You cannot conduct business in the EU unless you have a VAT number issued by any of the member (still 28) states. You cannot sell anything in the EU w/o VAT, it'd be illegal. The company =must= pay the collected VAT to the respective member state(s).
So they have to register in the EU to conduct business (and issue VAT receipts). This requires some assets and people to be responsible.
The only way to conduct business outside is a small shipments (less than 22e) that would be free of VAT and customs clearance.
You cannot conduct business in the EU unless you have a VAT number issued by any of the member (still 28) states. You cannot sell anything in the EU w/o VAT, it'd be illegal. The company =must= pay the collected VAT to the respective member state(s).
So they have to register in the EU to conduct business (and issue VAT receipts). This requires some assets and people to be responsible.
The only way to conduct business outside is a small shipments (less than 22e) that would be free of VAT and customs clearance.