EU Vat Import One Stop Shop (IOSS)

IMPORTANT

This is a complex issue, and each business must review and understand EU VAT and IOSS as it applies to their own circumstances.
We will be reviewing all the feedback from customers and updating this page as and when new information is available.

Overview

The Import One-Stop Shop (IOSS) is the electronic method of submitting your VAT e-commerce obligations on distance sales of ALL goods imported into the EU. It will be live from 1 July 2021, see  European Commission - IOSS  for more details.

Background

As the VAT rules currently stand, no import VAT has to be paid for commercial goods of a value up to €22. This rules are changing from 1st July 2021, such that all commercial goods imported into the EU from a non-EU country or territory, will be subject to VAT. 

What is the IOSS for?

The IOSS allows suppliers, who are importing 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 when the goods are imported into the EU. Registering for the IOSS scheme is optional, but the VAT changes which are coming into effect are not. 

July 1st 2021

As of 1st July 2021 all B2C goods under the value of €150 will be subject to VAT at the point of sale. Shipments over €150 and B2B goods are not affected and will continue to be handled via the existing Courier/Import/Customs process which happens outside of Khaos Control. The amount of EU VAT calculated will be dependant upon the final destination country. For example, shipping goods to France will mean the seller needs to apply French VAT rates, and shipping goods to Germany will mean the seller is required to apply German VAT rates.

Marketplaces

Another major change is the impact on Electronic Interfaces / External Marketplaces, e.g Amazon and eBay (and more). They are now responsible for collecting VAT on orders under 150 Euros up front, and in order to facilitate this they will provide affected sellers with a suitable IOSS number to use on all orders under 150 Euros.
Information from Amazon can be found here:  https://sellercentral-europe.amazon.com/gc/vat-education/eu-dr
For ALL marketplaces, stores or other platforms you must consult with their own advice and guidance on how this affects orders your process through their platform.

Do I need this update?

The EU IOSS Khaos Control Cloud update is required for anyone who:
Has registered for IOSS to ship goods to the EU
Processes orders for Shipping to the EU on behalf of a Marketplace like Amazon or eBay where for orders under 150 Euro IOSS numbers are now mandatory.
If you only process domestic UK goods and DO NOT process orders from any external marketplaces which could be shipped to the EU then you do not need this update yet.
If you process digital UK Tax Returns (MTD) then having this update will be required ahead of your next submission in July as the Fraud header requirements have changed and the required changes are also included in this update.

EU VAT Guide for 1st July 2021 Changes

This information is provided as a GUIDE only, you must seek your own advice and confirm that this aligns with your Khaos Control configuration.
Scenario - Country
Registered for IOSS?
Registered for VAT in destination EU country?
Recommended Web Unit Price <€150
Recommended Web Unit Price >€150
B2C Invoice <€150
B2C Invoice>€150
B2B Invoice
Courier Terms (To be confirmed by you with courier on a case by case basis)
Reporting (Information TBC)
S1 - UK
N/A
YES
Gross or Net+
Gross or Net+
20% VAT Charged
20% VAT Charged
20% VAT Charged
N/A
UK VAT Return
S2 - EU Country
NO
NO
Net
Net+++
No VAT Charged
No VAT Charged
No VAT Charged
Expected DAP/DUP or equivalent++++
UK VAT Return
S3 - EU Country
YES
NO
Gross or Net+
Net+++
EU VAT Charged++
No VAT Charged
No VAT Charged
Expected DDP or equivalent for items under €150, DAP/DUP for items over €150
IOSS return for items below €150
S4 - EU Country
YES
YES
Gross
Gross
EU VAT Charged++
EU VAT Charged++
EU VAT Charged++
Expected DDP or equivalent for all orders
Check with your Tax Representative, items below 150 Euro may still be reported directly to the country directly if registered in that country, but you must check. The general expectation is all items below 150 will be IOSS and anything above will be reported directly to the recipient country if you are registered in that country.
S5 - EU Country
NO
YES
Gross
Gross
EU VAT Charged++
EU VAT Charged++
EU VAT Charged++
Expected DDP or equivalent for all orders
EU Country VAT Return
S6 - EU Country (Marketplace)
Marketplace IOSS Used
NO
N/A
N/A
EU VAT Charged by the Marketplace (1)
No VAT Charged
No VAT Charged
Expected DDP or equivalent for items under €150, DAP/DUP for items over €150
EU Country VAT Return if applicable, NET sale only
S7 - EU Country (Marketplace)
Marketplace IOSS used
YES
N/A
N/A
EU VAT Charged by the Marketplace (1)
EU VAT Charged++
EU VAT Charged++
Expected DDP or equivalent for all orders
Items over 150 Euro EU Country VAT Return. Otherwise NET Sale Only as items below 150 Euro will be reported by Marketplace

(1) Country VAT must be configured for any EU Destination countries even if you are not registered for VAT in those countries, if you anticipate delivering to those countries.

+ System will add VAT on to the received NET price, which should then match the total value paid.

++ Dependent upon country VAT rates being configured

+++ Khaos Control will strip the appropriate vat from this price if Country VAT rates are configured

++++ Some couriers will not be offering DAP services for orders under 150 Euro, so you must consult with your courier service provider directly.

What Khaos Control Cloud changes have been made?

All Khaos Control customers will need to do their own research into IOSS to ensure that they understand how these changes affect their business. The changes which have been made, will be based on generic requirements, therefore if you have any specific IOSS changes, please  let us know  as soon as possible.

The following changes will be made in the EU IOSS update for Khaos Control Cloud:

  • In System Setup - System Values - General - Company Details, there will is an IOSS opt in option and a field to record your IOSS number.
  • In System Setup - System Data - Branding there is an IOSS number column to record brand specific IOSS numbers. The system IOSS opt-in option must be enabled for the Brand IOSS number field to be visible.
  • A new read-only field will be added to the Sales Order Additional tab to show the IOSS number that has been applied to the order, based on brand and system values settings.
  • In the Channels Configuration screens we have added a place to add IOSS numbers for your channels, and also a checkbox to mark the channel as an External Marketplace, this is intended for channels where they have accounted for the VAT they will pay, this allows for alternative Tax handling within Khaos Control for these orders. The system IOSS opt-in option must be enabled for the Channel IOSS number fields to be visible.
    • Please Note: Please do your own research on how external marketplace orders need to be processed. Its our understanding that only orders shipped by you will be affected, so for example Amazon FBA orders will not be subject to IOSS based on the information we have, however please confirm the particulars of your business with each Marketplace you deal with.
  • Orders which are raised from a Channel marked as an External Marketplace, will post any VAT accrued on them, to a new system Nominal "External Sales Tax", and the Tax element will not be posted to the Khaos Control Tax Register.
    • Please Note: We are anticipating orders from both Amazon and eBay to present with the GROSS totals including for payments, and the VAT will be calculated within this figure, as such we introduced this External Marketplace flag so we could process any VAT coming into the system via this process to be handled separately.  It may be required for manual journals to be raised once the situation is clearer, but any order processed from an external channel will not post its vat to the UK Tax register, only the net Sale.
  • System Values | Accounts | Brexit will be renamed System | Values | Accounts | Europe with new options added to control tax and threshold information. The Brexit test mode will be repurposed as an EU test mode.
  • In System Data | Countries 'Force Country VAT' will be renamed 'Enable Country VAT' so you can configure rates, but turn them off if you want to.
  • Default tax rates will be supported on a per country basis instead of the system country only. You can add German tax rates, for example, and specify one as the Default. You then do not have to link the rate to all your items, as the system will use the newly designated default.
  • We will be reviewing our Courier integrations and documenting which ones are known to support IOSS shipments to the EU.
  • Where possible we will modify our Courier integrations to pass along required information.

What do you need to do?

Decide how you will handle your orders

In the first instance, you must decide how your business will be handling orders to the EU, and if you need to register for IOSS as a company.
Once you do and once our IOSS update has been released, there will be a place in System Values where this information can be recorded.

Talk to your web provider

You will need to talk to your web provider about how they will be handling EU orders on your website.

We cannot enforce, or provide tax information for web integrations, so this will be something you need to consider ahead of July 1st.
We cannot provide TAX advice, and the rules that will apply to your business and order channel must be reviewed and considered independently, depending on your circumstances.

For orders coming in from a website 

Please Note: 
These scenarios are correct to the best of our knowledge however you must do your own research
  • If you are registered for IOSS:
    • For orders under 150 Euro, orders can be provided with the Gross prices, allowing Khaos Control Cloud (once configured) to calculate the correct tax within those prices.
    • For orders over 150 Euro, this will depend upon your business situation and tax registration status, on a per EU country basis.
    • If you are registered for VAT in a country, it is to our understanding that VAT will need to be calculated upfront for those orders. Using Gross prices will make this easier.
    • If you are not registered for VAT in a country, it is to our understanding that VAT does not need to be calculated up front and will be collected at the border/ customs. This means the use of NET prices.
  • If your website / web integration imports orders from an alternative marketplace,  which in turn has its own IOSS number, then the new tag in our XML/JSON order format will need to be populated for these orders where applicable.
    • Khaos Control Cloud – 3rd Party integrations: See our  GitHub page  for details of how to supply an IOSS number as part of your order.
    • For direct integrations such as Amazon and eBay we have update our APIs to accommodate this.

Ensure your Marketplaces are configured

As part of the legislation changes, the EU have mandated that all Electronic Interfaces or Marketplaces which facilitate EU Sales through their platform are now responsible for collecting EU VAT at point of sale.

This means that even if your business chooses to not register for IOSS that, if you ship goods as a result of orders from Amazon or eBay (or other Marketplace) then you must still process those orders as IOSS orders,
using details provided to you by the Marketplace. 
Ensure you have reviewed your marketplace usage and configuration. Also ensure you have captured suitable IOSS numbers for Amazon, eBay (and any other relevant marketplace) to then configure these in the Khaos Control Cloud Channel setup.
  1. The IOSS numbers need to be in place ahead of receiving orders from the marketplace, so they can be stamped on the orders at the point of creation within Khaos Control Cloud. 
  2. Once you have received an IOSS update, there will be a place to specify within the Channels configuration screens, an IOSS number per channel.
  3. If your Marketplace is handling the VAT for orders under 150 Euros, you will also need to enable the "External Marketplace" checkbox, this allows for alternative tax posting behaviour in the Khaos Control accounts.
  4. Information from Amazon can be found here:  https://sellercentral-europe.amazon.com/gc/vat-education/eu-dr
  5. Information from eBay can be found here:  https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/selling/selling/vat-obligations-uk-eu?id=4650
  6. For ALL marketplaces, stores or other platforms you must consult with their own advice and guidance on how this affects orders your process through their platform.

Review your EU Country VAT

Enable Country VAT in System Values so that European VAT rates for use by Khaos Control Cloud can be configured.
  1. Review your Country VAT configuration on a per country basis for all EU countries, making sure to tick the "Enable Country Tax" option for each applicable country.
  2. Configure the EU VAT rates for countries you expect to handle orders for. This is required even if you only handle orders from Amazon.
    1.   [only available in the EU IOSS update]  This will no longer require the configuring of these VAT rates against Stock Types or Stock Items, but if you have special rates for some items these will still be used.
  3. If you’re registered for VAT in a specific EU Country in addition to any IOSS registration, ensure that your EU country VAT number is recorded against the country in the VAT number column.
  4. Review with your accountant and countries where you are registered for VAT and if you need to be charging VAT (even if over the 150 Euro threshold for B2C and B2B orders).
  5. If for any reason you are registered for VAT in a country but DO NOT plan to charge VAT on orders over 150 Euro, you will need to review the Advanced Options in System Values, which will be available in the IOSS version of Khaos Control Cloud [only available in the EU IOSS update, please contact support if you need to change these options]

Review your EU Courier Services

Review your EU Courier Services and ensure if you require an IOSS supported courier, that you have one, and you know which services need to be used for which countries.
Please Note:
If you do not see your Courier listed, please assume that it is not supported and alternative arrangements may need to be made.

Many couriers are still working on changes to their own APIs, as such Khaos Control have been unable to modify our systems to add support as the functionality is simply not yet available from the couriers.

We recommend contacting your account representative at your courier to seek out any IOSS advice they have and technical information they can provide, and we will make best endeavours to expand our courier support.
From the outset, we insist that customers liaise with their courier service provider for any shipments which are processed after the July transition across all of their channels. This will ensure information, references and charges are applying to your orders as you would expect. If not, you run the risk of you or your customers incurring unexpected charges beyond our control.
  • You will likely need to review your courier setups and delivery rates or review your courier on a per order basis, until you have established suitable guidelines / rules for your operators.
  • Each courier is handling IOSS differently.
  • The Couriers we will have initial support for are as follows:
29/06/21 - DPD have announced support for receiving order values in Euros, however Khaos Control Cloud support for this will not be available until w/c 5th July due to the late changes within DPD.
    • GFS neo
    • Intersoft / Intelligent Shipper
    • MyDHL (not Easyship)
    • Hermes v3/v4
    • FedEx v.17
    • Ship Theory (23/06/2021 - they now support processing per order IOSS numbers)
      • We recommend all Shiptheory customers to contact Shiptheory directly to ask their advice.
    • Royal Mail Click and Drop:

      • Additional configuration is required to make appropriate use of the "Trading Names" facility within Click and Drop, a separate courier entry per trading name will be required.
      • If processing orders for Amazon / Ebay and your own website, a seperate Trading Name / Courier combination is required so that the IOSS number associated with your Trading name within the Click and Drop account setup will be used appropriately. You will not be able to use the same courier for your own items as you would Amazon or ebay.


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