EORI Number for Amazon FBA Sellers in Europe

If you sell on Amazon FBA in Europe, sooner or later your stock has to cross a border — and that means dealing with customs. To act as an importer in the EU or the UK, you need an EORI number. Without it, your shipment can be held at the border, your freight forwarder can't clear the goods, and your FBA inventory never reaches the fulfilment centre. This guide explains exactly which EORI numbers an Amazon Europe seller needs, where to apply, and how it all fits together with VAT and IOSS.

Why FBA imports need an EORI number

An EORI (Economic Operators Registration and Identification) number is the unique ID that customs authorities use to track businesses moving goods across their borders. Every time your products enter the EU or the UK, an import declaration is filed — and that declaration must name an importer with a valid EORI. If you're new to the concept, our explainer on what an EORI number is covers the basics.

For FBA specifically, the trigger is simple: you are shipping inventory into Amazon's warehouses. Those goods have to be customs-cleared before they can be stored and sold. Whether you manufacture in China, hold stock in the US, or produce inside one EU country and ship to another, the moment your products cross a customs border you need an EORI to import them.

Who this applies to

• Non-EU sellers (US, UK, China, etc.) importing into the EU.
• EU sellers shipping to Amazon fulfilment centres in another country or from outside the EU.
• Any seller using Amazon's Pan-European FBA or European Fulfilment Network where goods move between countries.

One EU EORI is valid across the whole EU

Here's the good news that trips up many sellers: you do not need a separate EORI for every EU country you sell in. An EORI issued by any single EU member state is valid across all 27 member states. You apply once, in the country where your goods first enter the EU, and that number works for imports into Germany, France, Spain, Italy and everywhere else.

The country of first entry usually depends on your logistics route — for example, goods arriving by sea often clear through the Netherlands (Rotterdam), while air freight might enter via Germany. Your freight forwarder can tell you where your first point of entry will be, and that's normally where you register.

EU vs GB EORI at a glance

You need a separate GB EORI for amazon.co.uk

Since Brexit, the UK is outside the EU customs union. That means an EU EORI does not work for imports into Great Britain, and a GB EORI does not work for the EU. If you sell on amazon.co.uk and ship stock into UK fulfilment centres, you need a GB EORI number in addition to your EU one.

GB EORI numbers start with the letters "GB" and are issued by HMRC. The application is usually quick and free. For the full picture on post-Brexit rules, deadlines and how the GB number links to UK VAT, see our dedicated guide to EORI numbers in the UK.

Importer of record: who is responsible?

The importer of record is the party legally responsible for the import — for paying duties and import VAT, for the accuracy of the declaration, and for compliance. As an FBA seller, you should normally be the importer of record, using your own EORI.

This matters because Amazon will not act as importer of record for your goods. If you try to ship to a fulfilment centre without a proper importer arrangement, the shipment can be refused. Some sellers are tempted to use a forwarder's or a third party's EORI — this is risky, because it can complicate reclaiming import VAT and leaves you without a clean paper trail.

Why being the importer of record helps you reclaim VAT

When you import as the named importer with your own EORI and a matching VAT registration, the import VAT you pay is documented against your business. That's what lets you reclaim or offset it. If someone else is on the declaration, that link breaks — and the money is harder to recover.

How EORI, VAT and IOSS fit together

An EORI number is not a VAT number, but the two work closely together for FBA sellers. Here's how the pieces relate:

• EORI — identifies you at the border so goods can be cleared.
• VAT registration — required in the countries where you store stock and make taxable sales. FBA storage in a country generally triggers a local VAT obligation.
• Import VAT — paid when goods enter the EU/UK; reclaimable if you're the importer of record with a matching VAT number.
• IOSS (Import One-Stop Shop) — a scheme for low-value B2C consignments (up to €150) sold to EU consumers. It's mainly relevant for direct-to-consumer shipments, not bulk stock going into FBA.

The key point: importing bulk inventory into an FBA warehouse is a standard customs import, so you handle import VAT through your EORI and VAT registration. IOSS typically applies to the separate scenario of shipping individual low-value parcels straight to buyers, and does not replace the need for an EORI on your inbound FBA shipments.

Working with your freight forwarder

Your freight forwarder or customs broker files the import declaration on your behalf — but they act using your EORI. Get your numbers sorted before you book freight. A smooth process looks like this:

1. Register for an EU EORI in your country of first entry (and a GB EORI if you sell on amazon.co.uk).
2. Register for VAT in the countries where Amazon stores your stock.
3. Give your EORI and VAT numbers to your freight forwarder.
4. Confirm you are named as importer of record on the customs declaration.
5. Ship to the fulfilment centre once clearance is arranged.

Before you hand your numbers over, it's worth confirming they're active. You can use our EORI number checker to validate that an EU or GB EORI is registered correctly.

Next step

Map out where your goods first enter the EU and whether you also sell on amazon.co.uk. Then apply for your EU EORI in that entry country, add a GB EORI if needed, and make sure you're set up as importer of record with matching VAT registrations. Start with our main EORI number guide to see the application steps for your specific country, and get your numbers in place before your first FBA shipment leaves the factory.