01
Entity & UK tax position
Decide the trading structure first — it drives VAT, banking and how Amazon flags the account.
The big one: a US business selling into the UK is a Non-Established Taxable Person (NETP). There is no £90,000 VAT threshold — the threshold is zero. VAT registration is required from the first taxable supply, and holding stock in a UK FBA/3PL warehouse counts.
Choose the structure: sell as the US entity (NETP) or form a UK Ltd Get advice
NETP keeps things lean (no Companies House filing, no UK corporation tax) but carries the zero VAT threshold and can trigger extra Amazon compliance friction. A UK Ltd unlocks the £90k threshold and smoother banking, at the cost of setup and ongoing filings. Weigh volume and long-term plans with an accountant.
Register for UK VAT with HMRC Do first
Mandatory from the first UK sale for an NETP; notify HMRC within 30 days of the trigger. Registering before stock lands avoids backdated VAT, penalties and interest. Once registered you can also reclaim input VAT on Amazon fees, storage and Cloud9 charges.
Understand who actually collects the VAT
Under the deemed-supplier rule (Section 5A), when your goods are already in the UK, Amazon collects the 20% VAT on B2C sales for you — but your registration, returns and record-keeping duties remain fully live. Sub-£135 imports sold direct are also handled at point of sale.
Set up Making Tax Digital (MTD) software
All VAT-registered businesses, including overseas ones, must keep digital records and file via compatible software. Spreadsheet-only submissions aren't accepted — sort this before the first return is due.
Assess corporation tax / permanent establishment risk Get advice
Using a 3PL purely to send and receive goods generally won't create a UK establishment, but staff, an office or where decisions are made can. Confirm your position so you aren't surprised by a UK tax filing obligation.
02
Customs & import
Getting goods across the border cleanly — the step that most often stalls a first shipment.
Get a GB EORI number Do first
You cannot clear goods through UK customs without a GB EORI. It's free and quick from HMRC, but without it the very first container or parcel sits stuck at the border.
Settle the Importer of Record (IOR)
Someone must be the IOR liable for UK import duty and VAT. A US company with no UK presence often can't act as IOR alone — you'll typically use your UK VAT registration as importer, or a customs agent/3PL arrangement. Nail this down before shipping so the shipment has a valid consignee.
Classify products with UK commodity (HS) codes
The tariff code sets the duty rate and any restrictions. Getting it wrong means over- or under-paying duty and possible penalties. Confirm country of origin too, as it affects duty under trade agreements.
Model the landed cost (duty + import VAT + freight)
Import VAT (usually reclaimable once VAT-registered) and duty (not reclaimable) hit cash flow on arrival. Build them into pricing before committing stock, or margins evaporate on the first FBA shipment.
Agree Incoterms with your freight forwarder
DDP vs DAP decides who handles UK clearance and pays duty/VAT. Ambiguity here is the classic cause of a shipment stuck at the port with no one cleared to release it.
03
Product compliance & labelling
Making the product legal to place on the GB market — and correctly labelled for it.
Marking, current position: for most consumer goods (electronics, toys, machinery, PPE, radio equipment) the UK now recognises CE marking indefinitely in Great Britain, so UKCA is voluntary. Exceptions with their own regimes include medical devices, construction products, marine equipment, aerosols and drones — check your category rather than assume.
Appoint a UK Responsible Person Get advice
A non-UK manufacturer must designate a UK-based Responsible Person as the contact for market-surveillance authorities — required whether the product carries CE or UKCA. Their name and UK address usually need to appear on the product or packaging.
Confirm the right conformity marking for each SKU
Most categories can ride existing CE marking with an adapted technical file and a UK Declaration of Conformity. Sector exceptions need UK-specific certification, so map every SKU to its rules rather than treating the range as one.
Meet UK product-safety & labelling rules
Labels need to be in English, carry importer/Responsible-Person details, and include any category-specific safety info and warnings. Amazon can suppress a listing that fails this, so it's worth checking before prep.
Flag Northern Ireland separately if you'll sell there
NI follows EU rules under the Windsor Framework — CE marking is required and UKCA alone isn't valid. If your FBA distribution can reach NI, factor this in.
04
Environmental & packaging obligations
Easy to miss, and increasingly enforced. Check which thresholds you cross.
Check Packaging EPR (Extended Producer Responsibility) Get advice
Businesses that supply packaging into the UK above set turnover/tonnage thresholds must register, report packaging data and pay fees. As the brand placing goods on the market, this can land on you — confirm current thresholds and whether they apply.
Check Plastic Packaging Tax
Importers/manufacturers of 10+ tonnes of plastic packaging a year fall in scope, with a per-tonne charge on packaging below a recycled-content minimum. Assess whether your volumes trigger it.
Check WEEE & battery obligations (if electricals)
Electrical/electronic products and batteries carry their own UK producer-responsibility registrations and recycling obligations. Only relevant to those categories, but non-negotiable where it applies.
05
Brand & intellectual property
Protecting the brand and unlocking Amazon's brand tools in the UK.
Register a UK (or EU + UK) trademark Do first
A US trademark does not cover the UK, and post-Brexit an EU trademark alone doesn't either. Amazon UK Brand Registry needs a valid UK trademark — filing early matters because registration takes months and gates A+ Content, Stores and brand protection.
Enrol the brand in Amazon Brand Registry (UK/EU)
Unlocks A+ Content, Brand Story, Stores, Sponsored Brands and counterfeit protection — the tools that make a listing convert. Depends on the trademark above.
06
Amazon UK account setup
Standing up the marketplace itself — separate from North America post-Brexit.
Open / extend into the Amazon Europe (UK) marketplace
North America and Europe are separate account regions. Via a unified Europe account you can reach the UK, but the UK is now its own marketplace with its own VAT and compliance settings distinct from the EU.
Add the UK VAT number in Seller Central
Amazon needs your VAT registration on file to handle deemed-supplier VAT correctly and to keep the account in good standing. Missing VAT details is a common cause of withheld disbursements.
Enable FBA UK & create UK listings
FBA UK is a separate inventory pool — US FBA stock doesn't transfer. Listings need GBP pricing, UK-English copy and UK-appropriate compliance fields. This is where Cloud9 sends prepped stock into Amazon's UK FCs.
Price VAT-inclusive in GBP
UK consumer prices include VAT. Build the 20% and your UK fee structure into pricing from day one so margin is real, not a rounding error after Amazon's cut.
07
Money & payments
Getting paid in GBP without haemorrhaging on conversion.
Set up GBP payout / multi-currency banking
A UK/GBP receiving account (e.g. a multi-currency provider) usually beats Amazon's own currency conversion on rate, protecting margin on every payout.
Reconcile VAT, fees and COGS in GBP
Reporting and MTD filing happen in GBP. Clean GBP bookkeeping from the start avoids painful year-end conversion clean-ups and keeps input-VAT recovery straightforward.
08
Logistics via Cloud9 (our 3PL)
The physical flow we run. Price any of this in the cost calculator.
Ship US → Cloud9 UK warehouse Cloud9
Decide container vs parcel freight into Sheffield. Container arrivals are devanned (20ft £225 / 40ft £350 / 40ft HQ £385); loose cartons are received at £0.65 each. This is the inbound line in the calculator.
Confirm prep scope: FNSKU, polybag, expiry, box labels Cloud9
Cloud9 preps to Amazon's requirements before goods go into FBA. If stock arrives FBA-ready, FNSKU labelling may not be needed — but scope it up front so the quote is accurate.
Plan multi-SKU carton splitting Cloud9
Amazon won't accept mixed-SKU cartons. Multi-SKU shipments must be split into single-SKU boxes, which raises the carton and courier count — the calculator's multi-SKU flag surfaces this so the freight estimate is realistic.
Choose the route into FBA: Cloud9 courier vs Amazon SPD vs LTL Cloud9
Cloud9's SPD admin fee and courier (DPD/Royal Mail) rates are mutually exclusive — one route, not both. Palletised volume goes LTL (pallet build £22.50 each; freight POA). Pick per shipment.
Set up a UK returns process Cloud9
FBA returns and any MFN returns need a UK address and a grading process. Cloud9 handles graded returns (£1.00 per order + £1.00 per item) — decide restock vs dispose rules before launch.
09
Customer-facing operations
The bits that protect reviews, metrics and the account health score.
Localise listings & support to UK English
Spelling, sizing, voltage/plug notes and tone all signal a local brand. Poor localisation shows up fast in reviews and conversion.
Provide UK-hours customer service & returns contact
Response-time metrics feed account health. A UK-timezone service plan (or clear SLA) keeps you inside Amazon's targets.
Confirm UK data protection (UK GDPR) basics Get advice
Handling UK customer data brings UK GDPR duties. Usually light-touch for Amazon sellers, but confirm your privacy position, especially if you run off-Amazon marketing.
