E-Commerce Rules in UK–EU Trade: Distance Selling, GDPR and VAT

Three areas of e-commerce regulation

Whether you sell through your own website, social media or online marketplaces such as Amazon and eBay, compliance covers three main areas: distance selling, data protection and VAT. On top come the requirements of the countries you ship to.

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Distance selling

According to GOV.UK guidance, before the contract is made a UK consumer must receive basic information: the trader's name, contact details and address, a description of the goods, the full price including taxes, payment options and delivery arrangements, in a form the customer can save. The customer can cancel up to 14 days after the order is delivered; if they were not told about this right, they can cancel within 12 months. A copy of the contract must be provided no later than delivery, and goods delivered within 30 days unless the customer agreed otherwise (GOV.UK: online and distance selling).

In the EU a consumer also has 14 days from delivery to withdraw from a purchase of goods, with exceptions such as made-to-order or perishable goods (Your Europe: returns). Details differ between countries, so as a seller check the distance-selling rules in every country you sell to.

Data protection: UK GDPR and the EU GDPR

When you run a shop you collect customer data, so you need a privacy policy and must tell people how you process their data. In the UK, the UK GDPR applies, overseen by the ICO. According to the ICO, a UK business that offers goods to people in the European Economic Area may also be subject to the EU GDPR and, depending on the case, may need an EU representative (Article 27 EU GDPR); the ICO does not advise on EU law, so check with an EU data protection authority or a lawyer (ICO: receiving personal information from the EEA).

VAT and online marketplaces

Under Article 14a of the VAT Directive 2006/112/EC, an online marketplace through which you sell to consumers is in certain cases treated as if it had itself received and supplied the goods – and it accounts for the VAT. This covers, among others, distance sales of goods imported from outside the EU in consignments with an intrinsic value of up to EUR 150, and supplies of goods within the EU made by sellers not established in the EU (for example, a UK business selling from an EU warehouse via Amazon.fr). In other cases the seller accounts for VAT, so check which model applies to you before you start selling. Separate UK VAT rules apply to sales into the UK, including through marketplaces; the £135 threshold is covered in The £135 Threshold – Reform by 2028.

Customs duty on cross-border parcels

Since 1 July 2026 the EU customs duty exemption for consignments valued up to EUR 150 no longer applies (Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382), so goods sent to a consumer in the EU from outside the Union are subject to duty. The detailed rules and charges are covered in E-Commerce Imports from the UK – Parcels, Limits and Customs Charges; for export paperwork see commercial invoice for exports to the UK.

Regulations in other countries

Tax obligations (such as VAT registration) and product requirements can arise in some countries from the very first sale, so check them before entering a market. E-commerce is growing fast and it is easy to focus on marketing, but tax and customs rules need to be factored in when you set up the business. If you want to check how to ship goods between Poland and the UK, get in touch.

Frequently asked questions