Cross-Border Selling in the EU: Where to Start

Entering EU markets doesn't start with translating your listings, but with three decisions: how to sell, how to settle VAT and how to deliver the goods. This guide walks through each of them in turn, with concrete details.

Cross-border selling in the EU: what it is and where to really start

Cross-border selling in the EU means selling goods to consumers (B2C) in EU countries other than Poland – shipped from a Polish warehouse or from a warehouse located abroad. For a Polish seller, it’s the simplest path to foreign expansion, because within a single internal market there are no customs duties or clearances, and the tax formalities have been greatly simplified. That doesn’t mean, however, that it’s enough to switch on shipping to Germany and wait for orders.

A practical start rests on three decisions worth making before you list your first offer abroad:

1. Sales channel – a marketplace (Allegro, Amazon, Kaufland, eMAG) or your own store in the DTC (direct-to-consumer) model.
2. VAT – the key factor here is the EUR 10,000 threshold (about PLN 42,000) of annual distance sales to the whole EU, plus the decision to register for the VAT OSS scheme.
3. Logistics – cross-border shipping from Poland, a local warehouse or marketplace fulfillment (e.g. Amazon FBA).

Below we break each of these layers down to its basics. If you’re only just setting up selling across multiple places, start with the piece on multichannel selling step by step – cross-border is its natural extension into foreign markets.

Marketplace or your own store (DTC) – which way to enter EU markets

This is the first fork in the road, and most mature sellers go both ways at once. It’s worth understanding how they differ in practice, though – because the difference isn’t only about margin, but also about who settles the VAT and where the traffic comes from.

In practice, a marketplace gives you a quick market test – you check demand for a product in Germany or the Czech Republic without investing in a store and advertising. Your own store builds long-term value (margin, data, brand), but it takes patience and a budget to acquire traffic. A sensible order for most Polish sellers is: first validate on a marketplace, then gradually build DTC in the markets that proved themselves. If you’re considering starting with the big platforms, separate guides on selling on Allegro and Amazon at the same time and on Kaufland Global Marketplace will help.

The EUR 10,000 threshold and intra-Community distance sales – the most important cross-border VAT rule

This is the part where the most sellers make mistakes. Distance selling to consumers in other EU countries is, in the language of the regulations, intra-Community distance sales of goods (ICDSG). It’s governed by a single threshold.

As long as your total ICDSG (to all EU countries combined) in the current and previous year does not exceed EUR 10,000 net – about PLN 42,000 – you can tax such sales with Polish VAT, just like domestic sales.

Key nuances that are easy to trip over:

• The threshold is aggregate for the whole EU, not separate per country. You add up sales to Germany, the Czech Republic and France together.
• The net amount is what counts, and it also covers certain electronic services (TBE) provided to consumers in the EU.
• Once you exceed EUR 10,000, you have to charge the VAT rate of the recipient’s country (e.g. the German one when a parcel goes to Germany) – and remit that tax to that country’s tax authority.
• You can also voluntarily waive the threshold and settle the VAT of the country of consumption from the very first transaction – this can pay off when that country’s rate is lower than the Polish one.

An important distinction: exceeding EUR 10,000 in ICDSG does not change your VAT status in Poland. That’s a separate matter from the domestic entity-based exemption, whose limit from 1 January 2026 is PLN 240,000 of annual sales. So you can be exempt from VAT domestically and at the same time be obliged to settle foreign VAT on distance sales. These are approximate amounts – the PLN 42,000 limit is a euro-to-złoty conversion, and the details are worth confirming with an accountant or at the source.

VAT OSS – how to settle EU sales without registering in every country

Once you cross the threshold, you have two paths. The first is registering for VAT in every country you sell to – costly and labor-intensive (local returns, the local language, often a local tax representative). The second, chosen by most, is the VAT OSS (One Stop Shop) scheme.

How it works, in short:

• A single registration in Poland (the VIU-R application, signed with a qualified electronic signature, submitted through the tax portal). It’s worth registering before you cross the threshold.
• A single quarterly return – VIU-DO – in which you report, per destination country: the net value of sales, that country’s VAT rate and the tax amount.
• A single aggregate payment in euros goes to a Polish tax office (Drugi Urząd Skarbowy Warszawa-Śródmieście), which then distributes it to the administrations of the individual countries.
• You convert amounts at the ECB exchange rate from the last day of the quarter. Sales settled under OSS are not reported in the domestic JPK_V7 as domestic sales.

VIU-DO deadlines are rigid and – importantly – do not shift when they fall on a weekend or holiday:

For the return you need the current VAT rates in the countries you ship to. They vary considerably and change over time – below are a few examples of standard rates (approximate, to be verified at the source before filing):

Note: for many categories (books, food, selected products) reduced rates apply, different in each country. You’ll find the current list in the OSS portal and on the European Commission website – don’t copy rates from memory or from old articles.

When the marketplace settles VAT for you (the “deemed supplier”)

Here lies the most common and most costly misunderstanding. In certain situations the platform (e.g. Allegro, Amazon) becomes the “deemed supplier” and it – not you – settles the VAT on the B2C transaction. This model applies primarily to two cases:

• goods worth up to EUR 150 imported from outside the EU and sold to a consumer in the EU through the platform,
• goods of any value sold by an entity from outside the EU when the goods are already located in the EU (cross-border or domestic sales within the Union).

For a typical Polish seller (an EU company with goods in Poland), you still settle the VAT on many transactions yourself. But if you use Amazon’s warehouses in other countries or run part of your offer through a non-EU entity, some transactions may fall under the deemed-supplier model. The most serious risk is double VAT settlement – when the seller reports in their own return (e.g. in OSS) sales on which the platform has already collected and remitted the VAT. The result: tax paid twice.

So before you set up your accounting, determine for each channel: who is the taxable person, where the goods are physically located at the moment of sale and what status the platform has. This is an accounting decision, not a technical one – confirm it with an accounting firm that specializes in e-commerce. Clean sales data helps a great deal here: the better you have your channels and markets separated in one place, the easier it is to prepare correct returns – this is one of the problems that platforms such as an order and stock integrator are meant to simplify.

Cross-border logistics – from Poland, from a local warehouse or fulfillment

VAT is one half of the puzzle; the other is delivery. You have three basic models, which can be combined:

1. Cross-border shipping from Poland

The simplest start: you ship from a Polish warehouse directly to the customer abroad. Upsides – no extra warehouses and simpler VAT (as long as you stay within the EUR 10,000 threshold, you settle domestically). Downsides – longer delivery times and a higher international shipping cost, which lowers your competitiveness against local sellers. The key here is choosing a courier with reasonable rates for EU destinations; a comparison of couriers for e-commerce will help.

2. A local warehouse or 3PL fulfillment

You keep the goods in the destination country (your own warehouse or a 3PL operator). This shortens delivery to 1–2 days and raises conversion, but it creates an obligation to register for local VAT – storing goods in a given country usually means a tax obligation there regardless of OSS. This is a model for volumes that justify the additional accounting costs.

3. Marketplace fulfillment (e.g. Amazon FBA)

You send your stock to the platform’s fulfillment center, and it packs and delivers. Upside – fast delivery and access to programs like Prime. Downside – storage and fulfillment fees, plus the fact that keeping stock in warehouses in different countries (e.g. under pan-European programs) generates VAT obligations in those countries. Before you turn on such a program, calculate the total cost and consult on VAT registrations. You’ll find more on the integration itself on the Amazon integration page.

Whatever the model, the foundation for scaling across multiple markets is a single, consistent source of stock levels. Selling the same product on several platforms in several countries without live synchronization is a straight road to overselling – which is why stock synchronization is, in cross-border, not an add-on but a condition of entry.

Imports from outside the EU and IOSS – what changes from 2026

If you bring in goods from outside the EU (e.g. dropshipping from China) or sell imported merchandise to consumers in the Union, the IOSS (Import One Stop Shop) scheme applies to you for shipments worth up to EUR 150 – it lets you collect VAT at the moment of purchase and settle it in one country, instead of paying it at customs clearance.

An important, recent change: the Union is abolishing the customs exemption for shipments up to EUR 150. In place of the old “de minimis”, a handling fee is being introduced (approximately EUR 3 per item during the transitional period). The goal is to curb the undervaluing of small shipments from non-EU platforms. This significantly raises the cost of cheap B2C imports – verify the exact effective date and the amount of the fee at the source (the rules and dates were volatile in 2026). The mechanism of settling VAT through IOSS itself does not change; what changes is the economics of models based on small imports.

Checklist: where to start with cross-border selling in the EU

1. Choose 1–2 starting markets based on real demand (Germany, the Czech Republic and Slovakia are a typical first step for Polish sellers).
2. Decide on a channel: quick validation on a marketplace, brand-building in DTC – or both, in that order.
3. Calculate the EUR 10,000 threshold and decide whether you stay on Polish VAT or register for VAT OSS (voluntarily or by obligation).
4. Register for VAT OSS (VIU-R) and set up a quarterly VIU-DO return process with the current rates of the destination countries.
5. Map out the VAT model for each channel – especially where the platform may be the “deemed supplier”, to avoid double settlement.
6. Choose your logistics: shipping from Poland to start, a local warehouse/FBA only once you have the volume (remember the local VAT registrations).
7. Set up a single source of stock and prices so you don’t end up overselling when selling across several markets at once.
8. Consult your accounting with an e-commerce accountant – cross-border VAT is an area where a mistake costs more than a consultation.

Frequently asked questions

What is the EUR 10,000 threshold in sales to the EU?

It’s the combined annual limit of B2C distance sales (ICDSG) to all EU countries together – about PLN 42,000 net. Below the threshold you can settle sales with Polish VAT; once you exceed it, you charge the VAT of the recipient’s country and settle it, most often via VAT OSS. The amounts are approximate – confirm them with an accountant.

Do I have to register for VAT in every country I sell to?

No, if you use the VAT OSS scheme – then one registration in Poland and one quarterly VIU-DO return cover all your distance sales to the EU. A separate local VAT registration is sometimes necessary, however, when you physically store goods in a given country (e.g. a local warehouse or Amazon FBA).

Marketplace or your own store to start in the EU?

For most sellers it’s more sensible to start with a marketplace – it gives you traffic and quick validation of demand without a large investment. A DTC store of your own builds brand, margin and customer data, but requires a budget for traffic. Optimally: first test on the platform, then DTC in the markets that proved themselves.

Who settles the VAT when selling through Allegro or Amazon?

It depends on your company’s status, the location of the goods and whether the platform is the “deemed supplier” in a given transaction. In many cases the Polish seller settles the VAT themselves (via OSS), but in some transactions the platform does it. The most dangerous mistake is double settlement – establish the model for each channel with an accountant.

What changes in imports from outside the EU from 2026?

The Union is abolishing the customs exemption for shipments up to EUR 150 and introducing a handling fee (approximately EUR 3 per item during the transitional period). The VAT mechanism through IOSS itself does not change, but small B2C imports become more expensive. Verify the exact date and rate at the source, because the rules were volatile.