Since Brexit, a laptop sent from an EU office to an employee in Great Britain leaves the EU as an export and enters the UK as an import. Laptops pay no UK duty and need no proof of origin, but 20% import VAT applies, and you need an EU EORI for the export and a GB EORI to import in your company's name. Northern Ireland is the exception. This guide covers both, for EU teams equipping UK employees.
Estimated time: 1 to 2 hours of preparation per device · Level: intermediate · Prerequisites: your company's EU EORI, a GB EORI if you import under DDP, the device's model and serial number · Verified on: UK and EU regulations as of October 2026
What you need before starting
The EU-to-UK route has two customs offices and two identifiers. Most problems come from treating it like the intra-EU shipment it used to be. Collect the items below before booking.
Your company's EU EORI number, for the export declaration.
A GB EORI number if your company will be importer of record in Great Britain.
The employee's legal name, address and postcode, to check whether they live in Great Britain or Northern Ireland.
Device details: brand, model, serial number, value and country of origin, from the purchase invoice.
A courier account that accepts laptops with lithium batteries to the UK, and a decision on who pays import VAT.
Step 1: Register an EORI on each side of the Channel
An EU EORI covers the export declaration but is not valid for UK imports. If your company is importer of record in Great Britain, it needs a separate EORI starting with GB, which businesses without UK premises can request online. Apply before the first shipment: the number is usually issued straight away.
GOV.UK is explicit: anyone moving goods to or from Great Britain needs an EORI starting with GB, and a company holding an EORI that does not start with GB must apply for a GB one (GOV.UK). Give both numbers to the carrier: the EU one for the export, the GB one for the import.
How to check it worked: the shipper's account holds your EU EORI, and the GB EORI if you import under DDP.
Step 2: Check whether the employee lives in Great Britain or Northern Ireland
Great Britain (England, Scotland, Wales) is outside the EU for customs and VAT. Northern Ireland is different: under the Windsor Framework it keeps EU rules for goods, so a laptop sent from the EU into Northern Ireland needs no customs declaration. Check the postcode, because a BT address removes most of this guide's export and import steps.
GOV.UK guidance states that declarations are not needed for goods moving from the EU into Northern Ireland, and that EU VAT rules continue to apply to goods in Northern Ireland (GOV.UK). For an employee in Northern Ireland, handle the VAT as for an intra-EU movement and check the treatment with your accountant; for Great Britain, follow the steps below.
How to check it worked: you know which regime applies to the address, and the booking reflects it.
Step 3: Enroll, encrypt and wipe the laptop before it ships
Prepare the laptop so that it is useful the day it arrives and protected if it is lost or held in transit. That means enrolling it in your device management tool, encrypting the disk and removing anything that should not travel, before it goes into the box.
Enroll the device in your MDM so it can be locked or wiped remotely.
Turn on disk encryption (FileVault on macOS, BitLocker on Windows).
Remove local admin accounts, saved passwords and any data that is not needed on the employee's side.
Record the serial number: it goes on the invoice and customs may compare it with the device.
How to check it worked: the device shows as managed and encrypted in your MDM console, and the serial number is recorded.
Step 4: File the EU export declaration and keep proof of exit
On the EU side, the laptop's value decides the formalities. Express consignments up to EUR 1,000 that are not liable for export duty are deemed declared for export when presented at the customs office of exit. Above EUR 1,000, which covers most business laptops, a standard export declaration is needed.
Up to EUR 1,000: the carrier's transport document and invoice data act as the export declaration (European Commission).
Above EUR 1,000: a standard export declaration is filed, usually by the carrier or a customs broker, using your company's EU EORI number. Keep the MRN it generates.
The commercial invoice serves both customs offices: exact description (brand, model, "laptop computer"), commodity code 8471 30 00 00, serial number, real value, country of origin and purpose (company equipment for an employee, not for resale).
VAT on the EU side. Goods shipped outside the EU can be invoiced without VAT under Article 146 of the VAT Directive, provided the exit is proven (EUR-Lex, CJEU C-563/12). Since Brexit this applies to Great Britain too: ask an EU reseller shipping straight to the UK for a VAT-exempt export invoice, and keep the electronic exit confirmation.
How to check it worked: you hold a transport document (under EUR 1,000) or an export MRN, and an invoice matching the device.
Step 5: Budget UK import VAT and skip the origin paperwork
Laptops carry 0% UK import duty under commodity code 8471 30 00 00, with 20% import VAT (UK Trade Tariff). With no duty to reduce, an origin statement under the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement brings nothing for a laptop, so you can leave it out. Import VAT is the cost to plan for.
Because a laptop is worth more than £135, VAT is collected at the border: the delivery company normally collects import VAT before handing over the parcel (GOV.UK). The base includes the goods, postage, packaging and insurance. If your company is registered for UK VAT, it can account for import VAT through postponed VAT accounting; otherwise it is a cost. Book DDP so the employee isn't asked to pay at the door.
An EU-market laptop needs no re-certification for Great Britain: the UK government has extended recognition of the CE marking indefinitely (GOV.UK).
How to check it worked: the booking states who pays import VAT, and the amount is approved internally.
Step 6: Pack the device and declare its lithium-ion battery
A laptop travels with its lithium-ion battery installed, which makes it a regulated item for air transport. Most business laptops use batteries of 100 Wh or less, which fall under the simplified rules for batteries contained in equipment. Pack it so it cannot move or switch on, and label it the way the carrier expects.
Under IATA Packing Instruction 967, Section II applies to lithium-ion batteries of 100 Wh or less contained in equipment (DHL guide, IATA DGR). In practice:
Switch the laptop off completely (not in sleep mode) and pack it with its charger.
Use a rigid box with cushioning on all sides, ideally the original packaging inside a second carton.
Declare the lithium battery when booking; the carrier adds the UN3481 handling mark and the statement required on the air waybill.
How to check it worked: the carrier has accepted the booking with the lithium battery declared.
Step 7: Follow the laptop through both customs offices
An EU-to-Great-Britain shipment is checked twice: at the EU office of exit, then on UK import. Keep the export MRN or transport document for the first, and the GB EORI and VAT payment details for the second. Answer carrier queries the same day; a missing GB EORI is the usual reason a parcel waits.
A European charger has round-pin plugs, while the UK uses Type G sockets (TechTarget): include a UK plug or adapter. Once delivered, check the laptop reports in your MDM, and file the invoice, export proof and UK VAT receipt together in your IT inventory: they support the VAT-free export in the EU and any future return.
How to check it worked: the device is delivered, powered on and reporting in your MDM console.
Common mistakes and how to fix them
Most errors on this route come from habits formed before Brexit, when an EU-to-UK shipment needed no customs at all. The table lists them with their fix.
Mistake | Fix |
|---|---|
EU EORI given for the UK import | Apply for a GB EORI on GOV.UK; an EU number doesn't cover imports into Great Britain |
Invoice with EU VAT on a laptop exported to Great Britain | Invoice VAT-free as an export and keep the exit confirmation as proof |
No export declaration on a laptop above EUR 1,000 | Have the carrier or a broker file it with your EU EORI, and keep the MRN |
Northern Ireland address cleared as an import | Check for a BT postcode: goods from the EU into Northern Ireland need no declaration |
European charger only | Add a UK Type G plug or adapter to the box |
Going further
Without a UK VAT registration, 20% import VAT on each laptop is a cost your company carries, and the export-plus-import paperwork repeats for every hire. Companies building a UK team often move to local sourcing, which removes both customs steps. Fleet delivers IT equipment to employees in more than 150 countries, pre-enrolled in your MDM, through local suppliers (Fleet).
From a US office, the UK import works the same way but the export paperwork differs: see how to ship a laptop from the US to the UK. The EU export steps are identical for destinations further away, as in shipping a laptop from the EU to India. For the rules common to every country, read our global guide to shipping laptops to remote employees.
Recap checklist
EU EORI ready; GB EORI ready if your company imports under DDP
Address checked: Great Britain, or Northern Ireland with no customs declaration
Device enrolled in MDM and encrypted, serial number recorded
Export declaration and MRN if the laptop exceeds EUR 1,000; VAT-free export invoice
20% UK import VAT budgeted, DDP chosen; no origin statement needed
Lithium battery declared, UK plug included
Delivery confirmed in MDM, export and import documents filed together
Equip UK employees from the EU with Fleet
Since Brexit, a laptop for a UK employee means two EORI numbers, an export declaration, proof of exit and 20% import VAT, plus a different regime for Northern Ireland. Each step is manageable; together, for every new hire, they add time, cost and risk on both sides of the Channel.
Fleet runs the entire process end to end in one platform, across 150+ countries, from the moment someone signs their offer to the day they leave:
Local sourcing: buy or lease Macs and PCs from Fleet's catalogue, sourced locally so EU export paperwork and UK import VAT drop out of the process
Fast delivery: devices are delivered to employees in the UK and 150+ countries in under 5 days
Ready on day one: laptops arrive pre-configured, with the employee's tools installed and your security policies enforced through Fleet's MDM
Real-time visibility: every device, every employee and every security status tracked in one dashboard, connected to your HR tools
Onboarding and offboarding in a few clicks: order a device when someone joins; when they leave, transfer it to a colleague or let Fleet retrieve, wipe, store and redeploy it locally
IT support on Slack: your employees get help with device issues, replacements and access changes where they already work, with teams in Paris, Barcelona and New York
Book a demo and see how Fleet helps you equip teams in the UK and beyond.
FAQ
Do I need an EORI number to send a laptop from the EU to the UK?
You need an EU EORI for the export declaration above EUR 1,000, and most carriers ask for it below that too. If your company is the importer in Great Britain, it also needs a separate GB EORI.
Is there customs duty on a laptop sent from the EU to the UK?
No. Laptops carry 0% UK import duty, wherever they were made. Import VAT of 20% still applies on goods above £135, which covers any business laptop.
Do I need a proof of origin for a laptop shipped to the UK?
Not for the duty: an origin statement under the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement only reduces customs duty, and laptops have none. The country of origin still goes on the commercial invoice.
Is it different for an employee in Northern Ireland?
Yes. Goods moving from the EU into Northern Ireland need no customs declaration, and EU VAT rules apply to them, so the shipment is handled much like an intra-EU movement.
Conclusion
From the EU, a laptop reaches an employee in Great Britain smoothly when both EORI numbers are in place, the export is declared and proven, and 20% UK import VAT is settled upfront. For Northern Ireland, most of that disappears.
See how Fleet handles this in practice
200+ devices, sourced locally and delivered pre-configured to 150 countries — buy or lease, same price.
