery options at check-out, you reduce your chances of cart abandonment and increase conversions.
