EU + UK marketplace compliance, plainly explained

The 2021 VAT e-commerce package replaced the national distance-selling thresholds with one EU-wide threshold of EUR 10,000 per calendar year (VAT Directive Article 59c). It only helps a supplier established in a single member state; above it, destination-country VAT applies. ^{[4] [35]}

Three schemes exist: - Union OSS: intra-EU B2C distance sales of goods, B2C services supplied in a member state where the supplier is not established, and domestic supplies where a marketplace is the deemed supplier. Returns are quarterly, due by the end of the following month. - Non-Union OSS: B2C services supplied in the EU by businesses not established in the EU. - IOSS: distance sales of imported goods in consignments up to EUR 150, excluding excise goods. Returns are monthly, and a seller established outside the EU normally needs an EU-established intermediary.

What OSS does not cover: a seller's own domestic sales from stock, and transfers of its own goods between member states. Stock held through Amazon FBA, Pan-EU, the Central European Programme or bol's LVB fulfilment normally needs a local VAT registration where it sits. B2B intra-Community supplies and imports above EUR 150 also fall outside OSS and IOSS.

Since 1 July 2026, an IOSS parcel is VAT-settled at checkout but no longer duty free: Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382 Article 2 applies a EUR 3 customs duty per item, until 1 July 2028, to IOSS imports and to postal consignments up to EUR 150. The former duty relief no longer exists for any consignment. ^{[33] [34]}

OSS and IOSS records must be kept for 10 years (VAT Directive Articles 369k and 369x). ^[35]

Under a Merchant of Record arrangement, Operator One is the legal seller, so the VAT on those consumer sales is reported under its OSS and IOSS registrations plus local registrations where it holds stock. The brand's sale to Operator One is a separate B2B supply, and a brand that dropships from its own stock in another member state can still need a VAT registration there.

GPSR applies to consumer products placed or made available on the EU market. Where EU harmonisation legislation already covers a product (toys, electrical or radio equipment), GPSR applies only to the aspects and risks that legislation does not cover, and the responsible-operator duty comes from Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 Article 4 together with the sector law. ^{[1] [31]}

What every online offer must show (Article 19): - Manufacturer name or trade mark, with a postal and an electronic address - Where the manufacturer is outside the EU, the responsible person's name, postal and electronic address - Product identification, including a picture and its type - Warnings or safety information in a language set by the member state of sale

Behind the listing: the manufacturer carries out an internal risk analysis and keeps technical documentation available to authorities for 10 years (Article 9). Products need a type, batch or serial number, plus the manufacturer's and importer's contact details on the product or, where not possible, the packaging or an accompanying document. A recall must offer at least two of repair, replacement or refund (Article 37). ^[1]

GPSR does not introduce CE marking. Where sector law requires CE, the conformity assessment and the EU Declaration of Conformity stay with the manufacturer. ^[32]

Under a Merchant of Record arrangement, where Operator One imports goods into the EU it is the importer and, where the manufacturer is not established in the EU, the responsible economic operator under Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 Article 4 and, for products outside EU harmonisation legislation, GPSR Article 16. As importer it verifies that the manufacturer's documentation exists, adds its name and postal and electronic address, keeps documentation available to authorities for 10 years and runs corrective action. It is not the manufacturer's authorised representative, which is a separate role under a written mandate.

There is no single EU EPR registration. Each member state runs its own register, each stream (packaging, batteries, electrical and electronic equipment, textiles, certain single-use plastics) has its own rules, and producers usually meet their obligations through a producer responsibility organisation (PRO) that charges eco-modulated fees. Eight markets across three streams can mean up to 24 registrations. ^[43]

The streams that hit most consumer-goods brands: - Packaging: PPWR Article 44(2) requires registration in each member state where a producer first makes packaging available. Article 45(3) requires a producer selling directly to end users in a member state where it is not established to appoint an authorised representative there by written mandate. ^[29] - Batteries: Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 treats distance sellers as producers, and Article 56(3) requires them to appoint an authorised representative in each member state they sell to. ^[6] - Electrical and electronic equipment: Directive 2012/19/EU requires registration in the member state of sale (Article 16) and an authorised representative there for distance sellers established in another member state (Article 17). ^[42] - Textiles: member states must set up schemes with registration per member state under Directive (EU) 2025/1892. ^[44]

National rules differ. Germany replaced the BattG with the BattDG on 7 October 2025 and the VerpackG with the VerpackDG from 12 August 2026, and LUCID registration and data reports cannot be handed to commissioned service providers. France's Law 2026-602 requires every producer not established in France to appoint a mandataire from 10 July 2026. ^{[9] [10] [47]}

Under a Merchant of Record arrangement, Operator One as legal seller generally fits the producer definition where it sells, confirmed per country and per stream. Registrations a brand already holds stay with the brand, and local authorised representatives are arranged where a market requires one.

ESPR replaced the Ecodesign Directive 2009/125/EC and extends ecodesign rules to almost all physical goods. It is a framework: binding requirements, including whether a passport is needed and whether it is kept at model, batch or item level, arrive through delegated acts. The passport connects through a data carrier on the product, its packaging or accompanying documentation to a persistent unique identifier. ^[5]

The battery passport (Regulation (EU) 2023/1542): - Required from 18 February 2027 for each LMT battery (such as e-bikes and e-scooters), each industrial battery above 2 kWh and each electric vehicle battery ^[6] - Data in three access layers: public model information (composition, carbon footprint, recycled content, performance, the EU declaration of conformity), information for persons with a legitimate interest, and test reports for authorities - All other batteries, including portable ones, need a QR code from the same date but no full passport

Next product groups (indicative, ESPR Working Plan 2025-2030, COM(2025) 187): iron and steel 2026; textiles and apparel, tyres and aluminium 2027; furniture 2028; mattresses 2029; plus horizontal repairability (2027) and electronics recycled-content and recyclability (2029) measures. These are adoption targets, not application dates. ^[45]

One ESPR rule already applies without a delegated act: since 19 July 2026, large enterprises may not destroy unsold apparel, clothing accessories and footwear listed in Annex VII. ^[5]

A passport adds to existing rules rather than replacing them. A toaster sold in the EU today needs CE marking by its manufacturer, an EU responsible economic operator under Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 Article 4, and packaging and WEEE EPR registrations (plus battery EPR if it contains a battery). It will need a passport only once a delegated act covers it. ^{[31] [32]}

DAC7 extends EU automatic exchange of tax information to the platform economy. Relevant activities are the sale of goods, rental of immovable property, personal services and rental of any mode of transport. Platforms not resident in the EU that facilitate activity by EU-resident sellers must register in one member state and report there. ^[2]

Data reported for an entity seller (Annex V): - Legal name and primary address - Each TIN with its issuing member state, VAT number where available, and business registration number - Any EU permanent establishment and the member state concerned - The payout account identifier, where available, and the account holder's name if different from the seller - Per quarter: total consideration, number of activities, and fees, commissions or taxes withheld or charged by the platform

The receiving authority must pass the data to the seller's member state of residence within two months of the end of the reportable period (Article 8ac). Because figures are quarterly, they can be set against the same quarter's VAT and OSS returns, so a documented reconciliation for returns, refunds and fees matters. ^[2]

Governmental entities and entities whose stock is regularly traded on an established securities market are excluded sellers regardless of volume. ^[2]

Under a Merchant of Record arrangement, the platform reports the seller registered on it. Where Operator One is the registered seller, the DAC7 report for those sales carries Operator One's entity data and payout account, not the brand's. The brand's own corporate tax, transfer pricing and bookkeeping obligations are unaffected, and any marketplace account the brand still operates in its own name remains reportable in the brand's name.

CE marking may only be affixed where specific EU harmonisation legislation provides for it, for example the Low Voltage Directive 2014/35/EU, the Radio Equipment Directive 2014/53/EU and the Toy Safety Directive 2009/48/EC. Markings likely to mislead about its meaning or form are prohibited, and the mark must be at least 5 mm high unless sector law says otherwise. There is no application to an authority and, in most consumer categories, no CE certificate. ^{[32] [40]}

What stays with the manufacturer: - Identifying the applicable acts and harmonised standards - The conformity assessment, with a notified body only where the act requires one - The technical documentation and the signed EU Declaration of Conformity, kept for 10 years under acts such as the Low Voltage Directive - Affixing the CE marking with type or batch identification and contact details

What an importer does (for example Low Voltage Directive Article 8, Radio Equipment Directive Article 12): checks that the conformity assessment was carried out, the technical documentation exists and the CE marking is affixed; adds its own name and postal address; keeps a copy of the declaration for 10 years. Under Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 Article 4(2), an EU importer satisfies the EU responsible operator requirement on its own. ^{[31] [39] [49]}

Great Britain and Northern Ireland: products covered by UK SI 2024/696 can carry CE in England, Scotland and Wales, with UKCA (self-declaration or a UK Approved Body) as an alternative. The SI amends a defined list of product regulations, so check that the product's regulations appear in it. Northern Ireland needs CE, or CE plus UKNI where a UK body carried out mandatory third-party assessment; UKNI is never used alone. ^{[37] [27] [38]}

Under a Merchant of Record arrangement, CE marking, conformity assessment, the technical file and the Declaration of Conformity stay with the manufacturer. Where Operator One imports the goods, it acts as importer: it verifies the documentation exists, adds its name and address, keeps the declaration for 10 years and runs corrective action.

A Merchant of Record takes the seller-side legal position on a transaction. In practice the MoR: - Issues the invoice to the consumer and reports the VAT on the sale through OSS, IOSS or local registrations - Is the registered seller whose data a platform reports under DAC7 for those sales - Where it imports the goods into the EU, is the importer and therefore the EU responsible economic operator under Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 Article 4 and GPSR Article 16 - Is generally the EPR producer where it first makes products available, confirmed per country and per stream - Handles returns, payment disputes and consumer claims as the seller

What stays elsewhere: CE marking, conformity assessment, the technical file and the EU Declaration of Conformity stay with the manufacturer (Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 Article 30(1)). An MoR that imports is not the manufacturer's authorised representative, which is a separate role under a written mandate. EPR registrations a brand already holds stay with the brand, and a brand that dropships from its own stock in another member state can still need its own VAT registration there. ^{[32] [31]}

How Operator One applies this: Operator One sells as Merchant of Record, and listings show the client as the brand and Operator One as the seller. It reports VAT through OSS and IOSS plus local registrations where it holds stock. Where it imports, it verifies the manufacturer's documentation exists, adds its name and address, keeps the Declaration of Conformity for 10 years and runs corrective action. Local EPR authorised representatives are arranged where a market requires one, and whether Operator One is also Importer of Record depends on how the goods enter the EU in each engagement.

The customs declarant is responsible for the accuracy of the declaration (UCC Article 15(2)) and becomes the debtor when the declaration is accepted (Article 77). Under indirect representation the principal is also a debtor, as is anyone who supplied information they knew or ought reasonably to have known was false. Where several persons owe one customs debt, they are jointly and severally liable (Article 84). ^[36]

Four roles, four separate legal tests: - Customs declarant: lodges the declaration and must be EU-established (UCC Article 170(2)) ^[36] - Import VAT debtor: the person the member state of importation designates or recognises as liable (VAT Directive Article 201) ^[35] - Product-safety importer: the EU-established person who places a third-country product on the Union market (GPSR Article 3(10)); lodging a declaration alone does not make someone the importer ^[1] - EPR producer: whoever first makes packaging or equipment available in a member state, registered per country and per stream ^[29]

Filling one role does not fill the others.

Low-value parcels: IOSS still settles VAT at checkout on consignments up to EUR 150, but since 1 July 2026 those consignments carry the EUR 3 duty per item. ^{[33] [34]}

Under a Merchant of Record arrangement, whether Operator One acts as Importer of Record is set per engagement by how the goods enter the EU. Where it imports and makes the first supply on the EU market, it is the importer and the responsible economic operator under Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 Article 4(2) and GPSR Article 16. CE marking and the Declaration of Conformity stay with the manufacturer, and the brand can still be a customs debtor if information it supplied is wrong. ^{[31] [32] [36]}