Just got a note from FedEx outlining the new VAT requirements for shipments to Europe coming into effect July 1. Anyone selling items of any value to Europe will need to either register in each country they sell to or use the new IOSS (Import One Stop-Shop) system.
https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-det ... anguage-en
Just found this info that relates DIRECTLY to OC sellers:From 1 July 2021, the value added tax (VAT) exemption for the importation of goods into the EU with a value not exceeding EUR 22 will be removed. As a result, all goods imported into the EU will be subject to VAT. If the sale of goods to buyers in the EU is facilitated through an electronic interface, the electronic interface is considered to have made the sale and is in principle liable for the payment of VAT. The Import One-Stop Shop (IOSS) was created to facilitate and simplify the declaration and payment of VAT for distance sales of imported goods with a value not exceeding EUR 150.
From https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/s ... 020_en.pdf
Over EUR 150 the country of import directly charges the customer.3. I am a business established outside the EU and I sell low value goods to customers in the EU exclusively via my own online shop. What do I need to do?
From 1 July 2021, all commercial goods imported into the EU will be subject to VAT. You can use the simplification to collect the VAT on sales relating to low value goods and register in the IOSS in one of the EU Member States (online registration using an EU established intermediary36 – see sections 4.2.4 and 4.2.5 and the VAT OSS portal)
If you decide to register in the IOSS, you will only have to register in one of the EU Member States and you will be able to sell in all 27 EU Member States. You will need to appoint an intermediary who will register you in the IOSS in the Member State where he is established. The IOSS VAT identification number issued by the Member State where you registered for IOSS (Member State of Identification) is to be used to declare all of your IOSS sales of low value goods to customers in all the EU Member States.
Europe is our third largest customer (After the US and Canada) and this VAT will have a large impact on my online sales.
I'm starting to see US online web sites refusing to sell to the UK because of their murky VAT requirements, now will Europe be hands off for all but the larger companies who can afford to have people work on this requirement? Whatever happened to the country's Customs people intercepting packages and charging the end user the VAT? Or is this a result of some companies who cheat and do not report the actual retail value on the import docs meaning the Customs folks have little evidence to charge duty/tax on?
Last edit (I hope). The passage in the above quote is on has the following info in the last paragraph:
Thus it would appear that if one does nothing then the transport company (Post, DHL, FedEx, etc.) will continue to collect the VAT on behalf of the customer and the point is the added VAT and handling fee may lead to more package refusals.If you do not register in the IOSS, the competent authorities will collect VAT upon importation of the low value goods. The customer in the EU will only receive the goods after the VAT has been paid. It could be that the representative submitting the customs declaration on behalf of the customer (e.g. postal operators or express carriers) will also charge an additional clearance fee37 to the customer. As the customers in the EU are used to a price that includes VAT, the payment of additional fees at the time of importation might lead to the customer refusing the package/parcel.
Perhaps not such a big problem as I first thought, but it depends on your sales volume and rate of package refusal if you want to join this IOSS operation or not.