The different "One-Stop-Shop" schemes

The new rules from 1 July 2021 extend the scope of the special scheme for non-EU taxable persons to all services supplied to consumers domiciled in the EU and supplied in a Member State in accordance with the rules on the place of taxation of the supply.

The non-EU scheme can only be used by taxable persons not established in the EU. This means a taxable person who has not established his business and does not have a fixed establishment in the EU. Even if this taxable person is registered or required to register for VAT in one of the Member States for transactions that are not eligible for the non-EU scheme, he can still use the non-EU scheme.

The non-EU scheme applies to all such services supplied in the Community.

There is no threshold for taxation at origin.

For the non-EU taxable person, the Member State of identification is the Member State of his choice. There is no minimum period for which he is bound by this choice.

The Member State of consumption is the Member State of residence of the consumer.

The Member State of identification will assign an individual VAT identification number to the business, in the format EU+ country code (3) + identifier (5) + check digit (1).

The non-EU scheme applies from the first day of the quarter following the taxable person's application for registration. If the taxable person begins to supply services under these schemes before that date, it shall apply from the first supply, if the taxable person notifies his Member State of identification no later than the 10th day of the month following the first supply. If he fails to do so, he must register and account for VAT in the Member State(s) of his customers.

For each calendar quarter, a VAT return must be submitted, whether or not transactions covered by the special scheme have been supplied. If the taxable person has not carried out any transactions during a reporting period and has no corrections to make to previous returns, a "nil" VAT return must be filed. The VAT return must be filed before the end of the month following the expiry of the taxable period covered by the return. Any reporting period is a separate reporting period.

The return shall include the individual VAT identification number, the start and end date of the tax period (in the case of several returns to be submitted for the same quarter in the event of a change of system during the quarter) and, for each Member State of consumption in which VAT is due, the total value, exclusive of VAT, the total amount of the corresponding tax broken down by tax rates, the applicable VAT rates and the total amount of tax due, of the:

• services supplied.

Exempt services cannot be reported.

A field allows you to correct the VAT declared for previous reporting periods (Note that this is a change from the procedure under the non-EU “mini-one-stop shop” scheme where a return can only be corrected by amending that return). The deadline for making corrections is three years from the legal date of filing the original return.

The VAT return is made out in euro.

If the taxable person does not submit his VAT return by the deadline, the Member State of identification sends him, on the tenth day following the date on which the return should have been submitted, a first electronic reminder reminding him of the obligation to submit his VAT return.

Each Member State of consumption concerned is responsible for any subsequent reminders and sets the costs, interest and penalties incurred by late submission.

Despite these reminders, the taxable person must submit the return electronically to the Member State of identification.

When the VAT return is submitted, the administration allocates a unique reference number to the return.

The taxable person must pay the total amount of VAT due on that return to the Member State of identification (in euro into a bank account held by the administration) by the end of the period within which the return must be submitted at the latest, quoting the unique reference number allocated to him.

The Member State of identification redistributes the collected tax debt to the individual Member States of consumption.

The Member State of identification refunds any overpayment for each return directly to the taxable person. However, where the amount of VAT has already been repaid to the Member States of consumption, they refund their respective share directly to the taxable person.

If the taxable person does not pay the full amount due within the time limit, the Member State of identification shall send, on the 10th day following the due date for payment, a first electronic reminder inviting him to pay the tax due.

Each Member State of consumption concerned shall be responsible for any subsequent reminders and shall determine the costs, interest and penalties incurred by late payment.

In the event of a reminder from the Member State of consumption, the taxable person must pay the outstanding VAT directly to the State of consumption.

The Member State of identification shall exclude the taxable person from the special scheme in the following cases:

if the taxable person informs the Member State of identification that he is no longer supplying services covered by the special scheme (the taxable person shall inform his Member State of identification within 10 days of the month following the cessation);

1. if the taxable person informs the Member State of identification that he is no longer supplying services covered by the special scheme (the taxable person shall inform his Member State of identification within 10 days of the month following the cessation);
2. if it can be presumed by other means that his taxable activities have ceased (e.g. the taxable person has not provided any services in any Member State for a period of two years);
3. if the taxable person no longer fulfils the conditions required to qualify for this special scheme (e.g. the taxable person establishes himself in the Community and can no longer benefit from the non-EU scheme);
4. if the taxable person systematically fails to comply with the rules relating to this special scheme (systematic failure to comply with the rules for lodging declarations, payment obligations or the rules for keeping prescribed records);
5. if the taxable person applies to voluntarily leave the special scheme.

Depending on the grounds for exclusion, the taxable person may be subject to a quarantine period during which access to all schemes is denied.

The taxable person may also apply to be identified in another Member State of identification.

The taxable person shall lodge the final return and make the corresponding payments with the Member State which was the Member State of identification at the time of exclusion. Any corrections to be made to the final return and to previous returns after the final return has been submitted are settled directly with the tax authorities of the Member State of consumption concerned.

The new rules from 1 July 2021 extend the scope of the EU regime in two ways:

1. The material scope of the special scheme is extended:

• To the supply of services to consumers who are resident in the EU in accordance with the rules on the place of taxation of the supply;
• Intra-Community distance selling of goods;
• supplies of goods with place of departure and place of arrival of the shipment or transport in the same Member State by the deemed supplier.

2. The personal scope of the scheme is extended to:

• Taxable persons not established in the Member State of consumption who supply services to consumers;
• Taxable persons who carry out intra-Community distance selling of goods;
• Deemed suppliers who carry out supplies of goods where the place of departure and the place of arrival of the shipment or transport are in the same Member State.

The EU scheme is applicable to all goods and services so supplied within the Community.

The supply of telecommunications, radio and television broadcasting services and electronically supplied services and intra-Community distance selling of goods by a taxable person established in one Member State to consumers in other Member States not exceeding, either in the current or in the previous calendar year, a total annual value net of VAT of EUR 10,000 remain taxable in the country in which the taxable person is established (source taxation), unless he opts for taxation according to the principle of taxation at destination or exceeds this threshold during a calendar year (destination taxation).

For the taxable person under the EU scheme, the Member State of identification is :

• The Member State in which the taxable person has established his business;
• The Member State in which the taxable person has a fixed establishment, if the seat of his business is outside the Community. If the taxable person has several fixed establishments in several Member States, the taxable person shall choose one of them;
• The Member State from which the goods are dispatched or transported, if the taxable person's place of business is outside the Community and he does not have a fixed establishment there. If the goods are dispatched or transported from several Member States, the taxable person shall choose one of them.

The Member State of consumption is :

• for supplies of services, the Member State of residence of the consumer in which the supply is deemed to take place;
• for intra-Community distance sales of goods, the Member State of arrival of the dispatch or transport of the goods to the purchaser;
• for internal supplies by the deemed supplier, the Member State of dispatch or transport of the goods.

The taxable person is identified in the Member State of identification by the individual VAT identification number allocated to him by that Member State.

The EU scheme applies from the first day of the quarter following the taxable person's application for registration. If the taxable person starts supplying services under this scheme before that date, it shall apply from the first supply, if the taxable person informs his Member State of identification no later than the 10th day of the month following the first supply. If he fails to do so, he must register and account for VAT in the Member State(s) of his customers.

For each calendar quarter, a VAT return must be submitted, whether or not transactions covered by the special scheme have been carried out. If the taxable person has not carried out any transactions during a reporting period and has no corrections to make to previous returns, a "nil" VAT return must be filed. The VAT return must be filed before the end of the month following the expiry of the taxable period covered by the return. Any reporting period is a separate reporting period.

The VAT return shall include the individual VAT identification number, where applicable, the tax registration number, the start and end date of the tax period (in the case of several returns to be submitted for the same quarter in the event of a change of Member State of identification or scheme during the quarter) and, for each Member State of consumption in which VAT is due, the total value, exclusive of VAT, the total amount of the corresponding tax broken down by tax rate, the applicable VAT rates and the total amount of tax due, of the :

• services supplied from the Member State of identification and permanent establishment outside the EU (under the individual VAT identification number) ;
• intra-Community distance selling of goods dispatched or transported from the Member State of identification (under the individual VAT identification number), including those carried out by deemed suppliers where the dispatch or transport begins and ends in the Member State of identification;
• services supplied from fixed establishments in Member States other than the Member State of identification (under the individual VAT identification number or the tax registration number of the fixed establishment);
• intra-Community distance selling of goods dispatched or transported from Member States other than the Member State of identification (under the individual VAT identification number or tax registration number of the Member State from which the goods are dispatched or transported), including those carried out by deemed suppliers where the dispatch or transport begins and ends in the same Member State (if applicable, under the country code of the Member State from which the goods are dispatched or transported, if the supplier does not have an individual VAT identification number or tax registration number in that State).

Exempt transactions cannot be reported.

A field allows you to correct the VAT declared for previous reporting periods (Note that this is a change from the procedure under the EU "Mini-One-Stop Shop" scheme where a return can only be corrected by amending that return). The deadline for making corrections is three years from the legal date of filing the original return.

The VAT return is made out in euro.

If the taxable person does not submit his return within the time limit, the Member State of identification sends him, on the tenth day following the date on which the return should have been submitted, a first electronic reminder reminding him of the obligation to submit his VAT return.

Each Member State of consumption concerned is responsible for any subsequent reminders and sets the costs, interest and penalties incurred by late submission.

Despite these reminders, the taxable person must submit the return electronically to the Member State of identification.

When the VAT return is submitted, the administration allocates a unique reference number to the return.

The taxable person must pay the total amount of VAT due on that return to the Member State of identification (in euro into a bank account held by the administration) by the end of the period within which the return must be submitted at the latest, quoting the unique reference number allocated to him.

The Member State of identification redistributes the collected tax debt to the individual Member States of consumption.

The Member State of identification reimburses any overpayment for each return directly to the trader. However, where the amount of VAT has already been repaid to the Member States of consumption, they refund their respective share directly to the taxable person.

If the taxable person does not pay the full amount due within the time limit, the Member State of identification shall send, on the 10th day following the due date for payment, a first electronic reminder inviting him to pay the tax due.

Each Member State of consumption concerned shall be responsible for any subsequent reminders and shall determine the costs, interest and penalties incurred by late payment.

In the event of a reminder from the Member State of consumption, the taxable person must pay the outstanding VAT directly to the State of consumption.

The Member State of identification shall exclude the taxable person from the special scheme in the following cases:

1. if the taxable person informs him that he no longer supplies intra-Community distance sales of goods or services covered by the special scheme (the taxable person shall inform his Member State of identification within 10 days of the month following the cessation);
2. if it can be presumed by other means that his taxable activities have ceased (e.g. the taxable person has not carried out any supplies of goods or services in any Member State for a period of two years);
3. if the taxable person no longer fulfils the conditions required to qualify for this special scheme (e.g. the taxable person no longer has a registered office/stable establishment or a place of departure of the dispatch/transport in any Member State);
4. if he systematically fails to comply with the rules relating to this special scheme (systematic failure to comply with the rules for lodging declarations, payment obligations or the rules for keeping statutory records);
5. if the taxable person applies to voluntarily leave the special scheme.

Depending on the grounds for exclusion, the taxable person may be subject to a quarantine period during which access to all schemes is denied.

The taxable person may also apply to be identified in another Member State of identification.

The taxable person submits the final return and makes the corresponding payments to the Member State which was the Member State of identification at the time of exclusion. Any corrections to be made to the final return and to previous returns after the final return has been submitted are settled directly with the tax authorities of the Member State of consumption concerned.

The new rules from 1 July 2021 apply to distance sales of goods imported from third countries or third territories to a consumer in a Member State whose intrinsic value does not exceed €150.

The following taxable persons may avail themselves of the import scheme:

• taxable persons established in the Community (with or without an intermediary);
• taxable persons not established in the Community;
• either directly, if they are established in a third country with which the EU has concluded a mutual assistance agreement on VAT, for distance sales from that third country (Norway is the only country to meet this criterion);
• or indirectly, through an intermediary established in the EU.

Intermediary roles in the import scheme:

The taxable person making distance sales of imported goods may appoint a person established within the Community (intermediary) as the person liable for payment of VAT and fulfilling the obligations under the import scheme in the name and on behalf of the taxable person. An intermediary may represent several taxable persons.

For the taxable person covered by the import scheme, the Member State of identification is:

• the Member State in which the taxable person has established his business ;
• the Member State in which the taxable person has a fixed establishment, if his business is based outside the Community. If the taxable person has several fixed establishments in several Member States, the taxable person shall choose one of them;
• the Member State in which the intermediary has established his economic activity;
• the Member State in which the intermediary has a fixed establishment, if the intermediary's business is based outside the Community. If the intermediary has several permanent establishments in several Member States, he shall choose one of them.

The Member State of consumption is:

• for distance sales of goods imported from third countries or third territories, the Member State of arrival of the dispatch or transport of the goods to the purchaser.

The Member State of identification shall assign to the taxable person availing himself of this special scheme an individual VAT identification number beginning with IM (IM + country code (3) + identifier (6) + check digit (1)). The Member State of identification shall assign to the intermediary an individual identification number beginning with IN (IN + country code (3) + identifier (6) + check digit (1)) and for each taxable person for whom he is designated an individual identification number for the purposes of applying the special scheme.

The import procedure applies from the day on which the taxable person/intermediary is allocated the individual VAT identification number/individual identification number for the import procedure.

For each month, a VAT return must be filed, whether or not transactions covered by the special scheme have been carried out. If the taxable person has not carried out any transactions during a reporting period and has no corrections to make to previous returns, a "nil" VAT return must be filed. The VAT return must be filed before the end of the month following the expiry of the taxable period covered by the return. Any reporting period is a separate reporting period.

The VAT return shall include the individual VAT identification number of the taxable person and, where applicable, the individual identification number of the intermediary, the start and end date of the tax period (in the case of several returns to be submitted for the same month in the event of a change of Member State of identification) and, for each Member State of consumption in which VAT is due, the total value, exclusive of VAT, of distance sales of goods imported from third territories or third countries for which tax became chargeable during the tax period and the total amount of the corresponding tax broken down by tax rate. The applicable VAT rates and the total amount of VAT due must also be shown on the return.

There is a section for correcting VAT declared for previous reporting periods. The deadline for making corrections is three years from the legal date of submission of the original return.

The VAT return is denominated in euro.

If the taxable person or intermediary does not submit his return by the deadline, the Member State of identification shall send him, on the tenth day following the date on which the return should have been submitted, a first electronic reminder reminding him of the obligation to submit his VAT return.

Each Member State of consumption concerned is responsible for any subsequent reminders and sets the costs, interest and penalties incurred by late submission.

Despite these reminders, the taxable person or intermediary must submit the return electronically to the Member State of identification.

When the VAT return is submitted, the administration allocates a unique reference number to the return.

The taxable person or intermediary must pay the total amount of VAT shown on that return to the Member State of identification (in euros into a bank account held by the administration) by the end of the period within which the return must be submitted at the latest, indicating the unique reference number allocated to him.

The Member State of identification redistributes the collected tax debt to the individual Member States of consumption.

The Member State of identification refunds any overpayment for each return directly to the taxable person or intermediary. However, where the amount of VAT has already been repaid to the Member States of consumption, they shall refund their respective share directly to the taxable person or intermediary.

If the taxable person or intermediary does not pay the full amount due within the time limit, the Member State of identification shall send, on the 10th day following the due date for payment, a first electronic reminder inviting him to pay the tax due.

Each Member State of consumption concerned shall be responsible for any subsequent reminders and shall determine the costs, interest and penalties incurred by late payment.

In the event of a reminder from the Member State of consumption, the taxable person must pay the VAT due directly to the State of consumption.

The Member State of identification shall remove the taxable person not using an intermediary from the identification register in the following cases

1. if the taxable person informs him that he is no longer supplying distance sales of imported goods covered by the import scheme (the taxable person shall inform his Member State of identification within 10 days of the cessation);
2. if it can be presumed by other means that his taxable activities have ceased (example: the taxable person has not supplied any distance sales of imported goods in any Member State for a period of two years);
3. if the taxable person no longer fulfils the conditions required to benefit from this special scheme (e.g. the taxable person is no longer established in the EU and must be represented by an intermediary);
4. if the taxable person systematically fails to comply with the rules relating to this special scheme (e.g. systematic failure to comply with the rules for filing returns, payment obligations or the rules for filing statutory records);
5. if the taxable person applies to leave the scheme voluntarily.

Depending on the grounds for exclusion, the taxable person may be subject to a quarantine period during which access to all schemes is denied.

The taxable person may also apply to be identified in another Member State of identification.

The Member State of identification shall remove the intermediary from the identification register in the following cases:

1. if, for a period of two consecutive calendar quarters, he has not acted as an intermediary on behalf of a taxable person who avails himself of the special scheme;
2. if he no longer fulfils the other conditions necessary to act as an intermediary;
3. if he systematically fails to comply with the rules relating to this special scheme;
4. if he requests to voluntarily cease acting as an intermediary.

The deregistration of an intermediary shall result in the exclusion of all the taxable persons he represents.

Depending on the grounds for exclusion, the intermediary may no longer act as an intermediary for a period of two years.

The intermediary may also apply to be identified in another Member State of identification.

The Member State of identification shall remove the taxable person represented by an intermediary from the identification register in the following cases:

1. if the intermediary informs the Member State of identification that this taxable person no longer carries out distance sales of goods imported from third territories or third countries;
2. if it can be presumed by other means that the taxable activities of distance selling of goods imported from third territories or third countries of that taxable person have ceased;
3. if that taxable person no longer fulfils the conditions required to qualify for this special scheme;
4. if that taxable person systematically fails to comply with the rules relating to this special scheme;
5. if the intermediary informs the Member State of identification that he no longer represents that taxable person;
6. if the taxable person no longer wishes to be represented by the intermediary, or wishes to change intermediary.

The taxable person or the intermediary shall submit the final return and make the corresponding payments to the Member State which was the Member State of identification at the time of the exclusion. Any corrections to be made to the final return and to previous returns after the final return has been submitted are settled directly with the tax authorities of the Member State of consumption concerned.