Economic operators

An Economic Operators (EO) in terms of construction products is "the manufacturer or other person with obligations in relation to placing a product on the market, including the authorised representatives, importers, distributors (including merchants), and fulfilment service providers This definition of ‘economic operators’ does not include online marketplaces." Government published Construction Products Reform White Paper 26 February, 2026.

In the UK Economic Operators (EOs) is someone who, in the course of their business, is involved in activities covered by customs legislation as as such may be required to hae an Economic Operator Registration and Identification (EORI) number, which is a unique identifier for an EO.

EORI numbers replaced Trader Unique Reference Numbers (TURNs) on 1 July 2009 in accordance with EU legislation at the time. When the United Kingdom left the EU from 1 January 2021 the XI prefix was introduced for Northern Ireland and the GB prefix (previously used for all UK EORIs) was restricted to Great Britain. The GB prefixed EORI is applicable to customs activities in England, Scotland and Wales and falls under UK legislation. For the purposes of the GB EORI, EU legislation (the Union Customs Code) has been retained as per the Customs Safety and Security Procedures (EU Exit) Regulations 2019.

The XI prefixed EORI is applicable to customs activities in Northern Ireland and falls under EU legislation. It can also be used in the 27 EU member states. EORI numbers issued by individual EU member states will have their own prefix for example France is ‘FR’. A business must not have an XI and an EU-27 EORI.

A GB EORI has 12 digits and the prefix ‘GB’ for example, GB123456789000.  An XI EORI number will contain the same numbers as the GB EORI but will have the prefix ‘XI.’ One does not need to be VAT registered to get an EORI. However, if VAT registered in the UK, the first 9 digits that make up the EORI number will be the same as your VAT number. 

An EU EORI number may vary between member states but will have up to 15 characters made up of letters and numbers and the prefix of the country, such as ‘DK’ or ‘FR’. 

EOs must be registered for an EORI number before they start activities covered by customs legislation, for example, before they start their import or export operations. The EORI number is assigned free of charge by HMRC. An EORI number does not have an expiry date and will remain live until it is no longer required.

For further information see HM Revenue & Customs guidance Economic Operators Registration and Identification (EORI)´ published 24 January 2025.

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