In which Member State do you register for IOSS?

In the Member State where the seller is established, or, if they sit outside the Union, in the Member State of the intermediary. One registration covers consignments to all Member States. You therefore do not need a number per country of destination.

Does the IOSS number have to be on the parcel?

No, the number belongs on the customs declaration, not necessarily on the label. Without the number on the declaration, VAT is charged at import, even if the seller already collected the VAT at checkout.

Who remits the VAT under IOSS?

The seller or the platform that is treated as the deemed supplier, through the monthly IOSS return in the Member State of registration. Customs does not collect that VAT at import, and the consignee does not pay it on delivery.

Does IOSS also apply above one hundred and fifty euro?

No. IOSS applies to B2C consignments with an intrinsic value of up to one hundred and fifty euro. Above that, and in B2B, ordinary import VAT still applies, even if the same seller holds an IOSS number.

What is the difference between IOSS and the special arrangement?

Under IOSS the seller collects the VAT at sale. Under the special arrangement the carrier collects the VAT on delivery and remits it periodically. IOSS takes collection out of the delivery chain, the special arrangement keeps it there.

IOSS

Q: How do you apply for an IOSS number?

A seller established in the EU applies for registration with the tax authority of their own Member State. A seller outside the Union appoints an intermediary in a Member State, who handles the registration and the monthly return for them.

Also known as: Import One-Stop Shop

IOSS is the EU import scheme under which a seller collects VAT on B2C consignments up to one hundred and fifty euro at the point of sale and remits it monthly in one Member State. The consignment then enters without import VAT being charged.

How does the IOSS scheme work in practice?

A seller or platform with an IOSS registration collects the VAT at the moment of sale, at the rate of the country where the consumer is established. That VAT does not go to Customs at the border. It goes monthly to the tax authority of the Member State where the seller is registered for IOSS, through one digital return for the whole Union. The IOSS number appears on the customs declaration. Import VAT is then set to nil. For the declarant that is a different path from the classic charge at import: no advance, no recharge to the consignee, no special arrangement of the carrier. The parcel can be delivered without the consumer having to settle anything at the door. The scheme applies only to B2C consignments with an intrinsic value of up to one hundred and fifty euro. Above that threshold, and in B2B, ordinary import VAT still applies, even if the same seller holds an IOSS number.

Who may hold an IOSS number, and what does it look like?

A seller established in the EU applies for registration in their own Member State. A seller outside the Union appoints an intermediary in a Member State, who takes on the registration and the monthly return. Digital platforms that facilitate the sale are in many cases deemed suppliers: they, and not the underlying webshop, are then the IOSS liable party. The number starts with IM, followed by a country code and a string of digits. That is a different format from an ordinary VAT identification number. Anyone who puts an NL VAT number or an EORI in the IOSS field gets a rejection. Check the number at intake, not only after DECO or DMS has refused it. The registration is Union-wide. One number covers consignments to all Member States. The seller may not mix: if they choose IOSS, they should run all B2C consignments under one hundred and fifty euro through that registration, not part via IOSS and part via a charge at import.

What do you put on the declaration when the seller uses IOSS?

In the H7 declaration through DECO, and in an ordinary import declaration if that is needed for another reason, the IOSS number belongs in the field provided for it. The intrinsic value remains mandatory, plus a goods description that says more than gift or sample, plus the six-digit code. The number is not decoration. It is the evidence that the VAT has already been remitted. If it is missing, or invalid, Customs treats the consignment as an import without IOSS. VAT is then charged at import, usually advanced by the carrier and recharged to the consignee with clearance costs. For the consumer that is exactly the difference between a parcel that simply arrives and a parcel that first has to be paid for. So record at intake whether a client or a seller uses IOSS, and test the number before the batch goes out. An invalid number across ten thousand consignments is not a correction afterwards. It is a day's work.

What happens if the IOSS number is invalid or has expired?

Customs tests the number against the IOSS register. A number that has been withdrawn, a number of another seller or a one-digit typo is enough for a refusal or for a charge at import. The consignment itself may often still move, but the VAT treatment flips. For the declarant the damage is double. First you have to correct the declaration or file a new one. Second the consignee, or the carrier, calls because VAT and costs are suddenly being collected on a parcel whose webshop had promised that everything was already paid. That discussion does not belong with Customs, but it does land on your file. A number that was valid yesterday may have been withdrawn today. Build the test in at the moment of filing, not only when the master data is set up. And pass a rejected number back to the seller or the platform, with the reason. Without that feedback the same error comes back the next day.

How does IOSS relate to the carrier's special arrangement?

Without IOSS there are two ways to collect import VAT. The carrier or the declarant advances the VAT to Customs and recharges it to the consignee, or they use the special arrangement under which they collect the VAT on delivery and remit it periodically. Both paths cost actions per consignment: collecting, booking, chasing. IOSS takes those actions out of the chain. The VAT has already been paid at checkout. For a forwarder or carrier with high parcel volumes that is the difference between a flow that can be automated and a flow that asks for a cash action per address. For you as declarant the task remains to choose the path per consignment. IOSS number present and valid: nil the import VAT. Number absent: charge at import or special arrangement, plus the clearance costs that go with it. That choice belongs in the rules per client, not in the head of the declarant who files the batch.

What changes for IOSS if the one hundred and fifty euro threshold disappears?

IOSS hangs on the same threshold as the H7 set: the relief from import duty up to one hundred and fifty euro intrinsic value. The EU is working towards abolishing that relief. If it goes, import duty is due on every imported consignment and a six-digit code is no longer enough to fix the rate. IOSS itself is a VAT scheme, not a customs scheme. The VAT can in theory also run above the current threshold through a one-stop shop, but the customs side of the same consignment then asks for a full data set, a ten-digit goods code and a substantiated customs value. That is a different message, a different system and a different check from what DECO does today. No date has been fixed that you can build a plan on. What you can do now is treat the IOSS number as mandatory master data, put the validity check in the intake, and include the fields for a full goods code in your message traffic. That work is useful today, even if the relief stays.