Lodge the Declaration

Yes but you need to have a European Economic Operator Registration and Identification (EORI) number. In addition, if you don’t have an EU established ‘indirect representative’, you need to have a permanent business establishment somewhere in the EU, for example, a subsidiary or in some cases a branch of your UK business.

Although the definition of ‘permanent business establishment’ for customs duty is different to the corporation tax definition of ‘permanent establishment’, clearly, having a local branch or company will bring many practical, administrative and tax issues (VAT, business taxes, payroll taxes etc.) to the fore. Therefore, using a freight forwarded or local agent will be a more practical solution in the short term.