E-commerce: the subscription campaign to the VAT one-stop shop (OSS-IOSS) is opened.

Since April 22nd, the one stop shop – OSS, in its new version, has been  opened for subscription.

The one-stop shop system enables to report VAT due within the European Union (EU) on specific « B to C » transactions from one EU Member-state only, without obtaining local registrations. However, no VAT can be deducted through this system.

This administrative simplification, currently existing for a specific category of services (telecommunications, TV-radio, electronic) has been enlarged in the context of the VAT reform relating to the e-commerce which will be enforced from July 1st onward. Indeed, distance sales and any kinds of services subject to VAT at the place of establishment, domicile or residence of the non-taxable customer will be included.

Three types of one-stop shops are accessible from France:

The « EU » regime:

Is eligible to this regime:

  • a taxable person whose legal seat is located in France or having a fixed establishment there, for the services subject to VAT in another EU Member-state where this taxable person is not established
  • a taxable person whose legal seat is located in France, or outside the EU, which has a fixed establishment in France, or outside the EU, but which performs EU distance sales of goods with France as place of departure, for all the EU distance sales of goods (including those shipped from another EU Member-state than France), subject to VAT in another EU Member-state where this taxable person is not established. An electronic interface or an on-line market-place, placed in this situation, and facilitating EU distance-sales of goods performed by a third party supplier not established in the EU, will also be eligible to the system
  • an electronic interface or an online market-place, whose legal seat is located in France, or outside the EU but which has a fixed establishment in France, or which does neither have a legal seat, nor a fixed establishment in the EU, but is reputed performing domestic deliveries of goods in France, for all the domestic deliveries of goods performed within the EU (other than the one where the taxable person is established) by a third party supplier not established in the EU and that this interface or market-place facilitates

The « non-EU » regime:

Is eligible to this regime:

  • a taxable person not established within the EU, for the supplies of services taxable within the EU

The « importation » regime (IOSS):

Is eligible to this regime:

  • a taxable person whose legal seat is located in France or which has a fixed establishment there, as well as a taxable person not established within the EU territory, including an electronic interface or on-line market-place which facilitates the transaction, for all the distance sales of imported goods that do not exceed the threshold of 150€ performed within the EU. Where the taxable person is established in a third party country which has not concluded a mutual administrative assistance agreement having the same extent as the Council Directive 2010/24/EU dated 16 March 2010 and EU Regulation 904/2010 dated 7 October 2010, it must appoint an “intermediary” established within the EU.   

The option for the OSS will cover all the eligible transactions.

Taxable persons who have already subscribed to the current MOSS will be upgraded automatically into the OSS system. Subscriptions must be performed during the civil quarter preceding July 1st, 2021, to be effective from this date onward. The first return will be the one of the third quarter 2021. However, it is possible to validate the subscription during the same quarter as the very first transaction to be reported through the OSS, if the formalities are fulfilled before this transaction is carried out. Finally, it is possible to validate the subscription, after the very first transaction, without exceeding the 10th day of the month following this latter’s performance.

Finally, we recall that this regimes are accompanied with the holding of specific ledgers, for audit purposes.

Information and forms are made available on the web-site impôts.gouv.fr : https://www.impots.gouv.fr/portail/node/14108.

To be noted: no binding comment has been published yet on the French tax administration doctrine platform (BOFIP).

Vanessa Irigoyen

With more than 16 years of experience, Vanessa has extensive expertise in the implementation of international efficiency business models for customs, export control and indirect tax purposes. Her functions notably […]

Nicolas Kazandjian

Barrister registered with the Hauts-de-Seine Bar, he started my career in the indirect tax service line of Deloitte Société d’Avocats in 1999. My current position is Director. My area of […]

Maxence Fabre

Maxence is a Supervisor in the French Indirect Tax team. He joined the firm in 2017.