IOSS Reporting Service

The abbreviation stands for Import-One-Stop-Shop ("IOSS").

The Import-One-Stop-Shop enables the fulfillment of VAT obligations for sales of certain imported goods to private individuals in the EU (up to a shipping value of EUR 150) to be collected, declared and paid to the tax authorities in one single VAT return.

To register, it is necessary for you to fill in the questionnaire. We will take care of the rest. With our IOSS Reporting Service, registration is done in an instant.

The registration should be completed by the tax authorities within 3–5 working days.

All merchants participating in the IOSS procedure receive the IOSS number from the tax authorities upon registration. The IOSS number must be indicated in the customs declaration for imports.

The IOSS VAT number consists of 12 alphanumeric characters.

You will need to fill in a registration questionnaire, which we will file with the relevant tax authorities on your behalf.

The IOSS number must be indicated on the customs declaration. However, it should not be made publicly available, but kept "confidential" as far as possible (e.g. it should specifically not be indicated on the invoice or in the imprint).

The IOSS returns must be submitted monthly by the end of the following month. This also applies in the case of nil returns.

No. Only IOSS monthly returns are to be submitted, but no IOSS annual returns.

For entrepreneurs registered in the IOSS procedure, the submission of monthly IOSS VAT returns is mandatory.

By participating in the IOSS procedure, the corresponding imported goods are exempt from the payment of import VAT. It is important that the IOSS number is indicated upon import.

By applying the IOSS procedure, the VAT declaration obligations are considerably simplified, as all corresponding EU turnover is reported uniformly in one VAT return. If applicable, further VAT registrations in the EU are no longer necessary.

If VAT registrations exist in the EU for any other reason, the advantage of the IOSS procedure may no longer apply. The same holds in case of significant input tax refunds. Here, an individual economic assessment must be made as to whether the advantages of the IOSS procedure continue to outweigh the disadvantages considering cash flow disadvantages that stem from using the VAT refund procedure.

The IOSS procedure is applicable to merchants from non-EU countries who send consignments with a value of up to EUR 150 from outside the EU to private individuals in EU Member States. Excisable goods are excluded from the IOSS procedure.

Other transactions not subject to the IOSS procedure must be declared under the normal declaration procedures in the respective EU Member States – depending on the respective possible taxability.

Please contact us for further clarification of the VAT treatment of these transactions via our contact form or inform yourself via this link. 

Corrections are to be declared in scope of the next VAT return due. However, the corresponding corrections must be declared in a separate sheet. If the underlying sales are older than three years, a correction needs to be reported in the EU Member State concerned outside the IOSS procedure.

The IOSS declarations must be submitted one month after the end of the taxation period. If the participating entrepreneur or its representative repeatedly fails to fulfill its obligations or fails to do so in time, the entrepreneur may be excluded from the IOSS procedure.

In case of recurrence, there is a risk that the entrepreneur will be excluded from the IOSS procedure.

The participating entrepreneur is obliged to submit the IOSS declarations properly and may be excluded from the IOSS procedure in case of repeated violations.

We are happy to help you via our contact form.