This article reflects the tax rules and official information available at the date of publication. For current advice, please check the latest legislation or contact our team.
From 1 July 2021, new VAT rules applied to cross-border e-commerce in the European Union. The changes affected online stores, marketplaces, platforms and postal operators involved in sales to EU consumers.
Main changes
- The previous import VAT exemption for small consignments up to EUR 22 was removed.
- A single EU-wide threshold of EUR 10,000 replaced the old country-by-country distance-sales thresholds.
- The One Stop Shop (OSS) was expanded for certain B2C services and intra-community distance sales of goods.
- The Import One Stop Shop (IOSS) was introduced for certain distance sales of imported goods.
- Electronic interfaces such as marketplaces could become involved in VAT collection for facilitated supplies.
Why it matters
E-commerce businesses selling to consumers in other EU Member States need to determine where VAT is due, whether OSS or IOSS registration is useful, and how platform-facilitated sales are treated.
The rules can significantly affect pricing, invoicing, platform reporting and customs handling for imported goods.