UK VAT registration and filings for overseas ecommerce sellers
Last reviewed: 13 October 2026
Overseas businesses that hold stock in the UK have no VAT registration threshold. If you sell direct from UK stock, through your own website or to UK businesses, you must register before your first sale. If you sell to consumers only through marketplaces such as Amazon, the marketplace accounts for the VAT on those sales, but most sellers still register so they can reclaim the import VAT they pay. Lantara registers you with HMRC and files your returns under Making Tax Digital.
Do you need to register for UK VAT?
It depends on where your goods are when you sell them, and how you sell:
| How you sell | Who accounts for the VAT on the sale | Do you need to register? |
|---|---|---|
| Your own website, goods held in the UK | You | Yes, before your first sale. No threshold for overseas businesses. |
| Marketplace (e.g. Amazon), goods held in the UK, sold to consumers | The marketplace | You can apply for exemption, but most sellers register to reclaim import VAT. |
| Any channel, sold to UK VAT-registered businesses | You | Yes. |
| Goods shipped from outside the UK, consignments of £135 or less, sold direct | You, at the point of sale | Yes. |
| UK-established business | You | Once taxable turnover passes the £90,000 registration threshold. |
When stock enters the UK you pay import VAT, usually 20%. Once you are VAT registered you can reclaim it on your returns, and you can use postponed VAT accounting so the cash never leaves your business.
What we handle
- Confirming whether you must register, can apply for exemption, or are better off registering anyway.
- Your HMRC VAT registration as a non-established taxable person.
- Checking you have a GB EORI number for importing.
- Quarterly VAT returns filed through Making Tax Digital compatible software.
- Reconciling import VAT and postponed VAT accounting statements.
- All HMRC correspondence, including registration queries and compliance checks.
- Deregistration if you stop selling in the UK.
How long registration takes
HMRC processing is the biggest variable. It typically takes 6 to 10 weeks depending on HMRC's workload, and overseas applications can take longer if HMRC asks for further evidence. We prepare the application so it goes in complete the first time, and follow it up until your VAT number is issued.
What you will need to provide
- Company registration documents from your home country
- Details of directors and the business address
- Evidence of your UK trading: marketplace account details, warehouse or fulfilment arrangements, and expected first sale date
- Your business bank account details
Pricing
VAT registration and filings are included in the full Lantara subscription: £750 a month for your first country and £250 a month for each additional country, with no setup fee. VAT is also available on its own, priced after your free assessment. See all services and pricing.
Official guidance
- HMRC VAT Registration Manual: non-established taxable persons (VATREG37050)
- GOV.UK: VAT and overseas goods sold directly to customers in the UK
- GOV.UK: VAT and overseas goods sold to customers in the UK using online marketplaces
- GOV.UK: When to register for VAT
Related: UK packaging EPR · FAQ