Watch Innovation Delivered
Missed the live event? Catch 40+ speakers across 20+ sessions sharing practical insights, product previews, and strategies you can use now.
Effortless returns and exchanges
Turn returns into revenue with effortless exchanges, a branded customer portal, and centralized tools that cut manual work and unify returns across every channel.
New features that fuel growth
Power growth at every stage of fulfillment. Our enhanced tools for inventory, returns, and analytics help you scale smarter—from order to outcome.
Who We Help
use cases
Products
Core Features
Featured Integrations
Integrations
Resources
Help Center
Effective July 1st, 2021, value-added taxes (VAT) will apply to orders valued at under €22. Because this additional fee can become a make-or-break deciding factor for customers placing orders with international merchants, the Import One-Stop Shop (IOSS) is now available.
Effective July 1st, 2021, value-added taxes (VAT) will apply to orders valued at under €22. Because this additional fee can become a make-or-break deciding factor for customers placing orders with international merchants, the Import One-Stop Shop (IOSS) is now available. The IOSS allows merchants to pay the value-added taxes on orders valued at up to €150, not just those valued at under €22.
A value-added tax (VAT) is a tax applied to a product whenever value is added at any stage in the supply chain—from production to the point of sale. So, a VAT can be applied if raw material imports to be turned into another product that is then sold internationally. One way to look at it is an import country charges the exporter or customer for any manufacturing or commerce that could have hypothetically been done domestically. The cost of the VAT that is paid is based on the cost of the product, minus any of the costs of materials used in the product that has already been taxed.
The IOSS (Import One-Stop Shop) allows suppliers and merchants selling imported goods to customers in the EU to collect, declare, and pay the VAT to the tax authorities, instead of making the buyer pay the VAT at the moment the goods are imported into the EU as it was previously the case (for products over 22 EUR). You can use the IOSS to cover VAT fees for consignments of up to €150.
If you do not use the IOSS, your customers WILL pay the VAT upon delivery.
The IOSS simplifies the collection, declaration, and payment of VAT (value-added taxes) for orders originating outside of the EU imported to buyers residing within the EU. The IOSS also makes the shipping process easier for the buyer. Now, they are only charged at the time of purchase, and therefore does not have to face any surprise fees when the goods are delivered.
If the seller is not registered in the IOSS portal, the buyer WILL pay the VAT and, usually, a customs clearance fee charged by the transporter.
The IOSS covers the sale of goods from a distance that are:
Sellers registered in the IOSS must apply VAT when selling goods destined for a buyer in an EU-member country. The VAT rate is the one applied in the EU-member country where the goods are to be delivered. For more information on the VAT rates in the EU is available on both the European Commission website and on the websites of national tax administrations.
You do not have to register for the IOSS in order to ship to EU-member countries. However, if you do register with the IOSS for one country, you must do so with all countries you do business with in the EU. It is not allowed to mix VAT systems with multiple EU-member countries.
You can register your business on the IOSS portal of any EU-member country. If your business is not based in the EU, you will likely need to appoint an EU-established intermediary to fulfil your VAT obligations under IOSS. A coompany such as Avalara offers this service for all EU-member countries. Your IOSS registration is valid for all distance sales of imported goods made to buyers in the EU.
The IOSS number MUST be provided on custom declarations to be authorized. ShipStation allows you to apply different tax IDs for your international shipments. It is simple to apply your IOSS number to pay VAT charges for your international orders within ShipStation. This will automatically apply to all applicable international orders.
ShipStation’s partnership with leading carriers allows you to save a lot of money on international shipping. Even as taxes and surcharges increase, you can keep your shipping costs as low as possible.
Sign up for ShipStation now to start saving on both your international and domestic shipping.
James Messer is a copywriter specializing in shipping, logistics, and ecommerce.