The right VAT treatment depends on who is buying and where the goods are delivered, not on where your company happens to be based. In short: a business with a valid EU VAT number receiving goods inside the EU is usually invoiced under the reverse charge at 0%; a buyer without a valid EU VAT number, or goods delivered to a private recipient, is charged the local VAT rate of the destination country; goods delivered outside the EU are treated as an export at 0%, with any duties handled at the destination.

If you hold a valid EU VAT number and the goods are delivered within the EU, we normally invoice under the reverse charge mechanism at 0%, and you account for the VAT in your own return. We verify the number before applying it. The one exception worth knowing is delivery into Estonia itself, where our own country’s domestic VAT applies rather than the reverse charge. We will always state which treatment we have used and why.

This is the single most common and most costly misunderstanding, so it is worth being clear. Being a non-EU company does not make an EU delivery zero-rated. If the goods are delivered inside the EU, local VAT is due at the rate of the destination country, regardless of where your business is registered. Zero rating applies to a genuine export, meaning goods that physically leave the EU. We will tell you exactly which applies before you commit, because getting this wrong is expensive to unwind later.

No. You do not need to register for VAT in any European country to place an order with us. We handle the VAT treatment on our side and issue a compliant invoice for your records. That is a large part of the point of working with a single European partner: the cross-border tax mechanics sit with us, not with you, whether you are ordering from inside or outside the EU.

No. The EU is a single customs union, so goods moving between member states do so without customs declarations or import duties. That is what makes multi-country European campaigns straightforward once you are working through a partner inside the union. Customs only enters the picture when goods cross the external border of the EU, for example a delivery to the United Kingdom, Switzerland or Norway.

We deliver to these markets regularly. Because they sit outside the EU customs union, the shipment is handled as an export: goods leave with the correct documentation, and import duties or local taxes may be due at the destination. We will discuss the terms with you in advance, including whether duties are settled on delivery or billed separately, so the recipient is not met with an unexpected charge. Where an EORI number is needed for the movement, we will tell you.

An EORI number is an identifier used for customs when goods cross the EU border, in either direction. For deliveries that stay inside the EU you will not need one. For imports or exports across the EU border, whether one is required, and whose it is, depends on the arrangement and the destination. We hold our own EORI for the movements we manage, and where you need one we will flag it early rather than at the border, so nothing is held up.

Production time is the same wherever the order is going; it is the final delivery leg that varies. Deliveries within Central and Western Europe are typically the quickest and most predictable. Southern Europe, remote regions and islands can take longer and are more exposed to local courier variation, and peak periods around major holidays add time everywhere. We build realistic delivery windows into every quote rather than optimistic ones, and if you have a hard deadline we plan the whole timeline backwards from it.

Yes, and we do it often, but these deliveries reward planning. Stands, hotels, conference centres and serviced venues each have their own rules on when goods can arrive, who is allowed to sign for them and where they are held until you need them. The earlier you give us the full address, an on-site contact and a local phone number, the smoother it goes. Tell us the date everything must be in hand and we will work back from it, and add express where a deadline is tight, as long as it is arranged before dispatch.

An order moves into production once the artwork is approved in writing and payment has cleared, which protects your deadline and locks the specification. You will receive a clear, itemised invoice showing the correct VAT treatment in full, suitable for your finance team and any internal audit. If your process needs particular references, a purchase order number or specific billing details, tell us and we will make sure they appear on the paperwork.