WHY OPERATE IN EUROPE
Why operate in Europe instead of shipping to it?
EFC holds your stock inside the EU customs union and ships every European order from there. Your goods cross the border in bulk, so the orders that follow leave from inside the single market.
TWO WAYS TO SELL
What changes when your stock sits inside the EU
When you ship from outside the EU, every order crosses the border on its own. Customs treats each parcel as a separate import, with its own declaration and tax.
When your stock sits inside the EU customs union, the crossing happens once for each bulk shipment. We clear the whole shipment and usually release it for free circulation on arrival. Goods released for free circulation are treated like any other goods already in the EU (Union Customs Code, Regulation (EU) No 952/2013).
Orders to customers in any of the 27 member states then travel inside the single market, with no customs step between countries.
THREE ROUTES IN
Three common routes into Europe for companies based outside it
Many companies hand Europe to a distributor. Others split the work across a forwarder, a customs broker and a separate warehouse. The route in the middle holds your stock inside the customs union and runs it as one operation. Your customers and your prices stay with you.
FOUR SITUATIONS
When does stock inside the EU change the cost of selling there?
Each situation starts with a cost or a limit you meet when you ship from outside.
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PER-PARCEL BORDER COST
Your orders cross the border one parcel at a time
Selling to consumers by parcel from outside the EU now means a customs duty on every item in each low-value parcel. The cost grows with every order you take.
We bring your stock in as bulk freight. On the usual route, the bulk shipment pays the normal duty for its goods once, on arrival. Orders to consumers then leave from inside the EU, with no parcel duty on them.
Proof by standard From 1 July 2026, distance sales to consumers in consignments of EUR 150 or less carry a flat EUR 3 customs duty per item. The charge runs until 1 July 2028 (Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382).
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A REGULATED CONSUMER PRODUCT
Your consumer product needs a Responsible Person in the EU
A consumer product in scope of the General Product Safety Regulation needs an economic operator established in the EU. That operator holds the safety information and answers questions from market surveillance authorities.
For in-scope consumer products, we can carry that role at the base where your stock sits. Product conformity stays with you as the manufacturer.
Proof by standard Regulation (EU) 2023/988 (GPSR) sets the role. It does not cover medical devices, and we take no importer role under the Medical Devices Regulation (EU) 2017/745.
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A PRESENCE WITHOUT A COMPANY
You want local delivery and returns without opening a company in Europe
The usual route to fast delivery and a local returns address is a European subsidiary. It brings registration, staff and fixed cost before the market has proved itself.
Where your import setup needs it, we provide the importer of record through our operation in Portugal. You deliver across the EU from stock inside it and take returns at a European address. There is no company of your own to open, staff or close.
Proof by standard Where we provide the importer of record, the import is declared through our operation rather than through you. A VAT registration can still apply to your sales, depending on how and where you sell.
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CONSUMERS AND BUSINESSES
You sell to consumers and to businesses from the same stock
Companies that sell both ways often end up with two setups, two clearances and two sets of cost. Shipped from outside the EU, both channels pay the border separately.
We run both channels from one stock pool, cleared once. A parcel for a consumer and a pallet for a distributor leave the same shelves from the same import.
Proof by standard A sale from EU stock to a VAT-registered business in another member state is normally zero rated (Council Directive 2006/112/EC, Article 138). One-Stop-Shop VAT covers sales to consumers only.
Before you move stock
What companies ask before they move stock into the EU
When are customs duty and import VAT paid on stock held in the EU?
Duty and import VAT fall due when stock is released for free circulation, which usually happens on arrival. Where the importer qualifies, import VAT is declared in the VAT return, so no cash leaves at the border. Goods held in a bonded customs warehouse pay duty and import VAT at each release, which suits higher-value goods that sell in smaller volumes.
What happens when a customer in the EU returns an order?
The return comes back to EFC with no customs step, because the goods are already in free circulation. Items fit for sale go back into the same stock and can ship again.
Does holding stock in the EU make a product Made in EU?
No. Storage and release for free circulation do not change where goods originate. When two or more countries are involved, Article 60 of the Union Customs Code gives origin to the last substantial processing. EFC checks any assembly work against the rules of origin case by case.
Is the 2026 customs reform the main reason to hold stock in the EU?
No. The reform only affects distance sales to consumers in consignments of EUR 150 or less. Sales to businesses, returns and the Responsible Person role depend on where your stock sits, and none of them turns on the reform.
GET A QUOTE
Talk to the operations team
On a call we cover your volumes, your products and the operations we would run for you inside the EU. Send a few details and our operations team will reply.
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