Selling in the UK
- May 14
- 2 min read
It's a common misconception that simply registering a UK LTD company through a virtual company website is enough to start selling in the UK, unfortunately it is not. Fulfilment houses who receive, store and ship products for non-UK clients must be registered and comply with FHDDS regulations. For us, this means that we must establish whether or not a company is 'established' in the UK. If it is not, we can still fulfil orders for the company, however that company must be VAT registered.
What does 'established' mean?
Here is the relevant extract from gov.uk:
'Establishment is not defined in legislation for VAT purposes and is derived from case law.
A UK establishment will exist if either:
the place where essential management decisions are made and the business’s central administration is carried out is in the UK
the business has a permanent physical presence with the human and technical resources to make or receive taxable supplies in the UK.
To determine if there is a UK establishment you should consider where the day-to-day activities and running of the business take place. This is usually where the principal place of business (PPOB) is located [VATREG03550].
For this reason, a third-party UK address or company incorporated in the UK will not by itself be sufficient to create a UK establishment.
For example:
A company incorporated in the UK would not alone constitute a UK establishment. You would need to consider the extent to which the management and running of the business takes places in the UK.
Goods imported into the UK and sold from a UK fulfilment address or similar warehouse, with a sole purpose to send and receive goods, is unlikely to create a UK establishment. You may need to consider if the business has resources or employs its own staff in the UK.
A registered, serviced or virtual office address or mail forwarding service will not create a UK establishment.
If the business is found to have a UK establishment, it is not an NETP and cannot be registered under Schedule 1A. It may be liable or entitled to register under Schedule 1 or Schedule 3A of the VAT Act.'
If you looking to sell in the UK and would like some advice, we are always happy to help!
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