On 1st January 2026, France abolished the simplified VAT import mechanism known as Regime 42, a move with significant implications for UK businesses using France as a gateway into the EU.
In this article, we explain what’s changing, why it matters for your supply chain, and how our solutions can support your continued cross-border growth.
Regime 42 (Customs Procedure Code 4200) has historically allowed non-EU companies, including many UK brands, to import goods into France and dispatch them onward to other EU destinations without upfront French VAT or the need for a French VAT registration.
This worked by appointing a limited fiscal representative in France to handle VAT on the importer’s behalf. For years, Regime 42 offered:
This made France a popular EU entry gateway for UK exporters and DTC brands selling into the EU.
From 1st January 2026, France abolished one-off fiscal representation under Regime 42 for non-EU companies.
In short, the simplified path has ended, and a more robust compliance framework is now the norm.
This change primarily affects UK brands that have historically moved their own inventory cross-border from the UK into the EU. For our clients, this has involved storing stock at our Bocholt facility to support EU order fulfilment.
By localising inventory within the EU, these brands have benefited from the free movement of goods across member states, faster delivery times, and reduced fulfilment costs through access to lower intra-EU courier rates.
Additionally, this change impacts brands that have used Regime 42 under Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) terms via France to another EU country to fulfil B2B orders.
The end of Regime 42 is creating operational friction for UK brands shipping goods into the EU, but it doesn’t have to.
At IFGlobal, we’ve spent the past year preparing a compliance-lite pathway designed specifically for UK businesses distributing from our Bocholt fulfilment centre. While there are multiple import structures you could adopt, only one genuinely keeps friction low, avoids unnecessary tax exposure, and protects operational agility.
Below is how each option stacks up, and why Option 1 is the route we lead with for customers using our Bocholt facility.
This is the simplest, cleanest and lowest-compliance approach, and the model we recommend for the majority of clients. Under this framework:
Shipping under DAP terms from the UK to Bocholt is not workable for inbound stock movements into the fulfilment centre. This option introduces clearance failures, unpredictable duties at the border, and operational delays, and is therefore not compatible with our clients’ needs.
Registering for VAT in France can technically work, however, it comes with a heavy compliance load. Monthly or quarterly submissions, local representation requirements, ongoing returns, and audit risk all make this route increasingly burdensome over time.
While our team at IFGlobal can support the logistics, we do not recommend this as the primary structure for Regime 42 replacement due to the escalating cost and admin associated with this option.
This option is not viable for UK brands moving inventory into our Bocholt facility. It places the import burden on the consignee, which is incompatible with inbound stock movements where the consignee is not the end customer. We do not recommend this solution.
Forming an EU presence sounds like a clean solution until you factor in corporate taxation, local accounting obligations and the administration overhead of creating and maintaining a foreign entity.
In most cases, this option becomes the most expensive and operationally heavy path. We present it for transparency, but it’s rarely suitable for scaling ecommerce brands.
This model is specifically architected to give UK brands a compliance-lite re-entry path into Europe following the removal of Regime 42, without compromising speed, cost efficiency or customer experience.
Choosing the right import structure is only part of the picture. At IFGlobal, we support your entire EU expansion strategy.