Sell on Amazon EU FBA without setting up a European entity
Amazon FBA wants an EU-established Importer of Record on every inbound shipment. If you sit outside the EU, here is how DDP Spain plays that role for you.
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Your supplier is ready to ship a 40-foot container of inventory into Amazon FBA. The freight forwarder asks for the EU Importer of Record's EORI number. You are based in Shenzhen, Atlanta, or London, and you do not have one. The shipment cannot move.
This is the most common roadblock for non-EU sellers using Amazon's European fulfillment network. You can solve it without spending six months and several thousand euros incorporating a Spanish subsidiary. DDP Spain steps in as your EU-established Importer of Record.
What Amazon EU actually requires
Amazon will refuse inbound inventory unless the commercial invoice and customs declaration name an EU-established Importer of Record with a valid EORI number. They check it. "DDP" written on the invoice is not a substitute — somebody real has to act as the IOR.
If a freight forwarder offers to put your name on the declaration without you having an EORI, that is not Indirect Representation, that is an unauthorized filing. Spanish customs (AEAT) and the equivalent authorities in other EU member states will reject it on audit, and the cargo can be held.
How Indirect Representation actually works
EU Customs Code Article 18 gives non-EU companies one clean legal route: an Indirect Representative who files the customs declaration in their own name, jointly liable with the importer for duty, VAT, and the accuracy of the declaration.
That is what we do. Cargo arrives at Valencia, Barcelona, or Madrid. We clear it under our EORI, pay duty and import VAT using Spain's postponed VAT accounting (so no 21% pre-financing), and hand it off to Amazon's inbound carrier with the FBA shipment reference attached.
Supplier to Amazon shelf — the typical flow
Origin pickup at your supplier's factory. Ocean or air freight to a Spanish port of entry. Customs clearance with us as IOR. Optional Amazon prep work in our warehouse — FNSKU labelling, poly bagging, bundle assembly. Handoff to the Amazon Partnered Carrier going to your assigned FC.
From Spain you can reach any Amazon EU fulfillment center in free circulation. Italy, France, Germany, Poland, Czechia — all reachable without re-clearing customs.
The VAT piece you still own
If you hold stock in an Amazon EU FC you need a VAT registration in that country. Spain registration if you store in Spanish FCs, plus any country where Amazon places your inventory under their pan-European program. We can refer you to a VAT advisor we work with regularly, but the registrations are yours to hold.
Spanish postponed VAT accounting means the 21% import VAT is declared and deducted on the same monthly VAT return — no cash outlay at the border. This alone saves a lot of working capital on bigger consignments.
What it costs versus a subsidiary
Our IOR fee is a flat per-shipment number scaled to cargo value and volume. A Spanish subsidiary costs €3-5k in setup, three to six months of paperwork, and an ongoing accountant. For most non-EU sellers using FBA, IOR-as-a-service is the right answer until volume justifies the entity.