EU IOSS Signup

[Melody Lewis]

Have you tried using Taxamo? The problem for me is you need to integrate their software into your shopping basket, and there isn't currently an integration plugin for Woocommerce, which is what I use. Thanks.

Im woocommerce too so would be no good then

 

[schmexit]

Have you tried using Taxamo? The problem for me is you need to integrate their software into your shopping basket, and there isn't currently an integration plugin for Woocommerce, which is what I use. Thanks.

No, I have not tried it yet. They've been helpful via email, so contact them and ask re: Woocommerce.

 

[TKJ-London]

No, I have not tried it yet. They've been helpful via email, so contact them and ask re: Woocommerce.

Thanks, I did speak with them a while back and they were helpful but are waiting on Woocommerce to do the plugin development for integration.

 

[NWH]

My sales to Germany are now going through via eBay without a problem (IOSS paid via eBay and through my own Click & Collect account). All international sales outside of the EU are going direct from my own web site without difficulty. That includes Switzerlasnd, Australia, New Zealand, Napal, USA and Canada.

 

[schmexit]

My sales to Germany are now going through via eBay without a problem (IOSS paid via eBay and through my own Click & Collect account). All international sales outside of the EU are going direct from my own web site without difficulty. That includes Switzerlasnd, Australia, New Zealand, Napal, USA and Canada.

That's good to know! Anything to think about when setting this up on eBay?

 

[NWH]

That's good to know! Anything to think about when setting this up on eBay?

There are no special rules apart from, I name the EU countries in the postal set up. Europe, European Union, Ireland, Germany, France, Greece, Italy, Spain, Asia, Japan, Australia, Russian Federation.

My product has a unit cost of £23.99.

I subsidise the postal charge to EU ( I charge £6.95 for Royal Mail Tracked International.) and offer a discount on two or more. Buy 2 get 5% off, Buy 3 get 10% off, Buy 4 get 15% off. As I charge £6.95 regardless of where the order is sent, I take a bigger hit for countries further away. I do this as I am building sales to AUS and NZ.

So, a typical Invoice to Germany for two items would be, 2 X widgets, say £47.90, includes eBay added VAT rate at 7%. Subtotal: £47.98 Plus Postage (subsidised by my company, circa £2.00) £6.95 plus VAT (eBay collected) £3.69. Less Discount -£2.40. Total Charge to Customer £56.22

 

[schmexit]

There are no special rules apart from, I name the EU countries in the postal set up. Europe, European Union, Ireland, Germany, France, Greece, Italy, Spain, Asia, Japan, Australia, Russian Federation.

My product has a unit cost of £23.99.

I subsidise the postal charge to EU ( I charge £6.95 for Royal Mail Tracked International.) and offer a discount on two or more. Buy 2 get 5% off, Buy 3 get 10% off, Buy 4 get 15% off. As I charge £6.95 regardless of where the order is sent, I take a bigger hit for countries further away. I do this as I am building sales to AUS and NZ.

So, a typical Invoice to Germany for two items would be, 2 X widgets, say £47.90, includes eBay added VAT rate at 7%. Subtotal: £47.98 Plus Postage (subsidised by my company, circa £2.00) £6.95 plus VAT (eBay collected) £3.69. Less Discount -£2.40. Total Charge to Customer £56.22

That seems like a good solution. Thank you so much for letting us know!

 

[NWH]

That seems like a good solution. Thank you so much for letting us know!

…the negative is of course the fact that you may not pick up VAT partner costs in the EU to administer IOSS but sales from EU customers are going via eBay and I am feathering their nest and not my own web site. As the product I sell is always the same I am thinking of investigating using ‘agents’ or ‘associates’ in the EU countries where my sales are strongest. Germany and Italy in my case. By ‘agent’ I mean, switched on individuals who want to make an extra Euro or two from home to end user selling. I need to understand how the mechanics of this would work bearing in mind the EU VAT shadow.

 

[Jessica20243]

Has anyone had issues with customs charging the customers additional VAT when the VAT had already been paid?
We've been using IOSS successfully for weeks but now we are getting lots of problems with EU customs..

We've double checked everything but can't figure it out, you clearly see the VAT paid on invoices so... And it's not custom duties either since the order doesn't exceed 150euros.

Has anyone else been having problems?

 

[schmexit]

A further, noncommital response from the Treasury via my MP:

________

The Government fully recognises the impact on businesses of the issue of
fiscal representatives in relation to the EU Import One Stop Shop (IOSS)
scheme. It is actively seeking the EU’s agreement that the condition should
not apply to the UK. This is based on the terms of the ‘Protocol on
Administrative Cooperation and Combatting Fraud in the Field of Value Added
Tax and on Mutual Assistance for the Recovery of Claims relating to Taxes in
Duties’, which is included within the Trade and Cooperation Agreement. The
UK continues to push the EU Commission to reach such an agreement with the
UK to resolve this issue as quickly as possible.

 

[ADC]

A further, noncommital response from the Treasury via my MP:

________

The Government fully recognises the impact on businesses of the issue of
fiscal representatives in relation to the EU Import One Stop Shop (IOSS)
scheme. It is actively seeking the EU’s agreement that the condition should
not apply to the UK. This is based on the terms of the ‘Protocol on
Administrative Cooperation and Combatting Fraud in the Field of Value Added
Tax and on Mutual Assistance for the Recovery of Claims relating to Taxes in
Duties’, which is included within the Trade and Cooperation Agreement. The
UK continues to push the EU Commission to reach such an agreement with the
UK to resolve this issue as quickly as possible.

At least they aren't ignoring the issue.

 

[Chris O'Reilly]

Hello all,
We've just received our IOSS number using an intermediary.
I know the IOSS number shouldn't go on the outside of the packet, but does anyone know if the IOSS number should be shown on the customers receipt (either inside the package or downloadable from the website)? (for sales to Australia we currently show our Australian Tax Office number, and similarly for New Zealand and Norway).
Thanks in advance for any advice,
Chris

 

[schmexit]

At least they aren't ignoring the issue.

It's only because we've all been putting pressure on them. Keep asking your MPs to expedite this!

 

[Graham Wharton]

Another avenue to put pressure on the government. Suggest everyone contacts the Export Support Service. I asked, and got a reply saying they were looking into the issue and would get back soon. If enough people ask, perhaps it will bump the priority.

https://www.gov.uk/ask-export-support-team

 

[Graham Wharton]

Hello all,
We've just received our IOSS number using an intermediary.
I know the IOSS number shouldn't go on the outside of the packet, but does anyone know if the IOSS number should be shown on the customers receipt (either inside the package or downloadable from the website)? (for sales to Australia we currently show our Australian Tax Office number, and similarly for New Zealand and Norway).
Thanks in advance for any advice,
Chris

I'm really not sure. We include the IOSS number on Tax Invoices that we issue for IOSS sales, otherwise how does an EU VAT registered business claim back the IOSS VAT on items they purchase. They need a VAT invoice with a VAT number to claim. We presume at the moment that this is the IOSS number?

In addition to issuing a Tax Invoice showing the VAT amount, rate, taxable total etc, we put a note on the customer paperwork saying that VAT was collected under the IOSS scheme, and telling them what to do if they got charged again on import.

Time for some Googling i think.

 

[Graham Wharton]

I'm really not sure. We include the IOSS number on Tax Invoices that we issue for IOSS sales, otherwise how does an EU VAT registered business claim back the IOSS VAT on items they purchase. They need a VAT invoice with a VAT number to claim. We presume at the moment that this is the IOSS number?

In addition to issuing a Tax Invoice showing the VAT amount, rate, taxable total etc, we put a note on the customer paperwork saying that VAT was collected under the IOSS scheme, and telling them what to do if they got charged again on import.

Time for some Googling i think.

Oh, I think i can answer my own question. IOSS is only for B2C, so businesses cannot claim back IOSS VAT, so I'm thinking now that the customer does not need to know the IOSS number at all, only customs/courier. The customer just needs to know that VAT was collected.

 

[schmexit]

Another avenue to put pressure on the government. Suggest everyone contacts the Export Support Service. I asked, and got a reply saying they were looking into the issue and would get back soon. If enough people ask, perhaps it will bump the priority.

https://www.gov.uk/ask-export-support-team

That's great, thanks for posting it. Doing it now!

 

[schmexit]

Another avenue to put pressure on the government. Suggest everyone contacts the Export Support Service. I asked, and got a reply saying they were looking into the issue and would get back soon. If enough people ask, perhaps it will bump the priority.

https://www.gov.uk/ask-export-support-team

Oh, dear. This is their response:

______


Thank you for your query which has been received by DIT’s Export Support Team.

I'm sorry to hear that you have been having some issues navigating the IOSS. Might I direct you to the Royal Mail's guidance on the IOSS - https://www.royalmail.com/business/international/guide/delivered-duties-paid-ioss
You may also want to contact Royal Mail's for further support on customs, sending goods abroad and the IOSS. This is available here https://personal.help.royalmail.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/106

If you would like to understand the EU side of IOSS, please see the following link for more information - https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/ioss_en

Further information on exporting and doing business abroad can be found at https://www.gov.uk/browse/business/exports

I hope you find the information useful and please let me know if this raises further questions.

 

[schmexit]

And their response to my follow-up is below. It's funny how they're blaming the EU for this when it's our government that has failed to negotiate a mutual assistance VAT deal for us.

____

Please can I take this opportunity to highlight that The Import One Stop Shop (IOSS) is an EU system. If you decide to use IOSS you will need to appoint an EU-established intermediary. The UK government is currently in discussions with the EU Commission about the issue of intermediaries, in relation to the EU IOSS scheme, to see whether we can agree that this condition should not apply to UK businesses.

 

[NWH]

And their response to my follow-up is below. It's funny how they're blaming the EU for this when it's our government that has failed to negotiate a mutual assistance VAT deal for us.

____

Please can I take this opportunity to highlight that The Import One Stop Shop (IOSS) is an EU system. If you decide to use IOSS you will need to appoint an EU-established intermediary. The UK government is currently in discussions with the EU Commission about the issue of intermediaries, in relation to the EU IOSS scheme, to see whether we can agree that this condition should not apply to UK businesses.

It is hard to comprehend the laid back attitude of our government. The impact of IOSS on small businesses has been, and remains, massive. My small business is already several thousands of pounds down on EU trading. The intermediary route still does not work for me due to costs.

 

[schmexit]

It is hard to comprehend the laid back attitude of our government. The impact of IOSS on small businesses has been, and remains, massive. My small business is already several thousands of pounds down on EU trading. The intermediary route still does not work for me due to costs.

100% agree on this. What can we do? Put pressure on our MPs and the government. Every call/email counts. Send them the link to this forum.

 

[ADC]

It is hard to comprehend the laid back attitude of our government. The impact of IOSS on small businesses has been, and remains, massive. My small business is already several thousands of pounds down on EU trading. The intermediary route still does not work for me due to costs.

The government is being too soft and not standing up to them. An EU business is free to register for VAT here without an intermediary. They should give notice to the EU that they are going to reverse that decision and cancel all VAT applications from the EU and insist they use an intermediary unless the EU changes the rules for UK business.

 

[schmexit]

The government is being too soft and not standing up to them. An EU business is free to register for VAT here without an intermediary. They should give notice to the EU that they are going to reverse that decision and cancel all VAT applications from the EU and insist they use an intermediary unless the EU changes the rules for UK business.

Do not agree with this. We chose to leave the EU without negotiating a good deal for our small businesses. It's not the EU's fault.

 

[ADC]

Do not agree with this. We chose to leave the EU without negotiating a good deal for our small businesses. It's not the EU's fault.

Never said it was the EU's fault. But if the EU treats UK business's this way, it's pretty obvious that we should reciprocate. If they get a bit of stick from EU business's there side it might at least bring them to the negotiating table.

 

[NWH]

It is the EU's intention always to prove to the world that life is better 'in' than 'out'. Oour government needs to put this subject back on the table.

 

[Graham Wharton]

I got an update from James Sibley, who is the FSB's EU trade specialist.

https://twitter.com/GrahamWharton74/status/1457723091384143875?s=20

 

[schmexit]

Never said it was the EU's fault. But if the EU treats UK business's this way, it's pretty obvious that we should reciprocate. If they get a bit of stick from EU business's there side it might at least bring them to the negotiating table.

No. Wrong. This does not need to be a pissing contest. What's the point of that?

Instead, our government should be doing whatever it can to support us, which is something they have totally failed to do.

 

[schmexit]

I got an update from James Sibley, who is the FSB's EU trade specialist.

https://twitter.com/GrahamWharton74/status/1457723091384143875?s=20

That's promising. Thank you so much for that, Graham!

 

[ADC]

No. Wrong. This does not need to be a pissing contest. What's the point of that?

Instead, our government should be doing whatever it can to support us, which is something they have totally failed to do.

So in what way can they support us??? If the EU say UK business's need a Fiscal Rep inside the EU, what do you expect our government to do about it??? Use taxpayers money to pay you for a Fiscal Rep???

It's fairly obvious that in any trade negotiation you put pressure on the opposite side to get the maximun amount of leverage any way you can.

 

[schmexit]

So in what way can they support us??? If the EU say UK business's need a Fiscal Rep inside the EU, what do you expect our government to do about it??? Use taxpayers money to pay you for a Fiscal Rep???

It's fairly obvious that in any trade negotiation you put pressure on the opposite side to get the maximun amount of leverage any way you can.

No. Our government should have negotiated a mutual assistance agreement on VAT. They did not. With this agreement, no fiscal representative would be required.

 

[ADC]

No. Our government should have negotiated a mutual assistance agreement on VAT. They did not. With this agreement, no fiscal representative would be required.

Well they haven't, so what do you expect them to do about it now?
Answer:- Try and negotiate a Mutual Assistance Agreement.
How do you negotiate a Mutual Assistance Agreement?
Answer:- Put pressure on the EU to give you what you want.
How do you put pressure on the EU to give you what you want?
Answer:- Treat their business's the same way EU are treating ours so they also need a mutual assistance agreement.

 

[schmexit]

Well they haven't, so what do you expect them to do about it now?
Answer:- Try and negotiate a Mutual Assistance Agreement.
How do you negotiate a Mutual Assistance Agreement?
Answer:- Put pressure on the EU to give you what you want.
How do you put pressure on the EU to give you what you want?
Answer:- Treat their business's the same way EU are treating ours so they also need a mutual assistance agreement.

The only problem is, we can't put pressure on the EU as we're not a part of it anymore. However, we can put pressure on our government. They have chosen not to prioritise the needs of small businesses in their EU negotiations.

I do not see hostile negotiations as the answer here, or anywhere.

 

[ADC]

The only problem is, we can't put pressure on the EU as we're not a part of it anymore. However, we can put pressure on our government. They have chosen not to prioritise the needs of small businesses in their EU negotiations.

I do not see hostile negotiations as the answer here, or anywhere.

Couldn't put pressure on EU when we were part of it. Only government can put pressure on them. We have something they want and they have something we want. That's the way negotiations work in all walks of life.

 

[NWH]

I am still looking for a low cost IOSS management system entry into the EU. I am currently paying extra to sell into EU via eBay. While expensive, the IOSSS orders go through to destination without a hitch. Germany, Italy, Estinia etc., Has anyone experience with eurora.com, please?

 

[LHow]

I am adding this info here because it is likely to affect anyone selling outside the UK.
Via the Royal Mail's International Incident Bulletin today, I have found out that some HS Codes (Tariff Codes) have been updated. If you are sending anything outside the UK it's best to check if your codes have changed! More info at https://www.trade-tariff.service.gov.uk/help/cn2021_cn2022#8digit

 

[NWH]

Is anyone selling to customers in UAE regularly for amounts under £100? How are you dealing with any locally charged taxes? Do you leave any amounts due to be paid, to the buyer? I understand most imports attract 5% import duty.

 

[LHow]

@NWH @Morning & others trying to find a low cost IOSS solution -
You had both mentioned Desucla a while ago on this thread. I just found out they have set up their promised cheaper tier see https://www.desucla.com/service-ioss/ scroll down to the link to https://myvat.com/
The page at https://myvat.com/pricing/ has the following info, prices in Euro

One-off​

Registration Fee
€25

Monthly​

Subscription Fee
€10
This fee covers you for up to 5 packages shipped in the month.

Additional​

Per Package Fee
€1.50
every additional package shipped in the month over and above your free monthly five package allowance. This charge is added to your VAT payment when you submit your return.

VAT​

Payment Fee
€2
If you need to make an IOSS VAT payment for the month then this is the MyVAT payment processing charge.
If you sell nothing in a particular month, then there is no VAT payment to make and no payment fee to pay.

PRICING EXAMPLE​

Typical costs over 6 months​

Scroll down the pricing page to see the table, it won't copy over on here.

With 5 packages included in the €10 monthly fee this seems to be the cheapest package so far or at least on a par with Taxamo

 

[schmexit]

@LHow Thanks for that. Looks similar to Taxamo:

Home Page

Vertex is the leading and most-trusted provider of comprehensive, integrated tax technology solutions, having helped 10,000+ businesses since 1978.

www.vertexinc.com

Pay as you go. There is a fixed £2 per-parcel service fee regardless of package weight and size. Fees are charged to the seller credit card on record.

There are no joining fees, minimums or VAT payment fees.

What are people choosing and why?

 

[schmexit]

PS: It seems we STILL do not have a way to join the IOSS scheme directly?

 

[romeo b]

Just got back to reading this thread - the issue I’m finding is the IOSS seems absolutely pointless - and customers are still charged regardless - there doesn’t seem to be anything that guarantees the customer gets the item without any additional charges. Anyone experienced this?

Also, everything we ship to Spain, IOSS or not, is stopped and customer told (usually weeks later) there’s an item to collect and they need to bring ID and sometimes have to pay charges. I think about 20 items have had this this year alone to Spain for us.

Honestly it’s getting easier to just forget EU trade now.