What is PAN EU?
PAN EU (pan-European shipping program) permits sellers to store inventory across European countries and fulfill customer orders from multiple locations. This approach offers three key advantages: accelerated delivery through Prime shipping, reduced shipping expenses compared to cross-border alternatives, and consolidated stock visibility across all European markets within seller central.
The difference between PAN-EU and EFN
Both PAN EU and the European Fulfillment Network (EFN) enable sellers to maintain unified European inventory. However, they differ significantly in execution. EFN requires shipments originating from your home country—for example, England—to reach all European customers. This results in substantially longer delivery periods and increased shipping costs. PAN EU's warehouse distribution model provides superior efficiency.
How can I activate PAN EU in the EU seller central?
"In the settings in the seller central, you'll find the option to enable pan-European shipping easily with one click." However, meeting eligibility requirements proves more complex, particularly considering recent program modifications.
Sales tax (VAT) liability in other countries by default
Upon activation, Amazon immediately distributes inventory to European warehouses for Prime fulfillment. Critically, "As soon as you're selling a product from another country to this same country, you become liable for sales tax (VAT) there." If your inventory stored in France sells to French customers, you must register for and remit French VAT.
"Once activated, you can NOT take this setting back." Commitment to PAN EU extends through the entire calendar year, requiring careful consideration of all tax implications beforehand.
Products that are barred from PAN EU
Certain product categories—including food and hazardous materials—cannot participate in pan-European shipping automatically. To sell these items internationally, you must ship separately to each country's warehouse using the shipping plan destination dropdown. While this preserves local shipping cost benefits, it requires managing individual country warehouse supplies and typically involves more expensive UPS shipments.
Possible reasons for problems with PAN EU activation and important updates
Inactive product listings in other countries
If prior listings existed on foreign marketplaces, active listings must exist in those countries to access full PAN EU benefits. Having only five active listings across six marketplaces prevents access to discounted shipping advantages.
Critical Update: "As of June 25, 2025, the Netherlands (Amazon.nl) will become a mandatory marketplace for all sellers participating in the Pan-EU Fulfilment Network (Pan-EU FBA)." Sellers must maintain active offers in Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands. Existing ASINs require Netherlands listings by this deadline; new ASINs added post-deadline must launch simultaneously across all five marketplaces. Non-compliance forfeits PAN EU benefits.
SPACEGOATS tip: Verify existing listings by entering the marketplace URL, appending "/dp/" and the ASIN (example: amazon.it/dp/ASIN).
Automatic international offer expansion is activated in the seller central
This feature auto-lists new products across all EU marketplaces, which sometimes creates problems. "If one product or a whole group of products is not allowed on one single marketplace but the listing got created automatically – in all countries - then one of these listings is not active per se and that means you won't get all the pan-European benefits again."
Example: Kitchen knives face UK bans but might auto-list there, preventing PAN EU eligibility.
SPACEGOATS tip: For restricted products, manually list across Germany, Spain, France, Italy, and the Netherlands only—this "PAN EU 5" approach grants identical benefits. However, "As soon as the knife has once been listed in the UK, though, you won't be able to remove it – that's a bug that Amazon is currently still trying to fix."
Purchase of stock by Amazon is activated in the EU seller central
The "Shipping by Amazon" feature allows Amazon to purchase inventory and list items worldwide using your ASIN. This creates hidden listings across countries that may lack active status or contain unfavorable reviews, jeopardizing PAN EU eligibility. "That's why we recommend every seller to check their listings in other countries!"
FAQ
What is Amazon Pan-EU?
Amazon Pan-EU (Pan-European FBA) is a program that lets sellers store inventory in multiple EU fulfillment centers across 7 countries (Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland, Czech Republic, Netherlands) and serve all 27 EU member states from local stock. This reduces shipping costs, accelerates delivery times, and qualifies products for Prime in every EU marketplace simultaneously.
How much does Amazon Pan-EU cost?
Pan-EU has no separate enrollment fee. Sellers pay standard FBA fulfillment fees (typically 30-50 percent lower than cross-border shipping from a single country) plus storage fees in each country where inventory is held. Hidden costs include EPR licenses per country, VAT registrations, and country-specific compliance (e.g., Triman logo for France, LUCID for Germany).
Which countries are part of Amazon Pan-EU?
The 7 storage countries are Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland, Czech Republic, and Netherlands. From those warehouses Amazon ships to all 27 EU member states. Sellers must have active marketplace accounts and VAT registrations in each storage country plus any additional country where they exceed distance-selling thresholds.
What VAT obligations come with Pan-EU?
Pan-EU sellers need a VAT registration in every storage country (DE, FR, IT, ES, PL, CZ, NL). Additionally, if sales to other EU countries exceed the distance-selling threshold (typically 10,000 EUR cumulative), VAT registration is required in those destination countries too. The OSS (One-Stop Shop) scheme simplifies B2C VAT reporting for distance sales since July 2021.
Is Amazon Pan-EU worth it for new sellers?
Pan-EU is most cost-effective for sellers with 50+ units/day combined EU volume and stable demand. Below that, EFN (European Fulfillment Network) is usually simpler — inventory stays in your home country and Amazon cross-ships, accepting higher per-unit fees in exchange for fewer VAT obligations. Pan-EU's setup cost (VAT registrations, EPR, compliance) only pays back at meaningful volume.
What products are restricted from Pan-EU?
Several categories face country-specific restrictions: kitchen knives can't ship to the UK (post-Brexit not in EU anyway), pyrotechnics, ammunition, certain electronics without country-specific certifications. CE marking is mandatory for regulated categories. EPR registration is required for packaging in every country (LUCID in Germany, Triman/CITEO in France, ConSel in Italy, etc.).
What's the difference between Pan-EU and EFN?
Pan-EU stores inventory in multiple countries, reducing fulfillment fees but requiring multi-country VAT and EPR registrations. EFN (European Fulfillment Network) keeps inventory in one country and cross-ships to other EU buyers at higher per-unit fees but with simpler tax setup. Pan-EU is cheaper per unit but has higher fixed overhead; EFN is cheaper to start, more expensive per sale.
How long does Pan-EU setup take?
Realistic timeline: 4-8 weeks from decision to fully operational. Steps include: VAT registration in each storage country (2-6 weeks per country), EPR registration in each country (1-2 weeks), compliance review of product portfolio (1-2 weeks), inventory placement across centers (1-2 weeks after registration). Sellers often use specialized agencies to parallelize VAT applications.
Need help going Pan-EU? SPACEGOATS handles your full EU expansion — VAT setup, EPR compliance, and FBA inventory placement across 12+ marketplaces. Explore our Amazon Broker Service or book a free consultation.