A US brand sells on Amazon.co.uk through a regional Europe account, usually with UK FBA stock. Overseas businesses get no VAT threshold: register once you make a taxable UK supply or expect to within 30 days. Amazon collects VAT on consumer sales, but import VAT and duty on your stock are yours. Imports need a GB EORI number or a UK customs agent; regulated products need UKCA or CE marking.
- The £90,000 UK VAT threshold does not apply to businesses based outside the UK: they must register once they make a UK supply, or expect to within 30 days.
- Since 1 January 2021, an online marketplace accounts for VAT on consumer sales by non-UK sellers of goods already in the UK, and on imported consignments of £135 or less.
- Amazon.co.uk's Professional plan costs £25 a month excluding VAT; a seller who links global accounts pays the lower of the USD 39.99 equivalent or the sum of regional plan fees.
- Great Britain accepts CE marking alongside or instead of UKCA for most regulated product types; UKCA can sit on a label or accompanying document until 31 December 2027.
- The UK will charge customs duty on imports worth £135 or less by October 2028 at the latest, six months earlier than first planned; VAT on them has applied since 2021.
- Packaging EPR covers UK-established businesses that supplied or imported over 25 tonnes of packaging and had worldwide turnover of £1 million or more; a UK warehouse or returns address can count as establishment.
Marketplaces in United Kingdom
Amazon.co.uk
This page is general information, not tax advice. UK VAT, customs duty and packaging EPR outcomes depend on how your business is structured, where your stock sits and who your buyers are. Confirm your position with a qualified UK tax adviser or with HMRC before you register, import or file.
Profit and loss per period, line by line
Read the Zonkeepers case study ↗Can a US Amazon brand sell on Amazon.co.uk?
Yes, but not from your US account alone. Amazon.co.uk sits in Amazon's European selling region, so a brand with a US Professional account creates a regional Europe account from the Sell Globally dashboard. Build International Listings then cross-lists offers in other stores and can keep prices in sync.
The UK Professional plan costs £25 a month excluding VAT. Link it to your US account and Amazon charges the lower of the USD 39.99 equivalent or the sum of each region's plan fees. Referral fees vary by category, for example 7% for consumer electronics and 15% for kitchen, toys and sports, with a £0.25 minimum per item in most categories. FBA adds a per-unit fulfillment fee, a 1.5% fuel and logistics surcharge on that fee since 17 April 2026, and monthly storage per cubic foot.
Which 2026 Amazon fee changes affect a low-price SKU on Amazon.co.uk?
Amazon calls its 2026 European changes one of its largest-ever fee reductions, an average of £0.15 less per unit sold, and most of the cuts land on items priced at £20 or less (Amazon.co.uk pricing, checked October 24, 2026). Rerun the margin on cheap SKUs before you pick which ones to launch in the UK:
| Change | Applies to | From |
|---|---|---|
| FBA parcel fees cut by an average of £0.26 | Parcels in the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain stores | 15 December 2025 |
| Clothing and Accessories referral fee 8% to 5% (up to £15) and 15% to 10% (£15 to £20) | All European stores | 15 December 2025 |
| Home Products (new category) referral fee 15% to 8% | Items up to £20, all European stores | 5 January 2026 |
| Pet Clothing and Food 15% to 5%; Grocery and Gourmet and Vitamins, Minerals and Supplements 8% to 5% | Items up to £10, all European stores | 5 January 2026 |
| Low-price FBA rates extended to items up to £20, with FBA fees on newly eligible items cut by an average of £0.40 | Most categories; eligible items qualify automatically, no enrollment | 5 January 2026 |
| 1.5% fuel and logistics surcharge on FBA fees | UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland, Sweden, the Netherlands, Ireland and Belgium | 17 April 2026 |
The cuts and the surcharge pull in opposite directions, and £0.15, £0.26 and £0.40 are Amazon's averages, not your rate. Your own fee preview, per SKU, is the number to use, with contribution margin worked out after VAT, duty and freight.
What does a UK launch involve?
| Obligation | When it applies to a US brand | What to set up |
|---|---|---|
| Europe selling account | Before listing on Amazon.co.uk | Regional Europe account, UK store, offers |
| UK VAT registration | No threshold; once you make a taxable UK supply or expect to within 30 days | VAT number shared with each marketplace, digital records |
| GB EORI number | Before goods move into Great Britain | Your own EORI, or a UK-established customs representative |
| UKCA or CE marking | Regulated products such as toys, electricals, machinery, PPE | Conformity documents, importer name and address |
| Packaging EPR | Once UK-established, over 25 tonnes and £1m+ turnover | Packaging weight records |
| Customs duty on parcels of £135 or less | By October 2028 at the latest, if you ship single orders from abroad | Landed-cost pricing per order |
Do you need to register for UK VAT to sell on Amazon UK?
In most cases, yes, once stock sits in the UK. The £90,000 threshold, in place since 1 April 2024, is for UK businesses. A business based outside the UK has no threshold at all: you must register once you supply any goods or services in the UK, or expect to within the next 30 days.
Amazon still collects the VAT on consumer sales. Since 1 January 2021 the marketplace has been liable when an overseas seller sells goods already in the UK to a consumer, or ships in a consignment of £135 or less. Your side is a zero-rated deemed supply to Amazon.
What stays with you:
- Import VAT and customs duty are yours when stock enters the UK. The standard VAT rate is 20%.
- Postponed VAT accounting lets registered importers account for import VAT on their VAT return instead of paying it at the border.
- Your VAT number goes to every marketplace you sell on.
- Making Tax Digital requires digital records and returns filed through compatible software.
- Business buyers trigger registration: if a marketplace passes you a business customer's VAT details, you must register, and our VAT invoice decision table shows who invoices that sale.
If all or most of your sales are zero-rated, as deemed supplies to a marketplace are, HMRC's VAT Notice 700/1 (updated 5 August 2026) lets you apply for exemption from registration, but then you cannot recover the import VAT on your stock.
How do imports and fulfillment work for UK stock?
Moving goods into Great Britain needs a GB EORI number. A business not based in the UK can apply without a Unique Taxpayer Reference, but to get one a business usually needs premises in the UK, such as a registered office or a permanent establishment. If you cannot get one, appoint someone, such as a freight forwarder or customs broker, who is established in the UK for customs.
UK FBA stock has a longer inbound path (freight, customs, receiving), so it needs its own replenishment plan.
From UK stock, Amazon's Remote Fulfillment can serve shoppers in Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Sweden and the Netherlands for items priced up to £122 or €135, without stock or a VAT number in those countries, though products must still meet each destination's safety rules. Returns go back to your source fulfillment center.
What changes for low-value imports into the UK by 2028?
At Budget 2025 the government announced the end of customs duty relief on low-value imports, so goods valued at £135 or less will pay customs import duty. In June 2026 it brought the date forward by six months, to October 2028, and HMRC's policy paper (13 July 2026) says the exact day will be set by regulations, by October 2028 at the latest. The same announcement says ministers are reviewing how VAT is collected from businesses selling through online marketplaces.
What it means for a US brand:
- Single orders shipped from the US to UK buyers, through FBM or a cross-border program, will carry duty as well as the VAT already charged since 2021. Price them on landed cost.
- Bulk stock imported into UK FBA already pays normal import duty and import VAT at the border, so the relief never covered it; on our reading the change does not alter that path.
- The rules are not final. HMRC has not yet published who files and pays the duty or how often, so check again before you plan a direct-to-consumer route from the US.
Is CE marking enough, or do you need UKCA?
For most regulated product types in Great Britain, CE marking is accepted alongside or in place of UKCA under the Product Safety and Metrology (Amendment) Regulations 2024. The same regulations allow "Fast-Track UKCA", where a product meets recognized EU requirements. Medical devices, construction products and a few other sectors have their own rules, and Northern Ireland differs.
Under current law, UKCA can sit on a label or accompanying document until 31 December 2027.
The part that catches US brands is the importer: a UK-established business that brings the product in and must check the manufacturer's conformity documents. An importer that sells under its own name or trademark takes on the manufacturer's duties. Manufacturers and importers must show their name, registered trade name or trademark and a postal address on the product itself. Packaging or an accompanying document may be allowed only where that is not possible, such as a very small item.
Does UK packaging EPR apply to a US brand?
Packaging extended producer responsibility applies to businesses established in the UK. A company headquartered abroad can count as UK-established through a UK branch, a UK warehouse, or a UK postal presence such as a PO box or returns address. The guidance (updated 19 August 2026) does not say whether stock held only in Amazon's FBA network counts as your UK warehouse, so check with an adviser.
You are an obligated producer if you are UK-established, supplied or imported more than 25 tonnes of packaging in the UK last year, and had worldwide turnover of £1 million or more; for 2026 reporting, "last year" is calendar 2025. Above 50 tonnes and £2 million you are a large producer. An online marketplace operator is also obligated for packaging supplied through it into the UK from abroad.
How does Growth OS run the UK next to the US?
Ecomsellertool Growth OS runs on your own Amazon accounts, with Amazon.co.uk added as another store on the same catalog, stock and reporting:
- Listings. Pushes one catalog to the UK store with per-channel rules and audits listings for UK shoppers.
- Replenishment. Sets UK reorder points from real lead times and days of cover, and drafts UK shipment plans from them.
- Orders. Routes orders to the right warehouse, 3PL or Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfillment.
- Reporting. Shows a live P&L per order, SKU, channel and country, so UK contribution margin sits next to the US.
We have built on Amazon's seller APIs since 2017; for Ecom Global we built a catalog for 100M+ products across 20+ marketplaces and 13+ carriers. Where your UK operation needs more, such as per-SKU conformity and importer records, landed-cost pricing with duty and VAT, or packaging weights for EPR, we can extend Growth OS with custom software and AI agents. You keep your accounts, your data and the custom code we build; the Growth OS base is licensed to you.
Where should you start?
The free Quick Scan of the Ops Gap Diagnostic finds your top three Amazon operations gaps from five standard reports. The paid Deep Diagnostic covers every channel and adds country opportunities such as a UK launch. To see the base system first, look at Growth OS. If you plan A+ Content or brand protection in the UK, note that one approved trademark from any country with an Amazon store gives you a global Brand Registry account that covers Amazon.co.uk.
A UK launch also adds desk work: UKCA or CE documents and importer details kept per SKU, packaging weights logged for EPR (our packaging EPR data tracker shows the calculation), fee and surcharge changes rerun against every SKU's margin, and monthly VAT exports for your adviser. If your team does that by hand, send us the workflow and a person replies within 2 business days with a written plan: what to automate, what stays with your team, and a fixed price.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use my American Amazon account to sell in the UK?
Not directly. Amazon.co.uk belongs to Amazon's European selling region, so a US seller with a Professional account creates a regional Europe account from the Sell Globally dashboard, then uses Build International Listings to copy offers and keep prices in sync.
Do I need a UK VAT number to sell on Amazon.co.uk?
If your business is based outside the UK and you hold stock there, plan on it. HMRC gives non-established businesses no threshold: you must register if you make taxable UK supplies or expect to within the next 30 days. A seller making only zero-rated deemed supplies through a marketplace can apply for exemption, but only registered sellers can reclaim the import VAT paid on their stock.
Does Amazon collect VAT for non-UK sellers?
For sales to UK consumers, yes. When a seller based outside the UK sells goods that are already in the UK, or ships a consignment of £135 or less from abroad, the marketplace is liable for the VAT. You still owe import VAT and customs duty when your stock first enters the UK.
Is CE marking accepted in the UK, or do I need UKCA?
For most regulated product types sold in Great Britain, CE marking is accepted alongside or in place of UKCA. Medical devices, construction products and a few other sectors follow their own rules, so check the guidance for your category.
How much does it cost to sell on Amazon UK?
The Professional plan is £25 a month excluding VAT, or £0.75 per item sold on the Individual plan. If you link it to your US account, the combined plan fee is the lower of the USD 39.99 equivalent or the sum of each region's fees. Referral fees vary by category, for example 7% for consumer electronics and 15% for kitchen, toys and sports, with a £0.25 minimum per item in most categories. FBA adds a per-unit fulfillment fee and monthly storage.
What changes for low-value imports into the UK by 2028?
The government is ending the customs duty relief on imports worth £135 or less, by October 2028 at the latest; it brought the date forward six months from March 2029 in June 2026. VAT on these goods has been collected since 2021, so this adds duty, not VAT. It matters if you ship single orders from the US to UK buyers; stock you import in bulk into UK FBA already pays normal duty.
Do I need a UK trademark for Amazon Brand Registry in the UK?
Not to enroll. Amazon accepts a pending or registered trademark from the office of any country with an Amazon store, and once a trademark from a single country is approved you get one global Brand Registry account for every store, Amazon.co.uk included. Whether to file a UK trademark as well, to enforce your brand there, is a question for a trademark attorney.
