Since 1 July, the legal changes of the VAT digital package have taken effect. One of its most relevant changes is the replacement of the country-specific supply thresholds for EU-wide sales to private individuals with a standard threshold of EUR 10,000.
Suppose a merchant exceeds this threshold with his turnover from sales to other EU Member States. In that case, he becomes liable to pay tax in the respective countries of destination. To avoid the VAT registration obligations that would then be required there, the EU has set up a central point for traders to report and pay VAT: the One-Stop-Shop.
Since 1 April, merchants have been able to register there. For merchants based in Germany, this registration is carried out via the BOP portal of the Federal Central Tax Office (Bundeszentralamt für Steuern, BZSt).
Necessary for using the OSS: Registration for the OSS must be completed by the end of a quarter to report via the OSS in the next quarter. Therefore, the registration deadline for the second quarter of 2021 would have been 30 June.
But what happens if the registration for the OSS was late?
On 1 July 2021, the BZSt confirmed the extension of the registration deadline until 10 August 2021: “If it was not possible for you to submit the registration notification by 30 June 2021, you have the following option to achieve a registration start date of 1 July 2021 even after 30 June 2021: On page 5 of the registration form, the option’ first service provision’ is selected in the information on the registration start date and 01 July 2021 is entered as the date of the first service provision. This option is available until 10 August 2021 at the latest”.
Additionally, registration for the OSS can always be made, but then it applies to sales in the next quarter. For merchants, anyone who becomes liable to pay tax must register for VAT purposes in the respective countries of destination.
The prerequisite for registering for the OSS procedure is an existing BOP or ELSTER certificate. If you have to reapply for this, there may be delays due to processing. If activation for the BOP portal takes place after the registration deadline, the registration day shall apply.
Can changes be made to registration data after successful registration?
Yes, they can be changed afterwards. However, the change must be notified to the BZSt electronically (use of BOP access, under the heading “Formulare”) no later than the tenth day of the month following the change in circumstances. However, company name and address changes must be reported exclusively to the competent tax office.
The registration data may be changed within three years after the deregistration from the special scheme takes effect.
Note: If no turnover is made over two years, the merchant may be excluded from the special taxation procedure by the tax authorities.
