OSS or VAT registration in each country: which one applies to you
OSS and VAT registration in another country don't compete: they cover different sales. Here is when each one applies and what happens if you have both.
In short
OSS is for selling to consumers in other EU countries: you declare the VAT of all of them in a single quarterly return, whether the goods leave from Spain or from a warehouse in another country. VAT registration in another country is needed when you hold stock there: for sales to customers in that country and for the arrival of your goods.
It is not a choice between one and the other: many stores have both. OSS for sales to consumers in other countries, and the local number for what is sold within the warehouse country.
OSS or local VAT registration, point by point
| OSS | VAT registration in the country | |
|---|---|---|
| Which sales | Distance sales to consumers in other EU countries, from Spain or from stock in another country | Sales to customers in the country where your stock is, and the arrival of your goods in that country |
| Where it is declared | From Spain, on Form 369 | In each country, in its language and on its forms |
| How often | Every quarter, by the last day of the following month | Every month or every quarter, depending on the country, and in several an annual one as well |
| VAT on your expenses there | Not deducted in OSS: claimed through a refund | Deducted in the return itself |
| Sales to businesses | They don't go in OSS | Those in the warehouse country, in the local return; those to other EU countries, exempt and in the EC sales list |
| Fiscal representative | Not needed | Some countries require one for non-EU businesses |
| Is it compulsory? | No: it is the easy way to apply each customer's VAT without registering in each country. If you are registered for it, all your distance sales go through OSS | Yes, as soon as you hold stock in that country |
Three examples
- An Alicante store selling clothes to consumers in France and Germany from its Alicante warehouse, with €25,000 a year: OSS, with French and German VAT in one quarterly return, and the packaging registrations in France and Germany (LUCID).
- The same store starts using Amazon FBA in Germany: a German VAT number for sales to German customers from that warehouse and for the transfers; what ships from Germany to other countries, and what ships from Spain, goes through OSS, now with no threshold.
- A small store selling €4,000 a year to consumers in other EU countries, all from Spain: Spanish VAT. It can sign up for OSS if it prefers to charge each country's VAT, but it is not required to.
Frequently asked questions
Can I declare sales from my stock in Germany through OSS?
Not sales to German customers: from German stock to a German customer is a domestic sale and is declared in Germany with the German VAT number. Sales from that stock to consumers in other EU countries do go through OSS.
Does OSS save me from needing a VAT number in other countries?
Only if you have no stock in them. As soon as you store goods in another country, you need its VAT number, even if you are registered for OSS.
How do I recover the VAT on my expenses in another country if I am only registered for OSS?
Through the refund of VAT paid in other member states, which in Spain is requested through the Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT) electronic office. If you have a VAT number in that country, it is deducted in the return itself.
Tell us about your store
Book a 15-minute call or write to us. We'll tell you what you need: VAT registration in whichever country, OSS and IOSS, EPR, US sales tax or your store's accounting. No obligation.