Can an overseas business get a GB EORI?

No UK premises is different from no warehouse

Ask your customs broker to confirm how your registered office, central headquarters or permanent business establishment affects eligibility. Our guide to importing without commercial premises covers that distinction. This guide addresses the separate question: can a business genuinely based overseas obtain its own number through a specified customs activity?

Check what your business will actually do

GOV.UK says a business not established in the destination or departure country should still obtain an EORI for specified activities. Examples include making transit or temporary admission declarations, applying for a customs decision, and making entry summary, exit summary or temporary storage declarations. Ask your customs agent to identify which activity your business itself will perform.

Describe the goods, route and intended customs treatment before asking whether you qualify. Buying from a Chinese factory is too vague to assess. Ask the agent to explain the proposed treatment in words; our customs procedure code guide helps you check that explanation against the declaration.

When the representative needs the number

If you are not eligible to apply yourself, GOV.UK says you must appoint someone to deal with customs on your behalf, and that person needs the EORI instead. HMRC also says you can continue moving goods without your own EORI by using an indirect representative. Read direct and indirect customs representation before agreeing the appointment.

Ask the representative to confirm whose number will be used, in what capacity they will act, and which declaration records you will receive. Keep that agreement with the shipment brief. Do not treat an offer to use an agent's number as a complete explanation of the arrangement.

Apply through the overseas business route

For an eligible business not based in the UK, the application guidance says a Unique Taxpayer Reference, Standard Industrial Classification code and National Insurance number are not needed. You must sign in to apply and can create sign-in details if necessary. Use your actual business details; do not invent a UK establishment to fill a field.

Confirm the route before factory dispatch

Ask for a written conclusion: your business qualifies for its own number through an identified activity, or an appointed representative will handle customs using their own number. Then confirm separately how the shipment will be declared. Use our guide to applying before shipment when scheduling the paperwork alongside factory dispatch.