Since 1 July 2021, all B2C sales to EU customers are subject to VAT in the EU country of the customer. The OSS and iOSS schemes were created to avoid the need to register for VAT in every Member State. Registration (via a VAT intermediary) in one Member State is then sufficient.

VAT due in the EU

VAT may be due at the time of importation or at the time of sale. Depending on the business set-up, the seller may charge and collect local VAT in all EU countries where his products are supplied. In the worst case scenario, this means that this seller will have to register for VAT in all these countries and submit local VAT returns.

Simplification: OSS and iOSS

Fortunately, a simplification is possible. An online seller can choose to register in only one EU Member State for all his distance sales to private customers in other EU countries. This registration will then only require a single VAT declaration for sales throughout the EU.

For sales within the EU, this can be done via the Union scheme and the One Stop Shop (OSS) scheme. For sales from outside the EU, this is the import scheme, also called the iOSS scheme (Import One Stop Shop).

Less Grey as your VAT intermediary

Businesses based outside the EU are required to appoint an EU-based VAT intermediary if they wish to take advantage of the iOSS scheme. Less Grey can assist your business with these arrangements. For non-EU businesses, Less Grey acts as a VAT intermediary

Background iOSS scheme

In the run-up to the introduction of the iOSS regulation, we gave several webinars. Watch one of these webinars below.