Amazon Pan-EU scheme - what are my obligations?

Amazon Pan-EU scheme - what are my obligations?

Overview

In this guide, we will explain your compliance obligations, should you choose to sign up to the Amazon Pan-EU scheme. For the most up-to-date information, please refer to Amazon Seller Central, as they change this regularly.

What is the Amazon Pan-EU scheme?

The Amazon Pan-EU scheme (Pan-European FBA) is an Amazon fulfilment programme that allows Amazon to store and move your inventory across multiple EU countries and fulfil customer orders locally from the nearest warehouse.

Pan-EU allows Amazon to:

  • Automatically distribute your FBA inventory across multiple EU countries
  • Store stock in any eligible EU fulfilment centre
  • Fulfil orders domestically in each country, improving delivery speed and reducing fulfilment costs

Instead of shipping cross-border for every order, Amazon decides where your stock sits.

What countries are involved in the Amazon Pan-EU scheme?

Core Pan-EU countries typically include:

  • Germany
  • France
  • Italy
  • Spain
  • Netherlands
  • Poland
  • Czech Republic
Please Note: Amazon may add/remove countries over time - we'd recommend discussing directly with your Amazon Account Manager for clarification

What are the key benefits for enrolling in this scheme?

  1. Faster delivery times (Prime eligibility improves)
  2. Lower fulfilment and cross-border shipping costs
  3. Higher Buy Box competitiveness
  4. Better customer experience

Pan-EU is best for sellers who:

  • Have stable EU sales volume
  • Are prepared for multi-country VAT compliance
  • Want faster delivery and lower fulfilment costs

What are your key obligations?

Once Pan-EU is active:
1. Amazon controls stock placement
  1. Inventory can be moved and stored in any Pan-EU country at any time
  2. You do not choose where inventory is held
2. VAT registration is required
You must:
  1. Register for VAT in every country where inventory is stored
  2. File ongoing VAT returns in each of those countries

This includes:

  • Local sales VAT
  • Intra-EU stock transfers (reported as movements, not sales)
  • OSS does not remove the need for local VAT registrations where stock is stored

When are VAT obligations triggered? 

Obligations for VAT start:
  1. As soon as inventory is physically stored in a country
  2. Not when you make your first sale there

Key Risks to be aware of

As part of the Pan-EU scheme, Amazon can:

  • Move inventory without advance notice
  • Create immediate VAT exposure if registrations aren’t ready
  • It does not wait for your VAT registrations before moving stock

This is why VAT planning must happen before activation

Need more help? 

If you are interested in the Amazon Pan-EU scheme, and would like Expandly to support with VAT registrations in core Pan-EU countries, please Contact Us and the Team will be happy to help. 

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