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German Import One-Stop-Shop (IOSS): non-EU goods up to EUR 150, declared monthly

The Import One-Stop-Shop does NOT cover every foreign product: it covers distance sales of goods imported from a NON-EU territory (Drittlandsgebiet) in consignments with an intrinsic value of NO MORE THAN EUR 150 (§ 18k(1) sentence 1 UStG). A participant declares the VAT of every EU destination country MONTHLY, centrally, to the Federal Central Tax Office (Bundeszentralamt für Steuern, BZSt): the tax period is the calendar month (§ 16(1e) sentence 1 UStG), the return is due within one month of its end, and the tax falls due on the last day of the following month (§ 18k(4) sentences 1 and 3 UStG). What you get in return: the import of those consignments is exempt from import VAT (Einfuhrumsatzsteuer) where the customs declaration states the IOSS identification number (§ 5(1) no. 7 UStG).

Up to date for 2026 — verified on September 23, 2026Official procedure, no printed formGuide: about 40 min

Deadlines

Notification of participation: before the start of the tax period, through the BZSt online portal
§ 18k(1) sentence 2 UStG; the competent authority in Germany is the Federal Central Tax Office
Effective date: from the day the IOSS identification number was notified
§ 18k(1) sentence 5 UStG — unlike the One-Stop-Shop, EU scheme, which starts with a quarter. The BZSt usually posts the message with the number in the portal mailbox within two to fourteen working days
VAT return: MONTHLY, within one month of the end of the calendar month — including a nil return
§ 18k(4) sentence 1 UStG with § 16(1e) sentence 1 UStG; the BZSt's examples: January by 28 February, December by 31 January of the following year
Payment: due on the last day of the following month, received by the Federal Treasury (Bundeskasse)
§ 18k(4) sentence 3 UStG; according to the BZSt, direct debit is not available
Withdrawal: effective only from the start of a calendar month, declared before it begins
§ 18k(1) sentences 6 and 7 UStG; the BZSt states a withdrawal notice period of 15 days
Changes to registration data and deregistration: by the tenth day of the following month at the latest
According to the BZSt page; an intermediary's deregistration excludes every business it represents

Documents to prepare

  • VAT identification number (for a VAT group, the controlling company's)
  • Access to the BZSt online portal with a certificate
  • If established outside the EU: contract with an EU-established intermediary
  • Route of the goods and intrinsic value per consignment, separating consignments above and up to EUR 150
  • Whether a platform facilitates the sales
  • Monthly sales per Member State and VAT rate, in euros
  • Name of the shipper or customs agent who will receive the IOSS number
See the procedure on the official site

No form is attached to this procedure: the link leads to the official page that describes it.

What this page gives you

The guide above and the link to the official site. ActioFin does not produce any document for this page: whatever you fill in or file is done on the official medium.

Who this applies to

  • Businesses established in Germany that, as the person liable for the tax, make distance sales under § 3 (3a) sentence 2 or § 3c(2) or (3) UStG in consignments with an intrinsic value of up to EUR 150 (§ 18k(1) sentence 1 UStG) — that is, goods shipped from a non-EU country to consumers in the EU
  • Operators of an electronic interface — marketplace, platform, portal — that facilitate such distance sales: they are treated as if they had received and supplied the goods themselves (§ 3 (3a) sentence 2 UStG)
  • An EU-established intermediary (Vertreter) acting on the business's behalf (§ 18k(1) sentence 1 UStG); the intermediary owes the tax alongside the business (§ 13a(1) no. 7 UStG)
  • Businesses established outside the EU only if their country is listed in the relevant implementing regulation — according to the BZSt currently only Norway — or if they have contractually appointed an EU-established intermediary and notified this (§ 18k(1) sentence 3 UStG)
  • NOT this scheme: consignments with an intrinsic value above EUR 150, and consignments containing goods subject to excise duty (§ 18k(1) sentence 4 UStG)
  • NOT this scheme: goods shipped within the EU — those fall under the One-Stop-Shop, EU scheme (§ 18j UStG)
  • NOT this scheme: services supplied by a non-EU business to non-business customers — those fall under § 18i UStG
  • NOT the seller, where a platform facilitates the distance sale: under § 3 (3a) sentence 2 UStG the platform is then the supplier

Worked example

Nordlicht Gadgets GmbH in Hamburg ships phone cases straight from a warehouse in Asia

Nordlicht Gadgets GmbH sells phone cases and charging cables through its own online shop to private customers in Italy, the Netherlands and Germany. The stock is held by a service provider in a non-EU country and ships from there directly to customers; typical orders have an intrinsic value of EUR 25 to 90. These are distance sales of goods imported from a non-EU territory in consignments with an intrinsic value of up to EUR 150 (§ 18k(1) sentence 1 UStG). The company is established in Germany and therefore notifies its participation to the Federal Central Tax Office (§ 18k(2) sentence 2 UStG). It receives its IOSS identification number on 12 March; participation applies from that day (§ 18k(1) sentence 5 UStG). The service provider states the number in every customs declaration, which exempts the import from import VAT (§ 5(1) no. 7 UStG); the company itself declares the VAT of the destination countries. For March it files a return by 30 April, broken down by Member State and VAT rate — according to the BZSt page, the sales to customers in Germany go in it too — and pays so that the amount reaches the Federal Treasury by 30 April (§ 18k(4) sentences 1 and 3 UStG). In April a customer orders a set worth EUR 180 in intrinsic value: that consignment exceeds EUR 150 and falls outside the scheme; the general import rules apply to it.

How to fill it in, step by step

  1. Check the route of the goods: does shipping start in a non-EU country and end with a consumer in the EU? If it starts in the EU, the sale belongs in the One-Stop-Shop, EU scheme.
  2. Check every consignment against the EUR 150 intrinsic value — according to the BZSt, the price of the goods without separately invoiced transport and insurance costs; each package is in principle one consignment.
  3. Exclude goods subject to excise duty (§ 18k(1) sentence 4 UStG) and check whether a platform facilitates the sale — if so, the platform declares (§ 3 (3a) sentence 2 UStG).
  4. Establish who notifies: a business established in Germany does so in Germany (§ 18k(2) sentence 2 UStG); a business established outside the EU as a rule through a contractually appointed intermediary (§ 18k(1) sentence 3 UStG).
  5. Submit the notification through the BZSt online portal (BZStOnline-Portal) before the start of the tax period and wait for the IOSS identification number (§ 18k(1) sentences 2 and 5 UStG).
  6. Give the number to your shipper or customs agent: only when it appears in the customs declaration is the import exempt (§ 5(1) no. 7 UStG).
  7. Record every sale by Member State and VAT rate, and keep the records for ten years (§ 22(1) sentence 4 UStG).
  8. Convert foreign-currency amounts at the ECB rate for the last day of the month (§ 16(6) sentence 4 UStG).
  9. File the return every month by the end of the following month, as a nil return if need be, and pay so that the amount reaches the Federal Treasury by then — the first payment quoting the reference number, later ones the cash reference (Kassenzeichen).

Good to know

  • The trigger differs from the One-Stop-Shop, EU scheme: not an annual sales threshold but the ORIGIN of the goods (a non-EU country) and the INTRINSIC VALUE PER CONSIGNMENT (EUR 150 at most). The EUR 10,000 threshold of § 3c(4) UStG disapplies only subsection 1 of that section, not subsections 2 and 3.
  • Participation is possible only on a uniform basis, for all Member States and all distance sales under § 18k(1) sentence 1 UStG (sentence 5).
  • The intermediary owes the tax alongside the business and is also its authorised recipient for every administrative act in the procedure (§ 13a(1) no. 7 UStG); it too must keep records (§ 22(1) sentence 2 UStG).
  • If the intermediary is excluded, the business it represents is excluded as well (§ 18k(6) sentence 2 UStG). An exclusion for repeated failures takes effect from the day after it is notified (sentence 3) and extends to the schemes under §§ 18i and 18j UStG, unless the failures were the intermediary's (sentence 4).
  • The applicable rate is always that of the Member State where the customer is resident (BZSt). For customers in Germany that is the German rate — held by the VAT calculator.
  • Corrections within three years go into a LATER return, stating the period being corrected (§ 18k(4) sentence 5 UStG).
  • Whatever the scheme, customs formalities for the import still have to be completed (BZSt).
  • For consignments of up to EUR 150 where the exemption under § 5(1) no. 7 UStG is not claimed, § 21a UStG provides a separate special arrangement for the person presenting the goods to customs — a different route, not this one.

Common mistakes

  • Using IOSS for goods shipped from an EU warehouse. It covers only goods imported from a non-EU territory (§ 18k(1) sentence 1 UStG).
  • Applying the EUR 150 to the order rather than the consignment. What counts is the intrinsic value of the consignment; the BZSt explains when separately ordered goods form one consignment.
  • Not passing the IOSS number to the shipper. Without it in the customs declaration, the import VAT exemption does not apply (§ 5(1) no. 7 UStG).
  • Filing quarterly as in the One-Stop-Shop, EU scheme. Here the tax period is the calendar month (§ 16(1e) sentence 1 UStG).
  • Skipping months without sales. A nil return is required even then (BZSt).
  • Leaving out sales to customers in Germany. According to the BZSt page they belong in the return too.
  • Declaring yourself as a seller on a platform. Where the platform facilitates the distance sale, it is treated as the supplier (§ 3 (3a) sentence 2 UStG).

Frequently asked questions

How does IOSS differ from the One-Stop-Shop, EU scheme?

In its trigger and its rhythm. IOSS covers distance sales of goods imported from a non-EU country in consignments worth up to EUR 150 (§ 18k UStG) and is filed monthly; the One-Stop-Shop, EU scheme covers goods shipped within the EU and services, and is filed quarterly (§ 18j UStG).

When does my participation start?

From the day the IOSS identification number was notified to you or your intermediary (§ 18k(1) sentence 5 UStG).

Do I need an intermediary?

Not as a business established in Germany. A business established outside the EU can take part only if its country is listed in the implementing regulation — according to the BZSt currently only Norway — or if it has contractually appointed an EU-established intermediary and notified this (§ 18k(1) sentence 3 UStG).

When are the return and payment due?

Within one month of the end of each calendar month; the tax falls due on the last day of the following month (§ 18k(4) sentences 1 and 3 UStG). For March, that is 30 April.

What is the intrinsic value?

According to the BZSt, the price of the goods themselves when sold for export to the Union, excluding transport and insurance costs unless these are included in the price and not shown separately on the invoice.

What do I gain by taking part?

The import of the consignments is exempt from import VAT when the IOSS number appears in the customs declaration (§ 5(1) no. 7 UStG), and a single monthly return to the BZSt replaces a registration in every destination country.

Go further

Compute the related amounts

Related forms

Official sources

Read in German

Guide and document provided for information purposes only; they do not constitute personalised legal or tax advice. Check the recipient organisation's requirements and consult a professional if needed.