The new special one-stop-shop schemes applicable to the supply of services, distance selling of goods and certain domestic supplies

As of 1 July 2021 , the mini one-stop shop will be extended to all services provided by a trader or professional to private final consumers taking place in Member States where the trader or professional is not established, as well as to distance sales of goods and certain national supplies of goods. It will therefore be renamed "One Stop Shop" (OSS).

The Single Window (OSS) is made up of three optional regimes that simplify formal VAT obligations for entrepreneurs or professionals who deliver goods and/or provide services to end consumers throughout the EU, since it allows them not to have to identify themselves and register in each Member State of consumption, but rather they will be able to:

• register for VAT purposes electronically in a single Member State for all qualifying sales of goods and services made to customers located in any of the other Member States;
• submit a single electronic VAT return in the Member State of identification and settle in a single payment the VAT due on all such sales of goods and services;

To do so, they must expressly register in the corresponding regime.

The One-Stop Shop has three modalities:

• External Union Regime (EUOSS).

• Union System (UOSS).

• Import Regime (IOSS)

The three modalities refer exclusively to deliveries or services made by entrepreneurs or professionals to final consumers (B2C operations).

External Union Regime (EUOSS)

This regime may be used by entrepreneurs or professionals not established in the Community who provide services to persons who do not have the status of entrepreneur or professional, acting as such, and who are established in the Community.

Even where said taxable person, despite not being established, is registered or required to register for VAT purposes in one of the Member States in relation to supplies that are not business-to-consumer services, he or she may benefit from the non-EU regime. Union with regard to business-to-consumer services.

The special regime will apply to all services provided which must be deemed to be carried out in the Community.

Union System (UOSS).

This regime may be used by businessmen or professionals who carry out the operations covered by the regime, whether or not they are established in the Community.

However, the operations that must be declared under the regime vary depending on whether the taxpayer is established in the Community or not. In particular:

1. The entrepreneurs or professionals established in the Community will include in the regime:

   • Provision of services to persons who do not have the status of entrepreneur or professional acting as such, and who are established in the Community , but in a Member State other than that of the entrepreneur or professional covered by this special regime, provided that the services are located in a Member State in which the entrepreneur or professional is not established.

     If the supplies of services are located in the Member State of the employer's headquarters or in a State in which it is established for VAT purposes, these supplies must be declared in the corresponding country under the general VAT regime, not under the UOSS regime. .

   • Intra-Community distance sales of goods , including those located in the Member State in which the taxable person is registered, as well as those located in another Member State in which is established for VAT purposes.

     What is relevant is that it involves distance sales, with transportation of goods between two different States, regardless of the established status of the businessman or professional at the place of arrival of the goods.

2. entrepreneurs or professionals not established in the Community may only declare intra-Community distance sales of goods under the Union regime.

   If they also provide services to final consumers in the Community, they may declare them under the external regime, but not under the Union regime.

3. The electronic interfaces (established within or outside the community) that are considered to be taxable persons for the delivery of goods by legal requirement, will include in the regime:

   • Intra-Community distance sales of goods involving when the seller of the goods is not established in the Community.

   • National supplies of goods (without transport from one Member State to another) when the seller of the goods is not established in the Community.

     When the electronic interface also makes direct sales of own goods or services, it will also include them in the EU regime or in the EU foreign regime as applicable.

Import Regime (IOSS):

This regime may be used by entrepreneurs or professionals, established or not in the Community , who make distance sales of goods imported from third countries or territories in shipments whose intrinsic value does not exceed 150 euros, with the exception of products that are subject to special taxes.

The following table shows the operations to be declared in each regime as well as the entrepreneurs or professionals who can benefit from them:

	Non-Union regime/single window	Union regime/one-stop shop	Import regime / single window for imports
Types of deliveries or services	ALL services provided by businesses to consumers in the EU	ALL intra-community services from businesses to consumers Intra-Community distance sales of goods Domestic deliveries of goods from businesses to consumers pursuant to Article 14 bis , paragraph 2	Distance sales of imported goods in shipments ≤ 150 EUR
Taxpayers	Not established in the EU	Only established in the EU Established inside and outside the EU Electronic interfaces established inside and outside the EU	Established inside and outside the EU, including electronic interfaces

Yes, because the regimes cover different deliveries and are open to different taxpayers.

A taxable person established in the EU could use the Union regime and the import regime.

A taxable person not established in the EU could use all three regimes if it carries out transactions that qualify for each of them.

The Member State in which the entrepreneur or professional registers to apply the one-stop-shop schemes is called the Member State of identification. Through it, tax obligations arising from operations included in the single window in the rest of the Member States will be fulfilled.

This State is determined by the headquarters or establishment of the entrepreneur or professional, or where appropriate, by that of the intermediary. In the event that the business owner or professional is not established in the Community, the State of identification may be chosen under the terms set out in the following section.

There are Community rules for determining the Member State of identification. Only in certain cases can the Member State of identification be freely chosen.

Scheme outside the EU:

• In this regime, since the businessman or professional is not established in the Community, he may choose Spain as the State of identification or any other Member State.

EU system:

• Business owners or professionals who have the headquarters of their economic activity in the territory of application of the Spanish Tax must necessarily, if they opt for the Single Window, choose Spain as their Member State of identification.

• Businessmen or professionals who have the headquarters of their economic activity outside the Community and who have a permanent establishment in the territory of application of the Spanish Tax, must choose Spain as their State of Identification if they only have that permanent establishment in the entire territory of the Community.

  If they have other permanent establishments in other States, they may choose as their State of identification Spain or any of the Member States in which they have a permanent establishment.

• Businessmen or professionals who have the headquarters of their economic activity OUTSIDE the territory of the Community and who, in addition, DO NOT have a permanent establishment in said territory, may choose Spain as the State of identification if the expedition or transport of the goods begins in said territory.

Import Regime acting without intermediary:

• Business owners or professionals who have the headquarters of their economic activity in the territory of application of the Spanish Tax must necessarily, if they opt for the Single Window, choose Spain as their Member State of identification.

• Businessmen or professionals who have the headquarters of their economic activity outside the Community and who have a permanent establishment in the territory of application of the Spanish Tax, must choose Spain as their State of Identification if they only have that permanent establishment in the entire territory of the Community.

  If they have other permanent establishments in other States, they may choose as their State of identification Spain or any of the Member States in which they have a permanent establishment.

• Entrepreneurs or professionals who have the headquarters of their economic activity OUTSIDE the territory of the Community and who, in addition, DO NOT have a permanent establishment in said territory, but who are established in a third country with which the EU has concluded a mutual assistance agreement on VAT may choose Spain as a State of identification or any other Member State.

• Businessmen or professionals who have the headquarters of their economic activity in the Canary Islands, Ceuta or Melilla and who do not have any permanent establishment in the territory of the Community may benefit from the import regime without designating an intermediary , in which case, the Kingdom of Spain will be the Member State of identification.

• In all other cases (neither headquarters nor establishment in the territory of the Community nor in a third territory with a mutual assistance agreement) an intermediary must necessarily be appointed.

Import Regime acting through an intermediary:

Where the entrepreneur or professional appoints an intermediary because he or she is not established in the Community or voluntarily appoints it, the Member State of identification will be determined by the headquarters or establishment of the appointed intermediary:

• Intermediaries that have the headquarters of their economic activity in the territory of application of the Spanish Tax must necessarily, in the event of opting for the Single Window, choose Spain as their Member State of identification.

• Intermediaries that have the headquarters of their economic activity outside the Community and that have a permanent establishment in the territory of application of the Spanish Tax, must choose Spain as their State of Identification if they only have that permanent establishment in the entire territory of the Community.

  If they have other permanent establishments in other States, they may choose as their State of identification Spain or any of the Member States in which they have a permanent establishment.

Scheme outside the EU:

Taxpayers based outside the Community and without permanent establishments in any State, who have chosen Spain as their State of Identification, may change their State of Identification at any time.

EU system:

• Taxpayers whose headquarters of economic activity or their only permanent establishment or place of commencement of the dispatch or transport of goods is located in the territory of application of the Spanish tax cannot have as their State of identification another State of the European Union other than Spain.

• Taxpayers with headquarters outside the Community who have chosen Spain as their State of Identification, if they have other permanent establishments or places of commencement of the dispatch or transport of goods in other States, may change their State of Identification after two years counted from the year following their initial registration in the Single Window.

Import regime acting without intermediary:

• Taxpayers whose headquarters of economic activity or whose only permanent establishment is in the territory of application of Spanish tax cannot have another State of the European Union other than Spain as their State of identification.

• Taxpayers with headquarters outside the Community who have chosen Spain as their State of Identification, if they have other permanent establishments, may change their State of Identification after two years from the year following their initial registration at the Single Window.

• Taxable persons with headquarters outside the Community and without permanent establishments in any State, but who are established in a third country with which the EU has concluded a mutual assistance agreement on VAT, who have chosen Spain as the State of Identification, They may change their Identification Status at any time.

• Taxpayers with headquarters in the Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla who do not have permanent establishments in any Member State and who do not designate an intermediary, must necessarily identify themselves in Spain. They may register in another Member State only if they appoint an intermediary from that Member State, or if they have a permanent establishment in that State (in the latter case without the need for an intermediary).

Import regime acting through an intermediary:

• Intermediaries whose headquarters or sole permanent establishment is located in the territory of application of Spanish tax cannot have as their State of identification another State of the European Union other than Spain.

• Intermediaries based outside the Community who have chosen Spain as their State of Identification, if they have other permanent establishments, may change their State of Identification after two years from the year following their initial registration in the Single Window.

The Member State or States of consumption are the States in which the transactions to which each regime applies are located and taxed. In particular:

External Union Regime (EUOSS): those States in which the provision of services is deemed to take place.

Union System (UOSS):

In the case of the provision of services, those States in which the provision of services is deemed to take place.

In the case of intra-Community distance sales of goods, those States of arrival of the shipment or transport of the goods to the customer.

In the case of certain national supplies of goods by electronic interfaces, where the dispatch or transport of the goods delivered begins and ends in the same Member State, that Member State.

Import Regime (IOSS): those States of arrival of the shipment or transport of goods destined for the client.

If they have no permanent establishment in Spain where the tax is applicable, or in the rest of the Community, they need to choose the Regime outside of the Union.

If they have a permanent establishment in the Spanish territory of tax application or in the rest of the Community, they should opt for the EU Scheme.

The Canary Islands are part of the EU customs territory, but are not part of the EU VAT territory. Distance sales of imported goods include sales made from third countries as well as from third territories. Therefore, your sales are distance sales of imported goods for which you can register with the IOSS:

• Without designating an intermediary, in which case Spain will be the Member State of identification, unless it has a permanent establishment in another Member State, in which case it must register in said State, or;

• With an intermediary, in which case the Member State of identification is the one in which the intermediary is established.

That is, the Member State of identification will be Spain in the following cases:

• If you do not have a permanent establishment in the EU, you register under the import regime without an intermediary;

• If you have a permanent establishment in the ITA but not in other Member States, without the need for an intermediary;

• If you have a permanent establishment in the TAI and in other Member States, you choose Spain as the State of identification, without an intermediary, or;

• If you voluntarily appoint an intermediary who is established in Spain.

   

If a supplier not established in the EU provides services to consumers in the EU and makes intra-EU distance sales of goods, it must qualify and therefore register under two different regimes, namely:

• the regime outside the Union for the provision of services, and

• the Union regime for intra-Community distance sales of goods.

The supplier established outside the EU cannot declare supplies of goods in the regime outside the Union, since this only covers the provision of services. Likewise, it cannot declare its services under the Union regime, since it is not established in the EU.

Regarding the regime outside the Union, you may choose Spain as the State of identification or any other Member State.

Regarding the Union regime, you may choose Spain as the State of identification if the expedition or transport of the goods begins in said territory or another State in which the transport begins.

A supplier may therefore be registered under several schemes and in different Member States.

No, you cannot register with IOSS for these transactions as sales are only made when you have already imported the goods into the EU.

For subsequent sales to customers in the Member State in which you are established, the usual rules for national deliveries apply. You have to declare these sales in your national VAT return.

To declare and pay VAT on sales made to customers in other EU Member States (i.e. where the destination of the goods is located), you can register under the Union scheme in the Member State in which you are established. .

Should you require further information or have any queries regarding the OSS one-stop-shop schemes, you may do so as follows:

For general information on the schemes and compliance with the formal obligations deriving from them, you can consult the VAT Virtual Assistance Tool (AVIVA): 

VAT virtual assistant

You can obtain a PDF copy of the conversations with the Assistant by answering YES to the question Was the Tool useful to you? you will need to identify yourself and provide an e-mail address. You can also consult the conversations for which you have requested a copy at the Tax Agency's e-Office in the "My files" section (personal area).

If this automatic information tool does not resolve your query, you can contact the specialists of the Integrated Digital Administration (ADI):

• via chat for the immediate resolution of simple questions or the completion of forms (opening times: Monday to Friday 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., August 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.)

• through the "INFORMA+" application to request criteria on issues that require further analysis, receiving a response after a few days in the "My files" section of the e-Office (personal area). Here is the link to the application: INFORMA+ (select "Value Added Tax").

If you are already registered in any of the special schemes and you have any problems with your application, you can contact the following e-mail address: moss@correo.aeat.es