Entrepreneurs warn stifling paperwork slows firms’ drive to export

What does it take to sell a pair of Italian socks to a customer in Finland? Or to ship Bulgarian herbs and spices to 14 European countries? For the SMEs selling in the Amazon store who joined Rocco Bräuniger, Amazon's Country Manager for Germany and European Expansion, on stage at the Amazon Expo in Brussels, the answer is: a lot of passion, a lot of hard work — and, too often, a lot of paperwork.

Four Sellers, One Common Challenge

The panel brought together Edu López-Villalta from Feten (Spain), a male skincare brand; Filippo Ciocca from Ciocca (Italy), a 120-year old sock company; Alexander Dreischuh from Alpi Trade (Bulgaria), a dry foods brand; and Alexander Geirsz from Calcuso (Germany), a school supplies company. Each SME had a different product, a different starting point, and a different story. Yet when the conversation turned to what holds them back, their voices converged on the same themes: fragmented regulation, complex VAT obligations, inconsistent labelling requirements, and the sheer administrative burden of selling across EU borders.

Filippo Ciocca, Italy — the fourth-generation head of a 120-year-old hosiery company — described Amazon as "the biggest transformation" his business had seen in a century. Since joining Amazon's store in 2017, he has expanded to 32 countries worldwide. But scaling across borders comes at a cost. "Exporting socks in 32 countries means I have to pay taxes in many countries," he explained. "Because in Europe, we do not have unique, harmonised rules, so it costs me a lot in terms of time and money. If the EU could help harmonise all these rules, this could free up a lot of resources so I can focus more on my core business."

Alexander Dreischuh, Bulgaria — co-founder of Alpi Investment, an organic and conventional dry foods company that now employs 80 full-time staff — started selling on Amazon Germany in 2019 and quickly expanded across pan-European Amazon stores. Today, the company holds VAT numbers in 14 EU countries. But compliance doesn't stop there. Alexander stated there are a multitude of hurdles — "we have EPR for packaging, for single-use plastics, food safety compliance, and EU organic certification.". He continued that "who reports, in which granularity, in which frequency, whether we need an authorised representative in each country — it differs a lot between countries. And that's just the tip of the iceberg."

Alexander Giersz, Germany — who founded Calcuso in Freiburg in 2009 selling calculators — offered perhaps the most striking illustration of how much the regulatory landscape has changed. When his wife recently tried to set up as a seller, it took her three to four months just to complete the setup. "It kills the fantasy of new entrepreneurs who want to come into the store," he said. He also pointed to two German competitors who have never expanded beyond Germany — not because they lack ambition, but because they cannot handle the regulatory complexity of pan-European selling. He concluded that overall "for customers, it's bad."

Edu López-Villalta, Spain — representing a male skincare brand — put it plainly: "It's complicated to think that bureaucracy takes even more time than innovation for an SME in Europe, which makes no sense. It's about VAT, it's about EPR, it's about labelling. Unifying the terms of what we all do here is important, so that we can concentrate on what creates richness and employment in the region."

The Call for Harmonisation

Across all four conversations, one word came up again and again: harmonisation.

The EU Single Market was built on the promise of frictionless trade. But for SMEs selling online, that promise is still far from fully realised. VAT registration, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes, product labelling rules, food safety documentation, customs requirements — each of these varies by country, creating a patchwork of obligations that disproportionately burdens smaller businesses without dedicated compliance teams.

Rocco acknowledged the progress being made — including the forthcoming single VAT registration, expected in July 2028 — while recognising that much more remains to be done. "Hopefully, together with the policymakers, we can make your life a little bit easier," he told the panellists. He added that “127,000 SMEs based in Europe sell on Amazon, not only in one Amazon store, but in many other Amazon stores, and SMEs represents 60% of Amazon sales, whereby they contribute over €15 billion in export sales”.

What Amazon Is Doing

We're committed to helping SMEs selling on Amazon navigate complexity and grow their businesses across Europe. From tools that simplify VAT compliance to pan-European fulfilment services, the goal is to reduce friction so that sellers can focus on what they do best: building great products and serving customers.

Although, as the Brussels panel made clear, technology and tools can only go so far. Lasting change requires policy action. Europe's leading economic reports agree: we need to make the EU more competitive. Amazon's advocacy reflects this directly.

Draghi's Future of European Competitiveness calls for bold reforms — closing the innovation gap and boosting productivity. Letta's Single Market report pushes for simpler VAT, consistent labelling, and seamless cross-border trade. Amazon echoes this by championing harmonised recycling schemes, digital invoicing, reduced reporting burdens, introducing the Digital Product Passport — replacing multiple physical labels — delivering exactly that for SMEs.

We will continue to advocate for a regulatory environment that enables European SMEs to compete and grow, both within the EU and on the global stage.