Cross-Border Readiness for Marketplace Sellers

Listings get most of the attention when a brand opens a new country, but a launch can be held up just as easily by a tax registration, a missing safety document or a returns route nobody planned. This checklist covers what to sort out before the first order and ends with a 90-day plan.

It is general information, not tax or legal advice. Rules change and depend on your circumstances, so confirm the detail with a qualified adviser before you act.

Start with three decisions

Most answers below depend on three choices:

1. Where will the stock sit? Shipped from home, in a marketplace warehouse in the country, or with a local third-party warehouse (3PL).
2. Who is the importer? You, the marketplace, your carrier or the customer. This decides who pays duty and import VAT.
3. Which marketplace comes first? Each has its own eligibility, tax collection and compliance checks.

1. Tax registration

United Kingdom

• Registration. A UK-established business registers for VAT once taxable turnover passes £90,000 in a rolling 12 months. A business not established in the UK has no threshold and must register as soon as it makes, or expects to make, taxable sales there.
• Goods shipped from abroad in consignments of £135 or less. When these are sold to consumers in Great Britain through an online marketplace, the marketplace charges and accounts for the VAT at the point of sale.
• Goods already in the UK. If you are an overseas seller with stock in a UK warehouse, the marketplace accounts for the VAT on each sale, but you still pay import VAT and duty on arrival. Registering lets you reclaim that import VAT.
• Business buyers. If a UK VAT-registered business gives its VAT number, the marketplace does not collect the VAT. On low-value imports the buyer accounts for it; on goods already in the UK, you do.
• Northern Ireland follows some EU rules for goods, so check it separately.
• Coming change. The UK plans to remove customs duty relief for consignments of £135 or less no later than March 2029.

European Union

• Intra-EU distance sales. An EU-established business selling to consumers in other member states charges its home VAT until those sales pass €10,000 a year across the EU. After that, it charges the VAT of each customer's country and can report it through the Union One-Stop Shop (OSS) in its home country, rather than registering everywhere.
• Stock in another EU country. Holding stock in a second member state, for example in a marketplace warehouse, normally requires a VAT registration there. The EU's VAT in the Digital Age (ViDA) package will widen the OSS in stages from July 2028, including a new scheme for transfers of your own stock between countries.
• Imports up to €150. Non-EU sellers shipping direct to EU consumers can use the Import One-Stop Shop (IOSS): VAT is charged at checkout, so none is due at the border. Most businesses outside the EU must appoint an EU-based intermediary to use it.
• Marketplaces as deemed suppliers. For imports of €150 or less, and for sales by non-EU sellers of goods already in the EU, the marketplace collects the VAT.
• Customs changes in 2026. The €150 customs duty exemption ended on 1 July 2026. An interim flat duty of €3 now applies to each tariff sub-heading in a parcel worth less than €150 until the EU Customs Data Hub is running, currently expected in 2028. From 1 November 2026, an EU handling fee of €2 per product type also applies to parcels from outside the EU.

United States

• Sales tax is set by each state. There is no federal VAT. Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon have no statewide sales tax, although some Alaskan localities do.
• Economic nexus. Since the Supreme Court's Wayfair decision in 2018, states can require remote sellers to collect tax once their sales into the state pass a threshold. Many use $100,000 in sales; several have dropped the older transaction-count test, and some set higher figures.
• Marketplace facilitator rules. Every state with a statewide sales tax, plus Washington DC, requires large marketplaces to collect and remit the tax on sales they facilitate.
• You may still need to register. Stock held in a state, for example in marketplace warehouses, can create nexus, some states count marketplace sales towards your own threshold, and sales from your own website remain your responsibility.
• No more de minimis. Duty-free treatment for shipments of $800 or less has been suspended for all countries since 29 August 2025, and the law repeals it from 1 July 2027. Every parcel now needs a customs entry and pays any duty owed.
• Tariffs keep moving. In February 2026 the Supreme Court ruled out tariffs under the IEEPA emergency powers, but other tariffs remain, so check current rates before pricing.

Other regions in brief

• Canada requires many non-resident sellers and marketplaces to register for GST/HST.
• Australia and New Zealand charge GST at the point of sale on low-value imported goods (A$1,000 or less in Australia), usually collected by the marketplace.
• The Gulf has VAT in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, with registration rules for non-residents that differ by country.
• Norway and Switzerland sit outside the EU VAT system and run their own schemes for low-value imports.
• Asia-Pacific markets tax imports in different ways; ask whether a marketplace's cross-border programme handles import clearance.

2. Customs and duties

• Choose your Incoterms deliberately. Under DAP (Delivered at Place) the buyer clears the goods and pays import charges. Under DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) the seller does. For consumers, DDP avoids surprise charges at the door, which can lead to refused parcels. DDP cannot be used where the destination requires a local importer.
• Classify every product. The first six digits of a commodity code are the international HS code. The EU adds digits for its 8-digit Combined Nomenclature and 10-digit TARIC import codes, and the UK uses its own 10-digit import codes. A wrong code means the wrong duty and possible delays.
• Get the right EORI number. You need a GB EORI to move goods into or out of Great Britain, and usually an XI number for Northern Ireland. Businesses importing into the EU need an EU EORI from a member state.
• Check origin, not just shipping route. Zero tariffs between the UK and EU apply only to goods that meet the trade agreement's rules of origin. Goods made elsewhere and moved through the UK usually pay EU duty again.
• Model landed cost per unit: product cost, freight, insurance, duty, import VAT, brokerage and handling fees.

3. Product compliance

Safety marking

• EU: products covered by EU product legislation (toys, electrical goods, radio equipment, personal protective equipment, machinery and more) need CE marking, a declaration of conformity and a technical file.
• Great Britain: the government has extended recognition of CE marking indefinitely for 18 product regulations, including toys, low-voltage electrical equipment, radio equipment and machinery, so either CE or UKCA can be used. Northern Ireland follows EU rules.
• US: there is no single CE-style mark, but federal rules cover areas such as children's products and electronics, and some states add warning rules.

The General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR)

Since 13 December 2024, consumer products sold in the EU, including online, need a responsible economic operator established in the EU. That can be the manufacturer, an importer, an authorised representative or a fulfilment service provider. Their details must appear on the product, packaging, parcel or an accompanying document.

Every online listing must also show:

• the manufacturer's name, postal address and electronic address;
• the EU-based operator's details if the manufacturer is outside the EU;
• product pictures, its type and any identifier such as a batch or model number;
• warnings and safety information in a language local consumers understand.

Marketplaces can remove listings that lack this data. In the UK, the Product Regulation and Metrology Act 2025 lets the government set new product rules, including marketplace duties, so expect GB requirements to change.

Labelling

Check the language of instructions and warnings, metric units, textile fibre and care labels, age warnings on toys, batch or serial numbers, and plugs and voltage for electricals.

Extended producer responsibility (EPR)

• Packaging. Germany (LUCID) and France already require packaging registrations from sellers, including foreign ones. Under the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, from 12 August 2026 marketplaces collect EPR packaging registration numbers, including for shipping materials, and can hide listings without them. Sellers not established in a country may need an authorised representative there.
• Product categories. Electrical goods, batteries and, in some countries, textiles and furniture have their own schemes, registered country by country.
• UK. Packaging EPR applies to larger UK businesses, so check whether you or your marketplace carries the obligation.

4. Logistics options

For Amazon sellers, Pan-European FBA moves stock between EU fulfilment centres, but the UK has run separately since Brexit. Remote Fulfillment with FBA lets stock in the US serve Amazon's Canadian and Mexican stores.

5. Payments and currency

• Know your payout terms. Check the payout currency, the marketplace's conversion rate and the payment schedule. A multi-currency business account lets you hold funds and convert when it suits you.
• Price locally. Set prices in local currency at local price points. In the UK and EU, consumer prices must include VAT; in the US, sales tax is added at checkout.
• Offer local payment methods on your own site. For example iDEAL in the Netherlands, BLIK in Poland or Pix in Brazil, alongside cards and buy-now-pay-later options.
• Reconcile by marketplace and currency. Payouts arrive net of fees, refunds and any tax the marketplace collected, so split these out in your books, and review prices as exchange rates and fees move.

6. Localisation

• Translate for search, not just meaning. Use native speakers and research local keywords; a literal translation rarely matches what shoppers type.
• Convert sizes and units. Clothing and shoe sizes, metric and imperial units, decimal commas and date formats all differ.
• Rebuild images that contain text, such as infographics and size charts.
• Staff customer service properly. Reply in the local language, within the marketplace's deadlines and during local hours. Some marketplaces make this a condition: bol, for example, asks for Dutch-language customer service.
• Plan around the local calendar, from public holidays to peaks such as Singles' Day in Asia or Ramadan in the Gulf.

7. Returns

• UK and EU law. Consumers buying online generally have 14 days from delivery to cancel without giving a reason. Refunds are due within 14 days of being told, although you may wait until the goods are back or proof of return arrives. You pay return postage unless you told the buyer clearly beforehand that they would. Personalised, perishable and unsealed hygiene items are among the exceptions.
• US. There is no general legal cooling-off period for online purchases, so return windows come from marketplace policy. Everywhere, marketplace policies can be more generous than the law.
• Choose a returns route. A local returns address, a returns consolidator, marketplace fulfilment returns, or refunds without return for low-value items.
• Plan for returned stock. Decide whether to resell, refurbish, liquidate or dispose of it, and ask your broker whether duty and import VAT can be reclaimed on goods that come back.

8. A 90-day market-entry plan

Days 1–30: decide and register

• Confirm the country, the first marketplace and your eligibility.
• Build a landed-cost and margin model for your first 10 to 20 products.
• Start tax, EORI and EPR registrations, and appoint an EU responsible person if needed.
• Run a compliance check on safety documents, labels and GPSR data.
• Choose your logistics model and get quotes.

Days 31–60: build

• Open and verify the marketplace account.
• Translate and localise listings and images, and set local prices.
• Update packaging and labels, then send first stock or set up cross-border shipping and place test orders.
• Set up customer service cover, a returns route, payout accounts and bookkeeping.

Days 61–90: launch and learn

• Go live with a focused range and capped advertising budgets.
• Review weekly: conversion, fees, delivery performance, return reasons and account health.
• At day 90, measure profit per product after every cost, then decide to scale, adjust or pause, and choose the next market.

How Ain One Group can help

We prepare brands for new countries from registration to first sale. Our VAT and OSS guidance works with partner accountants, our product compliance team prepares GPSR, CE and UKCA documentation, and cross-border shipping covers duties, delivery and returns. Talk to us to plan your first 90 days in a new market.