Skip to content

German One-Stop-Shop (OSS): reporting EU distance sales to the BZSt

A business established in Germany that makes intra-Community distance sales to consumers in other EU countries, or supplies services to non-business customers that are taxable there, owes the VAT OF THE COUNTRY OF DESTINATION — but may declare and pay it in ONE place through the One-Stop-Shop: the Federal Central Tax Office (Bundeszentralamt für Steuern, BZSt) (§ 18j(1) UStG). Keep two steps apart. The NOTIFICATION of participation must be made before the start of the calendar quarter from which the scheme is used (§ 18j(1) sentence 3 UStG). After that, a VAT return is due for EVERY quarter within one month of its end, and the tax falls due on the last day of the following month (§ 18j(4) sentences 1 and 3 UStG) — that is 30 April, 31 July, 31 October and 31 January.

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

This content is part of the path: Handling VAT on business within the EU· Step 8 of 9· Next step: Reclaiming VAT paid in other EU countries from Germany

Deadlines

Notification of participation: BEFORE the start of the calendar quarter from which the scheme is used
§ 18j(1) sentence 3 UStG read with § 16(1d) sentence 1 UStG (tax period = calendar quarter). The BZSt gives the start of registration as, in principle, the first day of the quarter following the application
Exception when the EUR 10,000 threshold is crossed during a quarter: register by the tenth day of the following month
According to the BZSt page on the EU scheme: the form then asks for “first supply” (erstmalige Leistungserbringung) with the date the threshold was crossed; retroactive registration after the tenth day of the following month is not possible
VAT return: within one month of the end of each calendar quarter — including a nil return
§ 18j(4) sentence 1 UStG; the BZSt page gives 30 April, 31 July, 31 October and 31 January of the following year, and requires a nil return (Nullmeldung) where there were no sales in the quarter
Payment: due on the last day of the month following the quarter, received by the Federal Treasury (Bundeskasse)
§ 18j(4) sentence 3 UStG; according to the BZSt, direct debit is not available
Withdrawal: effective only from the start of a calendar quarter, declared before it begins
§ 18j(1) sentences 5 and 6 UStG; the BZSt states a withdrawal notice period of 15 days before the new quarter
Changes to registration data and deregistration: by the tenth day of the following month at the latest
According to the BZSt page, for instance when the supplies cease or the conditions for participation no longer apply

Documents to prepare

  • German VAT identification number (for a VAT group, the controlling company's)
  • Access to the BZSt online portal with a certificate
  • Total distance sales and electronic services to consumers in other EU countries, previous and current year
  • Date of the sale that crossed the EUR 10,000 threshold
  • The quarter's sales per Member State and VAT rate, in euros
  • ECB exchange rate for the last day of the quarter, for foreign currencies
  • The BZSt cash reference (Kassenzeichen) for the transfer
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 making intra-Community distance sales within § 3c(1) sentences 2 and 3 UStG: goods they transport or dispatch, themselves or on their behalf, from Germany to consumers in another Member State (§ 18j(1) sentence 1 no. 1 UStG)
  • Businesses established in the EU that supply services in another Member State to recipients within § 3a(5) sentence 1 UStG — that is, non-business customers — for which they owe the tax there (§ 18j(1) sentence 1 no. 2 UStG); for those services the scheme covers only Member States where they have neither their seat nor a fixed establishment (sentence 4)
  • Operators of an electronic interface treated under § 3 (3a) sentence 1 UStG as if they had supplied the goods themselves
  • Anyone whose sales of this kind did NOT exceed EUR 10,000 in the previous year and do not exceed it in the current year, and who is established in only one Member State, keeps the German place of supply and German VAT (§ 3c(4) sentence 1, § 3a(5) sentence 3 UStG) — for them the One-Stop-Shop is NOT mandatory
  • NOT this scheme: businesses established outside the EU supplying services to non-business customers — they use the non-EU scheme (Nicht-EU-Regelung, § 18i UStG)
  • NOT this scheme: distance sales of goods imported from a non-EU country in consignments with an intrinsic value of up to EUR 150 — they use the Import One-Stop-Shop (§ 18k UStG)
  • NOT concerned: supplies to businesses buying for their business — the buyer in a distance sale is only a recipient within § 3a(5) sentence 1 UStG or a person listed in § 1a(3) no. 1 UStG below the acquisition threshold (§ 3c(1) sentence 3 UStG)
  • NOT a distance sale: new vehicles, goods supplied with assembly or installation, and supplies under the margin scheme (§ 3c(5) UStG)

Worked example

Lena Hartmann's pottery studio in Freiburg crosses the threshold in August

Lena Hartmann sells handmade pottery through her own online shop and ships it herself, including to private customers in France and Austria. Last year those sales came to EUR 6,000 net; she is established only in Germany and sells no electronic services. As long as her intra-Community distance sales did not exceed EUR 10,000 in the previous year and do not exceed it in the current year, the place of supply is deemed to be in Germany (§ 3c(4) sentence 1 UStG): she charges German VAT and reports those sales in her advance VAT return. On 14 August the year's total reaches EUR 10,300. From the sale that crosses the threshold, the BZSt page says foreign VAT must be charged: the place of supply is now where the goods are when shipping ends (§ 3c(1) sentence 1 UStG). Rather than registering in France and Austria, Lena signs up for the One-Stop-Shop on the BZSt online portal on 3 September, selects “first supply” and enters 14 August — possible up to the tenth day of the following month, so 10 September. For the third quarter she files a return by 31 October, broken down by Member State and VAT rate, and transfers the amount so that it reaches the Federal Treasury by 31 October (§ 18j(4) sentences 1 and 3 UStG). Her sales to German customers stay in her advance return. The following year the exception no longer applies from 1 January, because the threshold was exceeded in the previous year.

How to fill it in, step by step

  1. Identify your sales: intra-Community distance sales to consumers (§ 3c(1) UStG), services to non-business customers in other Member States (§ 3a(5) UStG), or imports of up to EUR 150 — the last belong in the Import One-Stop-Shop.
  2. Add up, for last year and this year, your distance sales and your telecommunications, broadcasting and electronically supplied services to consumers in other Member States, and test them against the EUR 10,000 threshold (§ 3c(4) sentence 1 UStG).
  3. Below the threshold: keep charging German VAT and report in the advance return — or waive the exception deliberately, which binds you for at least two calendar years (§ 3c(4) sentences 2 and 3 UStG).
  4. Have your German VAT identification number to hand: the BZSt requires it for the application; in a VAT group, the controlling company (Organträger) applies.
  5. Submit the notification through the BZSt online portal (BZStOnline-Portal) before the start of the quarter in which you join (§ 18j(1) sentence 3 UStG) — or, if you cross the threshold mid-quarter, by the tenth day of the following month with the date of the first supply.
  6. Switch on notifications in the portal: in this scheme the BZSt communicates only through the BZSt online portal.
  7. Record every sale by Member State and rate, and keep the records for ten years (§ 22(1) sentence 4 UStG).
  8. Convert foreign-currency amounts at the European Central Bank rate for the last day of the quarter (§ 16(6) sentence 4 UStG).
  9. File the quarterly return by the end of the following month, as a nil return if need be, and pay quoting your cash reference (Kassenzeichen) and the tax period so that the money reaches the Federal Treasury by then.

Good to know

  • Participation is possible only on a UNIFORM basis: for all Member States and all supplies under § 18j(1) sentence 1 UStG (sentence 4). You cannot handle one country through the One-Stop-Shop and another through a local registration.
  • A business established in Germany can notify participation only in Germany (§ 18j(2) sentence 2 UStG); the competent authority is the Federal Central Tax Office (§ 18j(1) sentence 2 UStG).
  • The EUR 10,000 threshold counts distance sales and the services listed in § 3a(5) sentence 2 UStG — telecommunications, radio and television broadcasting, electronically supplied services — TOGETHER (§ 3c(4) sentence 1 and § 3a(5) sentence 3 UStG), and for all other Member States combined, not per country.
  • The applicable rate is set by the Member State where the supply is taxable; the return is broken down by Member State and rate. Below the threshold the German rate applies — it is held by the VAT calculator.
  • Sales to private customers in GERMANY do not normally go into the OSS return but, as before, into the advance return filed with the tax office — unless they themselves fall under the scheme, such as domestic sales through electronic interfaces (BZSt).
  • Input VAT from Member States where you make only OSS sales is reclaimed through the VAT refund procedure (Vorsteuer-Vergütungsverfahren), not through the OSS return (BZSt).
  • Corrections made within three years of the last day of the filing period go into a LATER return, stating the period being corrected (§ 18j(4) sentence 5 UStG).
  • Anyone who repeatedly fails to meet their obligations, or meets them late, is excluded (§ 18j(6) sentence 1 UStG) — and thereby also from the schemes under §§ 18i and 18k UStG (sentence 3).

Common mistakes

  • Measuring the threshold country by country. The EUR 10,000 applies to the total of sales to consumers in ALL other Member States (§ 3c(4) sentence 1 UStG).
  • Charging foreign VAT only from the next quarter. According to the BZSt page, foreign VAT is due from the sale that crosses the threshold.
  • Missing the registration deadline. After crossing the threshold mid-quarter, registration is possible only up to the tenth day of the following month; the BZSt rules out later retroactive registration.
  • Confusing notification with the return. The notification is made once, before the quarter starts (§ 18j(1) sentence 3 UStG); the return every quarter (§ 18j(4) sentence 1 UStG).
  • Leaving a quarter without a return: even with no sales, a nil return is required (BZSt).
  • Expecting a direct debit. It is not available in this scheme; payment must reach the Federal Treasury by the end of the month (BZSt, § 18j(4) sentence 3 UStG).
  • Filing a correction as an amendment of the old return. Corrections go into a later return (§ 18j(4) sentence 5 UStG).
  • Reporting import consignments from non-EU countries, or services of a non-EU business, here. Those fall under § 18k and § 18i UStG.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to register for the One-Stop-Shop?

No, the scheme is optional: § 18j(1) sentence 1 UStG requires the notification IF you take part. Anyone who does not take part and owes tax in the destination country must register there; the One-Stop-Shop spares exactly that (BZSt).

When does my registration take effect?

The notification must be made before the start of the calendar quarter from which the scheme is used (§ 18j(1) sentence 3 UStG); the BZSt gives the start of registration as, in principle, the first day of the following quarter. Where the threshold is crossed mid-quarter, the BZSt allows registration up to the tenth day of the following month.

When are the return and payment due?

The return within one month of the end of the quarter, the tax on the last day of the following month (§ 18j(4) sentences 1 and 3 UStG): 30 April, 31 July, 31 October, 31 January.

What happens below EUR 10,000?

A business established in only one Member State that did not exceed the threshold in the previous year and does not exceed it in the current year continues to supply in Germany: German VAT, reported in the advance return (§ 3c(4) sentence 1, § 3a(5) sentence 3 UStG). A waiver is possible and binds for at least two calendar years.

Can I leave the scheme?

Yes, but only with effect from the start of a quarter, declared before it begins (§ 18j(1) sentences 5 and 6 UStG); the BZSt states 15 days' notice. Returns remain due for the quarters in which you were registered.

In which currency do I report?

In euros. Foreign-currency amounts are converted at the European Central Bank rate for the last day of the tax period (§ 16(6) sentence 4 UStG).

Go further

Compute the related amounts

Understand this form: the related course

Related forms

Official sources

Read in German

This topic in other countries

Each country applies its own law: these pages are written in its language and read from its official sources.

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.