How-to
Shipping skincare wholesale outside the EU: duties, Incoterms, documents
Short answer
Outside the EU you are the importer: you clear customs and pay any duty and import VAT on arrival, which in Incoterms language is delivery at place (DAP). The commercial invoice classifies the goods under HS heading 3304.1 Commercial terms are available in your trade account once your business is verified. Endless Pure offers an attractive margin up to 50%.
Key facts
- Endless Pure offers an attractive margin up to 50%. Prices are available after registration.
- Incoterms 2020 contains eleven rules that split transport cost and risk between seller and buyer.2
- UK VAT-registered businesses can account for import VAT on their VAT return through postponed VAT accounting instead of paying it at the border.3
- Switzerland charges import VAT at 8.1% on all imported goods regardless of shipment value.4
- Switzerland abolished customs duties on industrial goods in Tariff chapters 25 to 97 from 1 January 2024.5
Which non-EU countries can buy on standard terms?
The UK, Switzerland, the USA and the three EEA countries outside the EU (Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein). Any other country is agreed individually, including the minimum.
What changes is what happens at the border. Inside the EU, goods move without customs. Outside it, someone has to declare them, and on standard terms that someone is you.
| Destination | Tax at import | Product rules to check |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | Import VAT; postponed accounting for VAT-registered businesses3 | UK Responsible Person and notification: see importing into the UK |
| Switzerland | Commercial terms are available in your trade account once your business is verified.45 | Swiss labelling and address rules: see stocking EU cosmetics in Switzerland |
| Norway, Iceland | Local import VAT | Norway's rules are nearly identical to Regulation 1223/2009, with national language rules6 |
| Liechtenstein | As Switzerland | As Switzerland for customs |
| USA | Duty per the US tariff line in force on the day | Labelling and FDA cosmetic requirements, checked with your broker |
| Gulf and other countries | Local rules | See importing into the Gulf |
DAP or DDP: who pays duty and VAT?
On Endless Pure's standard terms you do. The goods are delivered to your address and any duty and import taxes are settled on arrival. In Incoterms 2020, the ICC's set of eleven delivery rules, that is the pattern of DAP, delivered at place.2
For a VAT-registered business, DAP is usually the better deal. You are the importer of record, so the import VAT is yours to recover. In the UK, postponed VAT accounting lets you declare and reclaim import VAT on the same return, with no cash paid at the border.3 Under DDP the seller pays those costs and loads them into the price, and recovering that VAT becomes awkward or impossible.
| Rule | Seller's job | Your job | Fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| EXW | Makes goods available at its door | Everything: export, freight, import | Buyers with their own freight forwarder |
| DAP | Delivers to your address, not cleared | Import clearance, duty, import VAT | VAT-registered retailers (standard terms) |
| DDP | Delivers cleared, duty and VAT paid | Receive the parcel | Buyers who cannot import in their own name |
Which documents travel with a skincare shipment?
The commercial invoice does most of the work. Check it against this list before the parcel leaves:
- Seller and buyer names, addresses and VAT or tax numbers, plus your importer number (GB EORI in the UK, an EIN or CBP-assigned number in the US).
- A plain description per line, for example "face serum, cosmetic" with the pack size, with HS code 3304.991 or the code your broker specifies.
- Country of origin per product. Endless Pure manufactures in Latvia, France and North America, so origin can differ between products in one parcel; it decides whether preferential duty rates apply.
- Unit and total value in one currency, and the delivery rule.
- A packing list with the number of parcels and weights.
The most common delay is a missing importer number. A courier cannot clear goods for a business that has not given one, and the parcel waits in a depot while you register.
What does a landed cost look like?
Add every border cost to the trade price, then recheck your margin. Here is a Swiss example.
Customs duty: none.
Outside the EU, larger and less frequent orders protect margin: one clearance fee instead of three.
For the US, run the same sum with the duty rate your broker quotes for heading 3304 and the products' origin, plus the entry fee.7
How long does a non-EU delivery take?
Each order is produced as a fresh batch; production time depends on the order volume, and the parcel is tracked from the moment it leaves production. Customs clearance then sits on your side of the border and depends on how quickly your paperwork is complete. Plan your first two orders with an extra week of buffer, note the real door-to-door time and set your replenishment rhythm from those figures.
How does Endless Pure handle non-EU partners?
As standard partners, under the terms on the supplier fact sheet. You can order once your business is verified.
Each formula except the Eye Renewal Patches is ECOCERT COSMOS certified (Natural or Organic), every product is made in ISO 22716 certified GMP facilities and compliant with EU Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009, and product information is available to partners. Discovery Kits are EU-only, so a non-EU buyer tests with a small first order instead.
Broader planning for non-EU buyers is in French skincare wholesale for international retailers, and the document set is in the supplier documents checklist. All guides: Guides.
Frequently asked questions
Does Endless Pure ship wholesale orders to the UK, Switzerland and the USA?
Import duty and taxes, where they apply, are paid by the buyer on arrival. Commercial terms are available in your trade account once your business is verified.
What is the difference between DAP and DDP for a skincare import?
Under DAP the seller delivers to your address and you clear customs and pay duty and import VAT. Under DDP the seller does all of that and builds the cost into the price, which usually stops a VAT-registered buyer from recovering the import VAT cleanly.
What HS code applies to skincare products?
Heading 3304 covers beauty, make-up and skin-care preparations, and face creams, serums and SPF products usually fall under subheading 3304.99.1 Your customs broker confirms the national tariff line.
Do I pay customs duty on cosmetics imported into Switzerland?
Where can I review the commercial terms?
No. The de minimis exemption has been suspended since 29 August 2025, so every commercial shipment needs a customs entry7 and any applicable duty is paid on arrival.
Can buyers outside the EU order a Discovery Kit?
Discovery Kits ship within the EU only. Commercial terms are available in your trade account once your business is verified.
Sources
- U.S. International Trade Commission, Harmonized Tariff Schedule, heading 3304 (2026). hts.usitc.gov Checked 2026-10-22.
- International Chamber of Commerce, Incoterms 2020 (2019). iccwbo.org Checked 2026-10-22.
- HM Revenue & Customs (GOV.UK), Check when you can account for import VAT on your VAT Return (2026). www.gov.uk Checked 2026-10-22.
- Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (BAZG), Value added tax and import tax for companies (2026). www.bazg.admin.ch Checked 2026-10-22.
- Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (BAZG), Abolition of industrial tariffs, January 2024 (2024). www.bazg.admin.ch Checked 2026-10-22.
- Norwegian Food Safety Authority (Mattilsynet), Importing cosmetics to Norway (2026). mattilsynet.no Checked 2026-10-22.
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection (Federal Register), Indefinite suspension of the de minimis exemption for merchandise arriving through all modes other than the international postal network (2026). www.federalregister.gov Checked 2026-10-22.