Case Study · Market Entry
Brazilian seller entered the EU successfully
A São Paulo cosmetics manufacturer wanted to enter the EU through Italy. We built the regulatory architecture — VAT, customs, EPR, IOSS intermediary — in a single 60-day program.
The challenge
As a non-EU seller, the brand needed both fiscal representation (mandatory) and IOSS intermediary services (most providers refuse to take on the joint liability). They also needed cosmetic-specific compliance — INCI, CPNP notification — beyond the standard VAT setup. Time-zone friction made multi-vendor coordination unworkable.
Our approach
- Week 1–2: Italian VAT registration under fiscal representation. Codice Fiscale and tax-id mapping for cross-border invoicing.
- Week 3–4: IOSS registration with Servix as appointed intermediary. Joint-liability acceptance backed by our €2M fideiussione.
- Week 5–6: CPNP notification through our regulatory partner; EPR registration for cosmetics packaging in Italy and France.
- Week 7–8: Customs broker integration, label compliance review, first DTC launch on a Shopify Italy store.
Results
- EU launch live on day 60.
- Order-to-doorstep VAT charged at checkout via IOSS — zero surprise customs fees for end customers.
- Conversion rate 3.4× higher than the brand's prior pilot to Germany without IOSS.
- Expanded into France, Spain, Netherlands within 6 months under the same intermediary engagement.
"Servix took on the IOSS intermediary role when no one else would. That alone was the difference between launching and not launching in Europe."
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