EU compliance countdown: MRN mandatory from 1 Sep — long-term tax-inclusive users may be unable to create new shipments

Urgent policy alert: on 1 Sep 2026, Amazon's EU inbound rules undergo a major update. For non-EU-registered sellers shipping directly to French warehouses and under the Pan-EU program, shipments missing MRN + EORI for 60 days will be unable to create new FBA shipments. Note: the new rule no longer requires only the import entry number — both documents are mandatory, and filing information will face long-term regulatory review.

The EU compliance bar keeps rising, with textile clearance and self-tax MRN acquisition becoming challenges for many sellers. YDT Eutruck has 11 years of hands-on Europe-line experience and deep expertise in EU self-tax compliant filing; we provide professional clearance guidance and industry compliance trend analysis to help sellers avoid policy landmines. Below we explain the core points of this new rule.

1. Policy background and core requirements

From 1 Sep 2026, for sellers whose company is not registered in the EU (EU-local stores are not subject to this restriction), shipments entering the EU via Pan-EU and those shipped directly to France that still lack valid import details (MRN and EORI) after the 60-day period will be unable to create new shipments to EU fulfillment centers.

Note: the industry previously understood that only the import entry number was required; per Amazon's latest announcement, both MRN and EORI are now required.

The scope subject to this requirement:

Company not registered in the EU;
Shipments sent directly to French fulfillment centers;
With the Pan-EU program enabled, shipments to any other EU country/region fulfillment center.

Amazon archives the MRN and EORI provided by sellers for at least six years; French tax authorities and EU customs may require Amazon to submit this information and can verify whether the MRN is missing or entered incorrectly.

2. MRN and EORI format explanation

MRN format: an 18-character alphanumeric code = 2 digits (declaration year) + 2 letters (declaration country code) + 14 alphanumeric characters.

Examples: 24DE98765432109876, 24FR12345678654345. The MRN can be obtained from the self-tax deferment tax document provided by the logistics provider.

EORI format: 2 letters (EU country code) + up to 15 alphanumeric characters. Examples: IT12345678901, DE987654321.

3. Difference between MRN and EORI

Dimension	MRN	EORI (registered separately in the EU)
Purpose	Identifies a specific import declaration	Identifies the economic operator
Uniqueness	Different for each shipment / declaration	Same for every shipment of the same enterprise
Issuer	Declaring country's customs authority	EU member state customs authority
Reusability	May use one MRN for multiple shipments with justification	Always the same

4. Steps (4 steps to submit import details)

Go to the Manage Shipments page; each shipment subject to this requirement shows an import status indicating whether the import details are "complete" or "incomplete".
Find shipments whose import details status shows "incomplete".
Click the import details status to open the side panel and enter the MRN and EORI corresponding to that shipment.
Save the entries; the import details status will show "complete".

Note: bulk upload of transport reference numbers is not currently possible — submit per shipment; also, only the French marketplace currently has the entry point for MRN and EORI.

5. MRN input format (multiple declaration entries)

If a shipment is cleared under multiple declaration entries, you can enter multiple MRNs for it, with the following separators supported:

Comma-separated: 24DEXXXXXXXXXXXX,24NLXXXXXXXXXXXX
Space-separated: 24DEXXXXXXXXXXXX 24NLXXXXXXXXXXXX
Line-separated: one MRN per line

6. Temporary options during the transition period

In the import details on the Manage Shipments page, you may also choose the following options:

1) "No - I purchased the goods within the EU" (if applicable). Note: for shipments choosing this option, Amazon may share information with customs authorities for verification. Sellers must keep valid purchase invoices (not proforma invoices) for every item shipped under this category; Amazon may request these records at any time. Whether full verification will occur during the transition is not yet known.

2) "No - my customs broker did not provide MRN/EORI as requested" (temporary measure). Previously, when filling was mandatory, some clients reported that Amazon account managers said tax-inclusive values could be temporarily entered; during the current transition period, choose from Amazon's temporary options.

7. Special-scenario filling requirements

Goods first sent to a third-party warehouse then transferred to Amazon: if the goods were purchased outside the EU, even if first delivered to a third-party warehouse in France or another EU country/region, the seller must still provide a valid MRN.
Shipment first sent to Germany, then transferred to France via Pan-EU: the seller should provide the information for the country of first EU entry and clearance, i.e. the German MRN plus the EORI used for clearance.

8. Advice for clients

★ Apply for your own EORI number as soon as possible. One company only needs one EORI; if you hold VAT in all five EU countries, having an EORI in any one member state suffices.

★ If you cannot yet accept the cost of self-tax deferment. For the Pan-EU program and French fulfillment centers, consider whether the Pan-EU program should be closed based on your non-Germany order volume; keep the Germany logistics plan unchanged for now, create separate shipment plans for other country marketplaces, and recalculate costs and pricing for those marketplaces. If stocking capital pressure would double, consider sending some SKUs to third-party overseas warehouses with compliant self-tax deferment for that part, selling across other EU countries to reduce the impact of slow-moving inventory.

★ The compliance signal has been sounded. Although currently only targeting the French marketplace and Pan-EU shipments, some leading Amazon sellers report: after the UK marketplace made IEN mandatory, a large batch of previously tax-inclusive shipments switched to self-tax deferment compliant clearance. Because sellers' VAT numbers long had only sales output with no import input records, input data surged in the short term with abnormal fluctuation, leading to retrospective customs audits of sellers' UK accounts (this is hands-on feedback from industry sellers, for reference only and not an official conclusion).

Some sellers are highly concerned that this EU MRN/EORI rule may replicate the UK IEN regulatory logic. Sellers who have never done compliant self-tax deferment are advised to first test in small batches and switch to compliant channels step by step.

The EU is currently in a policy transition period, and supervision will not abruptly crack down all at once; referencing the UK policy rollout, a longer buffer correction period was likewise reserved early on. Some sellers still use the "one IEN for multiple shipments" approach to evade review, but this is speculative and carries significant compliance risk.

We have always promoted our channel via compliant self-tax deferment, backed by extensive experience and a declaration database. As compliance tightens, how logistics providers help clients optimize tariff costs will become the most critical factor. Contact us anytime for a professional clearance solution.

9. Related reference links

Amazon help page (inbound shipment import details collection)
Manage Shipments page (French marketplace)
Official French regulation text (legifrance.gouv.fr)
EORI number verification and application (European Commission)
EORI number lookup (UK GOV.UK)