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Now You're Registered for OSS

Newly registered or just switched over? Here's what you need to do and know next.

Using your OSS Number

Now that you have your OSS number, make sure to securely provide it to your customs declarant (typically your postal officer). Your OSS number informs customs that you've already charged your customer VAT, so they won't hold your shipment at the border.

You can't use OSS to reclaim VAT. Instead, you'll need to use an EU refund mechanism or claim it back through your VAT return in the country where you paid the VAT.

OSS registrations don't require you to issue your customers VAT invoices, but if you're asked for one (or you want to) just make sure to follow the invoice rules for the country where they're based.

What You Can Report on OSS

You can only use your OSS number to report sales that are:

  • Intra-community Distance sales (sold online to a customer in another EU State)
  • Goods stored inside the EU when they're sold
  • Services supplied B2C to another EU State (EU-based sellers only)

Any sale you make that's eligible for OSS has to be reported on your OSS return.

If you haven't made any eligible sales in a reporting period, you'll still have to file a NIL return, which confirms that's the case.

Marketplace Sales (Amazon, eBay, Zalando, etc.)

If you're based outside the EU, the VAT on your marketplace sales will be accounted for by the marketplaces. Sellers based in the EU will need to use OSS to account for their marketplace sales when the goods are in a different EU country than their customer.

OSS Filing Frequency and Deadline

OSS returns are filed quarterly, on the last day of the month following the reporting period. For example, Quarter 1's OSS return is filed on the last day of April.

Failing to meet the filing or payment deadline can result in penalties from both the country where you're registered for OSS and the countries where your customers are based. If you receive three reminders for three missed deadlines in a row and still fail to submit those returns, you'll be de-registered and excluded from the scheme.

What's Included on an OSS Return

On an OSS return, the sales you report are split by:

  • Type (goods or services)
  • The EU country where your customer is based
  • The EU country from which the order was shipped

An OSS return will show the amount of VAT you owe to each EU country, based on the sales you've reported. You'll pay the total amount in a single payment to the tax authority in the country where you're registered for OSS.

Once an OSS return has been submitted, a unique reference number for that return will be issued, which you'll use for the VAT payment. Typically, this number is made up of:

  • The code for the country where you're registered
  • Your OSS number
  • The relevant return period

If you need to raise a credit note after an OSS return has been filed, you can correct the OSS return for the month in which the sale was declared.

What's required for an OSS return?

  • Your OSS number
  • The date the eligible sale was made
  • The currency
  • The VAT numbers of your businesses from which the goods are shipped (if applicable)

OSS returns should be filed in the currency of the country where you're registered. If you need to convert currencies, you need to use the exchange rate published by the European Central Bank on the last date of the reporting period.

For each EU country where you have customers, you'll also need:

  • The taxable amount split by VAT rate (Standard/Reduced)
  • The total VAT payable for the sales declared on OSS

OSS VAT Payments

You should pay the VAT due for a period when the return is submitted, at the latest by the last day of the month following the reporting period. There aren't any payment plans or deferred payment options available for OSS.

You'll get reminders from us and the tax authority if you miss the deadline.

Record Keeping

You'll need to hold onto the information used to compile your OSS return for 10 years from the end of the year in which the sales were made, even if you deregister for OSS in the meantime. For example, you'll need to keep the sales data for March 2025 until the 1st of January 2036.

If you're audited by a tax authority, you'll need to be able to present all this information, so keep it secured and organised.

Deregistering from OSS

If you decide you no longer need your OSS registration, tell us as soon as you're sure. We'll need to tell the Tax Authorities at least 15 days before the start of the next quarter, or you'll have to file a return for that quarter as well.