Europe is one of the most promising expansion markets for Amazon brands, and one of the easiest places to stall. Brands arrive with stock, listings and a launch plan, then discover that a missing VAT number or EPR registration can freeze everything for months.
In INNELS' Halloween webinar, Trick or Tax, INNELS co-founder Andrejs Klimovskis sat down with Jamie of TBA Global, a VAT and EPR provider and INNELS partner, to break down what selling in Europe actually requires. The takeaway: compliance in Europe is not as scary as its reputation, but it rewards brands that plan early.
Before you start, run your product through the INNELS EU Compliance Checker and read the INNELS EU Compliance Report 2026 for the full regulatory picture.
INNELS works with brands from the US, UK and Europe expanding across Amazon and other marketplaces. Andrejs explained that the most common mistake is assuming Amazon will block you at sign-up if something is missing. It won't. You can open an account and get a green light, then hit a wall when you list a product, build a shipping plan, or even after units are already moving to the warehouse.
You cannot just hope that Amazon will not notice it because Amazon system is now automatically checking what kind of certifications you have or not." — Andrejs Klimovskis, Founder, INNELS
Some requirements, such as the DAC7 submission, brands can handle themselves. Others, like VAT and EPR, need registrations with national authorities, and that is where timelines start to matter.
Under the current rules, the requirement is tied to where your inventory sits.
Legally, you should have a VAT registration for every country where you want to store." — Jamie Garcia Lamela, TBA Global
For Amazon FBA sellers, that means a VAT number in every country where you hold inventory. There is a slower, simpler route: store everything in one country, such as Germany, register for VAT there only, and use OSS to sell from Germany into Italy, France, Spain and other EU countries. Because no stock is stored in those countries, no extra VAT registrations are required.
Jamie noted that the rules have shifted before and may shift again, with 2028 being watched for changes that could make expansion simpler. For now, the requirements are the same whether your company is based in the EU, the UK or the US. Only the process and the documents differ.
Andrejs has seen timelines stretch noticeably. A few years ago, a German VAT number could arrive within one or two months. Now, in Germany or the UK, it can take up to six months. Jamie was clear that this is outside anyone's control.
There's nothing to do with us or the company that is applying for VAT. It's all related to the tax authorities and the volume of registrations they have." — Jamie Garcia Lamela, TBA Global
The UK averages around two months, with some applicants waiting four months and a lucky few receiving numbers in three to four weeks. There is no fee or document that speeds things up. Poland, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands are currently among the fastest. In 90–95% of cases, no further communication is needed after submission, though the UK, Germany and France may request additional documents.
Two details can still trip you up. Andrejs shared a case where UK authorities printed the wrong legal company name on a certificate, and the correction took two months. And Amazon expects the legal name on your VAT certificate to match your account exactly, including legal-form prefixes or suffixes. His advice is to apply for VAT while you are still finalising your product strategy.
Start with VAT application as soon as possible because by the time that you get the VAT approved, you might be actually already able to sell the products." — Andrejs Klimovskis, Founder, INNELS
The registration and filing work is the same across providers, Jamie said. What differs is pricing, service quality and response time. Very cheap packages often rely on automated replies with no one to talk to. TBA Global has seen clients leave for a provider charging 30 a month, then return six months later after two months without a response or completed filings.
The same applies to Amazon's own VAT and EPR programmes, which route the work to third-party providers. TBA Global stopped working directly with Amazon at the end of 2023, and INNELS has also had poor experiences with Amazon's official providers. Jamie recommends signing with a provider directly and asking up front about response times, your main point of contact, and whether you get a platform to track your filings and payments.
If something happens, if you receive a letter from the authorities and you don't know what's going on, you have a penalty, you want to speak to that person the same day straight away." — Jamie Garcia Lamela, TBA Global
Extended Producer Responsibility started in 2022 and is now enforced in every EU country. It makes sellers responsible for the future recycling of the products they sell into each country. You register for a number per country, then submit a yearly declaration of units, weight and materials, and the authorities tell you whether you owe a contribution fee.
There are three main categories: packaging, which is mandatory for everyone; WEEE, for electrical and electronic equipment; and batteries, for batteries or products that contain them. Some countries also require an authorised representative. As with VAT, no EU entity is needed. A US LLC or a UK company can hold a German EPR number in its own name.
Timelines vary by country. Germany issues numbers in around seven to ten days and France in two to three weeks. Elsewhere, Jamie said, applications that used to take one to two months can now take three to four, because of the backlog that followed EPR becoming mandatory on 18 August. Amazon may not yet be enforcing EPR in smaller markets such as Latvia or Cyprus, but Jamie's advice is not to wait.
We suggest you to apply anyway because it's going to be forced and they're going to go after you sometime." — Jamie Garcia Lamela, TBA Global
One key difference from VAT: VAT filings run for 12 months from your registration date, but EPR does not.
EPR is by calendar year. Your declaration for EPR is from January to December every year." — Jamie Garcia Lamela, TBA Global
Under the General Product Safety Regulation, a non-EU company selling into the EU needs an EU responsible person, and a non-UK company selling into the UK needs a UK responsible person. EU and UK companies can act as their own. If a customer is injured by your product, the authorities contact the responsible person, who then contacts you. Their name and address go on your product label, and Amazon and other platforms may ask for these details before you can sell.
A responsible person certificate can arrive within a week, but because the details must appear on your label, arrange it before your products are manufactured. Jamie has seen sellers print a random EU company address on their labels and face heavy penalties when the authorities found out.
The most damaging scenario Jamie described is Amazon accepting stock into countries like Germany, then asking for a VAT number and giving the seller three to four months to provide it before removing the inventory.
We have seen so many clients lose thousands and thousands of pounds worth of stock because of this issue because they weren't ready." — Jamie Garcia Lamela, TBA Global
Andrejs has seen accounts blocked in similar situations. Even once your documents are in order, getting reinstated can take one or two months of back-and-forth with marketplace support. A delayed EPR number can push a launch back by months in the same way.
Two further areas sit outside the registrations. First, trademarks. Jamie described a brand doing half a million to a million a year whose competitor registered a very similar mark and then told them to stop selling. Andrejs added that brands manufacturing in China should consider registering their trademark there too.
Second, check that your product can legally be sold in each country. TBA Global focuses on VAT, EPR and responsible person services rather than product eligibility. Andrejs noted that supplements are a common issue, with Germany often stricter on ingredients than Spain, and that FDA approval in the US does not carry over to Europe.
Andrejs recommends structuring a European launch around two pillars: product legality, then compliance registrations. For the major European markets, plan for three to six months. Jamie added perspective: in the UK, when everything goes smoothly, which he said is 80–90% of the time, VAT, EPR and a responsible person can be ready in about two and a half months. Six-month delays are extreme cases, not the norm.
The safest approach is the one INNELS recommends to every brand: once you are sure Europe is the next step, start compliance in parallel with your launch strategy, not after it. Talk to INNELS about your European expansion, check your product with the EU Compliance Checker, and get the EU Compliance Report 2026 for the full breakdown.
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