How e-commerce founders, Amazon FBA sellers, Shopify operators and D2C brand owners structure their Spanish business — SL vs autónomo, OSS/IOSS VAT, Amazon European VAT services, multi-jurisdiction compliance and inventory location rules.
E-commerce in Spain touches a VAT regime that consultants never see. Selling physical goods across borders triggers the EU's One-Stop Shop (OSS) and Import One-Stop Shop (IOSS) schemes, distance-selling thresholds, EU warehouse registrations and platform-specific rules (Amazon Pan-European FBA moves inventory between warehouses in multiple EU countries and creates VAT registration obligations in each).
For an expat e-commerce founder running Amazon FBA or a Shopify D2C brand from Spain, the standard autónomo setup is usually wrong — the corporate wrapper, the VAT registrations, the inventory locations and the profit retention logic all point to an SL from day one. This page walks through the commercial and regulatory realities.
We work with e-commerce founders at every revenue level — from first-year sellers at €100k GMV through to eight-figure D2C brands. The legal structure is the same; the VAT and operational complexity scales.
Tax structuring, entity formation and sector-specific compliance for e-commerce founders, Amazon FBA sellers, Shopify store owners, dropshippers and D2C brand operators. Scoped at the outset with a written fee proposal.
Four commercial realities shape every E-Commerce & Amazon Sellers engagement in Spain.
E-commerce cashflow needs retained working capital for inventory. Autónomo progressive IRPF takes a large slice of retained profit that should be rolling back into stock. SL at 25% corporate tax retains 75% for reinvestment — materially better for inventory-heavy businesses.
SL also gives limited liability — a product liability claim from a customer (say, a safety complaint on a consumer product) hits the company not the founder. Autónomo exposes personal assets.
OSS (One-Stop Shop): single EU registration (Spain) covers sales of goods to consumers across all EU member states. You charge destination VAT (customer's country rate) but file one return in Spain. Simplifies from 27 registrations to 1. Modelo 369.
IOSS (Import One-Stop Shop): for imports into the EU under €150. Single registration collects VAT at point of sale, smooths customs clearance. For Amazon sellers with Asia-based supplier flow, IOSS matters operationally.
Amazon Pan-EU FBA moves your stock between warehouses in Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Czech Republic and elsewhere. Each country where your inventory is stored creates a VAT registration obligation in that country — OSS doesn't cover it.
Result: an Amazon FBA seller on Pan-EU typically has 5-7 EU VAT registrations alongside the Spanish SL. We coordinate with European VAT specialists for the non-Spanish registrations and handle the Spanish side directly.
Movement of goods across EU borders requires Intrastat reporting above thresholds. Sales of goods to EU business customers go on Modelo 349. Imports from outside the EU go through Spanish customs with customs VAT (recoverable as input VAT).
For dropshippers with supplier-ship arrangements, the chain-supply VAT rules apply and invoicing must be structured correctly to avoid irrecoverable VAT.
Every engagement is scoped in writing with a named point of contact.
Full SL incorporation tuned to the sector's capital and governance profile.
IVA classification, corporate tax, Modelo filings, regime analysis.
Six-year 24% regime for qualifying founders and directors. Election window tight.
Digital Nomad, Self-Employment, Non-Lucrative — sector-appropriate routes.
Client MSAs, employment contracts, licensing agreements drafted and reviewed.
Quarterly and annual filings, handover to ongoing gestor, compliance calendar.
Spanish business banking setup for foreign founders, multi-currency where needed.
Employment contracts, Social Security, payroll, convenio compliance.
Six-step structured process — typically 4-6 weeks end to end.
60-minute call walking through your sector-specific situation, revenue profile, client base and residence status.
Written report with tax modelling and sector-specific recommendations before you engage.
NIE and residence registration where not already in place.
SL or autónomo registration with sector-appropriate IAE codes, licences and registrations.
OSS, ROI, CASP register, vivienda de uso turístico, etc. — specific to your activity.
Named gestor or in-house compliance partner, written compliance calendar, 12-month handover plan.
Illustrative client profiles across the sector.
The situation. £800k GMV Amazon FBA across EU markets, UK founder relocated to Málaga, Pan-EU FBA enabled.
How we'd handle it. Spanish SL holds trading operation. Spanish OSS registration for D2C sales. Five additional EU VAT registrations via partner firm (DE, FR, IT, PL, CZ) for FBA inventory. UK Ltd retained as dormant entity for brand assets. Beckham Law director's contract for founder.
The situation. €400k revenue D2C skincare, shipping from Spanish warehouse to EU consumers, American founder.
How we'd handle it. Spanish SL, OSS registration (single Spanish return covers all EU consumer sales). IOSS registration for supplier imports from South Korea. IRS Form 5471 coordination with US CPA for founder. Beckham election filed.
The situation. €150k net profit dropshipping home goods from Chinese suppliers to EU consumers via Shopify + AliExpress.
How we'd handle it. SL formation with careful dropshipping VAT structure. IOSS registration for sub-€150 imports. Chain supply rules applied to ensure Spanish SL invoices correctly. Modelo 303 quarterly; Modelo 349 where applicable.
The situation. €12M GMV European D2C fashion brand, founder originally from Ireland, complex warehouse setup.
How we'd handle it. Spanish SL as EU trading hub. Separate German SL for DE-specific ops. Irish parent holds group IP under licensing arrangement. Parent-Subsidiary Directive applied to dividend flow. Multi-jurisdiction VAT handled by specialist VAT firm; we handle corporate structure, Beckham for founders and Spanish compliance.
Recurring errors specific to this sector — and how we prevent each.
Works under €50k. Above that, personal liability on product issues and progressive IRPF on retained profit are both wrong answers. SL from year two at latest.
Amazon enables Pan-EU in one click. Each country where inventory sits creates a VAT registration. Missing them creates backdated VAT exposure with interest.
OSS covers distance selling — not warehouse-triggered registrations. Using OSS alone for Pan-EU is a common error.
Brands develop IP (trademarks, design, know-how). Without an intercompany agreement, the IP can be taxed in the wrong place on exit. Structure IP holding and licensing from early stage.
CE marking, product safety directives, labelling (28 languages in some categories), sectoral rules (cosmetics, food, toys). Non-compliance stops shipments at customs.
Using the company card for personal, or personal card for company, creates accounting issues and exposes limited liability. Clean separation from day one.
Most e-commerce & amazon sellers engagements start with a structure call where we understand the specifics — revenue, client geography, operational setup, existing entities, residency status. We don't start recommending entity types before we understand the numbers.
After the call we send a written recommendation with sector-specific tax modelling. You see actual numbers — SL vs autónomo, Beckham vs progressive, R&D credit where applicable, VAT treatment per client geography.
If you engage, we issue a written scope and fixed fee. Scope is specific to the sector — OSS registration for e-commerce, CASP registration for crypto, vivienda de uso turístico for property, image-rights licence for creators. Fee is fixed, in writing, before work begins.
We execute. You get a named point of contact. Weekly status during active phases. English-language throughout. Coordinated with your home-country advisor where applicable.
We hand over to an ongoing compliance provider — typically a gestor or small accounting firm — with a written 12-month compliance calendar. You don't lose visibility after setup, and we stay available for follow-up questions indefinitely.
Spain has thousands of gestores who can register an SL. What's scarce is sector-specific commercial capability — lawyers who understand how e-commerce & amazon sellers actually operate, what goes wrong in your sector, and how to structure setup to prevent it.
Speak to a specialist who has structured e-commerce & amazon sellers engagements before. Written scope. Fixed fee. Named point of contact.