Selling in Europe without an EU company

A company from outside the EU can sell in Europe without forming a European company. What EU law requires is that certain roles be held by a party established in the EU. They are the declarant on the import, a VAT representative where a member state requires one, and, for consumer products, a responsible economic operator. The manufacturer does not have to be established. Someone in each of those roles does.

Suppose a maker of industrial pumps, established outside the EU, has its first European orders. It has no wish to open a subsidiary before it knows the market. It needs four answers. Whose name goes on the import? Who registers for VAT? Who answers for the product? And where does the stock sit? Each has a legal answer, and none of them is “form a company first”.

Whose name goes on the import?

Under Article 170(2) of the Union Customs Code, Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, “the declarant shall be established in the customs territory of the Union”. A company with no EU establishment imports through a customs representative established in the EU that lodges the declaration in its own name (Article 18). Under Article 77(3), both are then debtors of the customs debt. Regulation (EU) 2026/2108, adopted on 16 September 2026, replaces that code, with most of its provisions applying from 21 September 2027. The articles cited here are those that apply today.

The trade calls that party the importer of record. Why brokers hesitate to take the role is set out in importer of record without an EU entity. The EORI number the business also needs is covered in what an EORI number is, and what it is not.

Do I need an EU VAT registration?

In most cases, yes, and it can be held without a company. In Portugal, article 2.º n.º 1 b) of the Código do IVA sets who owes VAT on imports. It makes VAT taxpayers of “as pessoas singulares ou colectivas que, segundo a legislação aduaneira, realizem importações de bens”. In English, that is anyone who, under customs law, carries out imports of goods. A company whose stock is imported into Portugal for its account is therefore inside the Portuguese VAT system.

Non-resident businesses with no seat, permanent establishment or domicile in any member state “estão obrigados a nomear um representante” (article 30.º n.º 2). In English, they must appoint a representative. The representative owes the VAT due on the operations (n.º 3), and the business is jointly liable with it (n.º 5). The EU basis is Article 204(1) of the VAT Directive, Council Directive 2006/112/EC, which allows member states to make a tax representative the person liable. The Portuguese rule is set out in who needs a fiscal representative in Portugal and on fiscal representation.

Sales to consumers in other member states can then be reported through the One Stop Shop. The Commission’s registration page says that a taxable person not established in the EU registers in the “Member State from which goods are dispatched”. That person is bound by that choice “for the current calendar year and the two following calendar years”. It also “will be allocated a VAT number by the Member State of identification before registering for the scheme”. A seller established outside the EU cannot use the 10,000 euro threshold, which is open only to suppliers established in a single member state. Its consumer sales therefore carry the customer’s VAT from the first euro. The boundaries of the scheme are in OSS, IOSS, and what they do not cover.

Who answers for the product?

For consumer products, the General Product Safety Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2023/988, adds a third role. UK Government guidance on the Regulation, as it applies in Northern Ireland, summarises Article 16. Products can only be placed on the market “if there is a responsible economic operator established in either NI or the EU”. That operator is the manufacturer if it is established there, or an authorised representative. It can also be the importer where the manufacturer is not established, or, as a fallback, a fulfilment service provider. What the role holds is set out in GPSR and the Responsible Person, explained.

Medical devices follow their own rule. Article 11(1) of Regulation (EU) 2017/745: “Where the manufacturer of a device is not established in a Member State, the device may only be placed on the Union market if the manufacturer designates a sole authorised representative.” That is a separate appointment, under separate law.

Where does the stock sit?

Nothing in these rules requires the stock to sit in the seller’s own premises. It can be held in a warehouse inside the EU run by someone else, usually released for free circulation on arrival. Or it is held under customs warehousing where the goods are of higher value and move in smaller volumes, each release its own tax point. Once released, orders ship inside the single market with no customs step, as selling to 27 EU markets from one import explains.

What still needs a presence in the EU

Put together, the roles that need a party established in the EU are these:

Role	Rule	Must be established in the EU
Declarant on the import	UCC Article 170(2)	the declarant
Customs representative	UCC Article 18(2)	the representative
VAT representative, Portugal	Código do IVA, article 30.º n.º 2	the representative, registered for VAT in Portugal
Responsible economic operator, consumer products	Regulation (EU) 2023/988, Article 16	the operator
Authorised representative, medical devices	Regulation (EU) 2017/745, Article 11(1)	the representative

None of them requires the manufacturer to be established. Each requires someone who is, and each carries real liability. That is why the party that takes the role needs to see and control the goods.

Some questions are not answered by these rules at all. Whether activity in a member state creates a permanent establishment for tax on profits is a separate matter under national law and tax treaties.

How this runs at EFC

EFC helps companies from outside the EU operate and grow in Europe. For a company with no EU entity, EFC’s operation in Portugal, run with its logistics partner, holds the stock. It can also take on the roles above that need a party established in the EU. Those roles are importer of record on the imports, fiscal representation in Portugal, and, for consumer products it fulfils, the Responsible Person role. For medical devices, EFC does not act as an authorised representative.

EFC does not form companies. Whether a subsidiary makes sense later, once the market has answered, is a question for the client and its own advisers.

Before any registration is filed

The rules above describe how the roles are built, not how they apply to a particular business. That depends on its facts, and the competent authorities decide each registration and each declaration. Nothing here is legal or tax advice.

Sources

Label	Value	Source
Declarant must be established in the EU	”The declarant shall be established in the customs territory of the Union”; exceptions for transit, temporary admission, occasional declarations and certain adjacent-territory cases	Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Article 170, as adopted, on EUR-Lex, opened 2026-09-21
Customs representation	direct and indirect representation defined; representative established in the customs territory of the Union	Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Article 18, as adopted, on EUR-Lex, opened 2026-09-21
Debtor	declarant is the debtor; in indirect representation the person on whose behalf the declaration is made is also a debtor	Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Article 77, as adopted, on EUR-Lex, opened 2026-09-21
EORI for operators outside the EU	registration in the EU country of the first customs operation; one valid number per person	European Commission, EORI number, opened 2026-09-21
Portugal, importers are VAT taxpayers	persons who, under customs legislation, carry out imports of goods	Código do IVA, artigo 2.º, Portal das Finanças, opened 2026-09-21
Portugal, VAT representative	obligatory for non-residents with no establishment in any member state; representative owes the VAT; business jointly liable	Código do IVA, artigo 30.º, Portal das Finanças, opened 2026-09-21
EU basis for a tax representative	member states may make a tax representative the person liable	Directive 2006/112/EC, Article 204, EU text on EUR-Lex, opened 2026-09-21
OSS registration for sellers outside the EU	member state of dispatch; choice binding for the current and two following calendar years; a seller not established in the EU is allocated a VAT number by the member state of identification before registering	European Commission, OSS registration, opened 2026-09-21
10,000 euro threshold	requires establishment in only one member state	European Commission, The One Stop Shop, opened 2026-09-21
Responsible economic operator, consumer products	products placed on the market only if a responsible economic operator is established in NI or the EU; manufacturer, authorised representative, importer or fulfilment service provider	UK Government, EU Regulation 2023/988 on general product safety: detailed guidance (as it applies in Northern Ireland), opened 2026-09-21
New Union Customs Code	Regulation (EU) 2026/2108 adopted on 16 September 2026, in force from 20 September 2026, most provisions applying from 21 September 2027	European Commission, EU Customs Reform, opened 2026-09-21
Medical devices, authorised representative	a manufacturer not established in a member state designates a sole authorised representative	Regulation (EU) 2017/745, Article 11, as adopted, on EUR-Lex, opened 2026-09-21