Amazon FBA UK 2026 – Customs Duty, VAT and Clearance for Polish Sellers

What is Amazon FBA and how do goods reach the UK

Amazon FBA (Fulfilment by Amazon) is a model where your goods physically arrive at an Amazon warehouse in the United Kingdom (e.g. Coventry, Rugeley, Swansea), and Amazon handles packing, shipping and returns. To the end customer the parcel arrives with the Amazon brand, but you are the seller and owner of the goods until the moment of sale.

For a Polish seller the process works as follows: you send goods from Poland (or from a manufacturer in China) directly to an Amazon fulfilment centre in the UK. At the moment of crossing the UK border the goods must be cleared through customs — and this is where most problems arise.

Amazon is not the importer of your goods. It does not pay customs duty or VAT on your behalf. That responsibility falls on you — as an FBA seller sending your own goods to your own (temporary) warehouse.

Who pays customs duty on import to an Amazon warehouse — importer of record

Importer of record (IOR) is the entity that formally takes responsibility for importing goods into the UK: it files the declaration in the CDS (Customs Declaration Service), provides its GB EORI number and pays customs duty. In the case of FBA — that is you, as the owner of the goods.

Amazon's seller terms explicitly state that the seller must be the importer of record and must hold a GB EORI number before shipping. Without an active GB EORI the shipment will not be cleared and may be held at port or returned to the sender at your cost.

Import duty in the UK depends on the HS code of your goods and their country of origin. For goods from Poland (EU) the Trade and Cooperation Agreement applies — 0% duty, provided the goods genuinely originate in the EU (TCA rules of origin). For goods from China the duty rates vary — from 0% to 20%+, and some categories carry additional anti-dumping duties.

UK VAT — registration obligation, threshold and what it means for FBA

This is the most common problem for Polish FBA sellers. The UK applies two VAT thresholds for foreign businesses:

• £85,000 annual turnover threshold — for businesses selling goods already in the UK (e.g. from FBA stock). When your annual sales on Amazon.co.uk exceed £85,000, you must register as a UK VAT payer.
• No threshold for non-UK businesses importing goods into the UK — if you import goods directly into FBA warehouses, HMRC requires VAT registration immediately from the first import, regardless of sales value. This is confirmed by an HMRC interpretation from 2021 following Brexit.

Lack of UK VAT registration when importing to FBA is not only a tax problem — Amazon may suspend a seller account or refuse to accept goods if you do not provide a valid UK VAT number when creating an inbound shipment.

Postponed VAT Accounting — cash flow saving for FBA

Postponed VAT Accounting (PVA) is a mechanism introduced by HMRC from 1 January 2021 that allows registered UK VAT payers to defer the payment of import VAT. Instead of paying 20% VAT at the border (which would freeze cash), VAT is accounted for on the VAT return — simultaneously on the purchase and sales sides, which in practice gives a cash-neutral effect.

For a Polish FBA seller PVA means:

1. No need to pay VAT upfront on each shipment to the UK
2. Monthly UK VAT settlement in the return (MTD — Making Tax Digital)
3. Requirement to download the monthly C79 statement from the HMRC account

To use PVA you must tick the appropriate option on the import declaration (a field in CDS) and hold an active UK VAT number. The PVA accounting service is included as standard in our FBA import clearance.

How to prepare documents for FBA clearance

To carry out an import customs clearance for FBA goods you need:

Common mistakes by FBA sellers on import

At Easy Clearance we regularly fix mistakes made by FBA sellers before they contact us. Here are the most common:

• Missing GB EORI number on the invoice — shipment held at Felixstowe, Amazon refuses to accept goods, storage costs grow every day.
• Wrong HS code — too low a duty rate, risk of HMRC investigations and penalties for underpayment.
• Invoice with undervalued goods — HMRC verifies customs value against market prices. Undervaluation leads to penalty and additional assessment.
• Missing EUR.1 certificate for EU goods — Amazon receives the goods, but the seller pays duty even though TCA exempts goods of EU origin.
• Omitting UK VAT registration — Amazon blocks the seller account upon detecting a missing VAT number during an audit.
• Shipping to Amazon address without FNSKU code — Amazon rejects delivery for operational reasons; goods are returned to the sender.

Cost of FBA clearance in the UK

The total customs handling cost for an FBA seller consists of several elements:

On top of the above come import duty (depends on goods and their origin) and import VAT (20% of customs value + duty) — with PVA the VAT is financially neutral; without VAT registration you pay upfront and must reclaim it.

For further reading: full guide on customs duty and VAT for UK imports.

FAQ — frequently asked questions about Amazon FBA UK and customs duty

Can Amazon be my importer of record for FBA?

No. Amazon explicitly excludes itself from being IOR in its Marketplace seller terms. You as the owner of the goods are responsible for customs clearance and payment of duty. Amazon will inform you of this when creating an inbound shipment.

What happens if I send goods to FBA without customs clearance?

The shipment will be held by HMRC at the UK border. Amazon will refuse to accept the goods. Port storage charges will be incurred (from £50/day). After the deadline the goods may be seized or destroyed at your cost. Customs clearance is mandatory — there are no FBA exceptions.

Do I need to register for UK VAT if I am just starting to sell on Amazon.co.uk?

If you are sending goods to an Amazon fulfilment centre in the UK (FBA), you must register as a UK VAT payer before the first shipment. The £85,000 threshold does not apply to non-UK businesses importing their own goods. HMRC expects registration immediately. Registration typically takes 4–8 weeks — plan ahead.

Current rules — as of 2026

UK VAT rules for FBA sellers have remained unchanged since 2021, but HMRC is tightening enforcement against non-registering foreign sellers. Amazon actively collects UK VAT numbers from sellers and shares them with HMRC. The information in this article reflects the legal position as of April 2026.

Official sources

• GOV.UK: VAT on sales of goods in Great Britain — HMRC, 2026
• GOV.UK: Postponed VAT Accounting — HMRC, 2026
• Amazon Seller Central: Import Requirements UK — Amazon, 2026