How To Import Goods From Another EU Country

One of the benefits of being a part of the European Union is the ability to trade goods with ease. There aren’t so many restrictions when buying and selling to other EU countries. When you trade with non-EU countries, you have extra laws and paperwork to deal with all the time!

Are you thinking of importing goods from another EU country? If so, the following guide will tell you all you need to know to get started!

Decide what you wish to import

I know I am stating an obvious fact, but it’s crucial you think about what you want to import! It’s a point worthy of a mention in this article for one good reason. You could save money buying the goods you want from a UK supplier!

Of course, there will be times where it’s cheaper to bulk-buy from an EU trading partner. And that’s even taking into account the cost of shipping! You should also consider what quantity of goods you wish to import. The last thing you want to do is make a small profit because you haven’t bought plenty of stock.

Organise the warehouse space

Next, you will need somewhere to accommodate the stock that you import from the EU. Businesses will usually have a large warehouse or goods receiving area on their premises. If you don’t, you’ve got several options open to you.

First, you could move premises to a location that does offer warehouse space. Second, you could lease a warehouse somewhere else and not move your office. And, third, you could outsource your warehouse management to a third party.

Whichever option you select, make sure it’s able to cope with the volume of orders you wish to receive. Otherwise, you’ll run out of space and have health and safety issues!

Use a logistics firm to move your stock

Once you’ve got the warehouse sorted out, you need to figure out how to ship your items from Europe to the UK. You could use MacAndrews to take care of the logistics for you. Firms like this can also take care of customs documents, so that you don’t get charged duty on your imports.

If you’re getting a large amount of stock, you’ll need to make sure your warehouse can deal with pallets. The most common solution to that problem is by using a forklift truck.

Register for VAT

If you haven’t already, I recommend your company registers for VAT. As you may know, VAT gets charged on all EU imports or “acquisitions” as they get called.

The brilliant thing about being VAT-registered is that you can reclaim the VAT you pay. That means your VAT liability is lower. Any trading entity can register for VAT, even if they don’t meet the VAT threshold.

What about duty on goods made outside of the EU?

The first European country where non-EU goods get shipped to have to pay any duty charges. So, let’s say that you are importing products from a company in Spain. They imported those goods from a company in China.

They will have paid any applicable duty charges at the time of importation. But, you don’t have to because you are receiving them from an EU shipper.

I hope today’s guide has been of use to you. Thanks for checking it out!