Selling outside the EU from Germany: when is an export VAT-free?

Goods sold from Germany to non-EU customers are usually an export supply (Ausfuhrlieferung), not an OSS matter: the OSS covers distance sales inside the EU. It is VAT-exempt (§ 4 no. 1 letter a UStG, the German VAT Act) if you or your customer transported or shipped the goods to the third-country territory and you can prove it.

Last updated: 27 October 2026

In short

Proof: You must prove the conditions (§ 6 para. 1 and 4 UStG); documents: §§ 8 to 10 UStDV.
Electronic export procedure: The exit confirmation (Ausgangsvermerk) serves as proof (§§ 9 and 10 UStDV).
Advance return: The input VAT deduction stays (§ 15 para. 3 UStG); exports go into box 43.

What do "distance sale" and "third country" mean?

The VAT Act uses "distance sale" in two senses. The intra-Community distance sale is a supply from one EU country to another to a private customer (§ 3c para. 1 UStG); that is what the OSS is for, see distance sales under § 3c UStG. The second case covers goods that go from the third-country territory to a customer in a Member State (§ 3 para. 3a sentence 4 UStG; § 3c paras. 2 and 3 UStG).

The third-country territory is the territory that is not Community territory (§ 1 para. 2a UStG). If your customer lives in Switzerland or the USA, for example, their country lies outside the Community territory. Selling there from Germany is not an intra-Community supply and not an OSS case, but a possible export supply.

When is a sale to a third country an export supply?

Under § 6 para. 1 UStG an export supply exists when, for a supply,

you as the trader transported or shipped the goods to the third-country territory (no. 1), or
your customer transported or shipped them there and is a foreign customer (no. 2).

In a typical online sale to a private customer in a third country you ship the goods or have them shipped. That is the case of no. 1. A foreign customer is someone with residence or seat abroad (§ 6 para. 2 no. 1 UStG); the territories named in § 1 para. 3 UStG are excluded.

The export supply is VAT-exempt (§ 4 no. 1 letter a UStG), so you invoice without German VAT.

If the customer takes the goods in personal luggage, extra rules apply (§ 6 para. 3a UStG): the customer must reside in the third-country territory, take the goods out before the end of the third calendar month after the month of supply, and the total value of the supply including VAT must exceed EUR 50.

What proof of export must you keep?

The conditions of an export supply must be proven by the trader (§ 6 para. 4 UStG). The VAT implementing regulation requires that the documents show clearly and verifiably that the goods reached the third-country territory (§ 8 para. 1 UStDV). Which document applies depends on who moves the goods and how:

Case	Document
Export declaration in the electronic procedure	the exit confirmation sent electronically by the customs office of export (§ 9 para. 1 no. 1 or § 10 para. 1 no. 1 UStDV)
Shipment, other declaration	shipping document, for example consignment note, bill of lading or postal receipt for mail, or another customary document such as a forwarder's certificate with the required details (§ 10 para. 1 no. 2 UStDV)
Transport, other declaration	document with name and address, quantity and description, place and date of export and exit confirmation of the border customs office (§ 9 para. 1 no. 2 UStDV)

If the proof is missing, the export is not proven as VAT-exempt. Keep the invoice and the document together.

What applies to input VAT and the advance return?

Input VAT deduction is in principle excluded for VAT-exempt supplies (§ 15 para. 2 UStG). That exclusion does not apply if the supplies are exempt under § 4 nos. 1 to 7 UStG (§ 15 para. 3 no. 1 letter a UStG). The export supply falls under § 4 no. 1, so the input VAT on your purchase of goods remains deductible.

In the advance VAT return you enter export supplies and other exempt supplies with input VAT deduction in box 43, according to the ELSTER guide. How to file the return: filing the advance VAT return online.

The reverse: distance sales from a third country into the EU

If goods come from outside the EU and go to a private customer in the EU, the place of supply is where transport or shipment ends if the goods are imported into an EU country other than the one where they arrive (§ 3c para. 2 UStG). If they are imported into the customer's own country, this applies as a rule only if the VAT is declared under the special procedure of § 18k UStG (§ 3c para. 3 UStG). A marketplace is treated as if it had supplied the goods itself for consignments with an intrinsic value of up to EUR 150 (§ 3 para. 3a sentence 2 UStG). This mainly concerns traders who import goods. If you sell from Germany, you are usually in the export case.

Which mistakes come up most often?

Mixing up export and OSS. Sales to customers outside the EU do not belong in the OSS return.
Delivering VAT-free without a document. Without a proven export, German VAT may be due; the proof is your duty (§ 6 para. 4 UStG).
Dropping the input VAT. For export supplies it stays deductible.
Not checking the destination. Not every place outside Germany is a third country: the Community territory covers the areas of the Member States that count as their domestic territory under EU law, and Monaco counts as part of France. The Isle of Man counts as part of the United Kingdom and is therefore a third country (§ 1 para. 2a UStG).
Overlooking customs and duties at the destination. This article covers only German VAT.

How VAT GPT helps

VAT GPT classifies invoices as exports and shows them in the advance return. In three steps:

Upload: You upload your Amazon or eBay CSV reports and your invoices. The AI reads amounts, countries and tax rates.
Check: VAT GPT breaks down the VAT and prepares the advance return. Invoices classified as exports are shown in box 43 of the advance return. You check and confirm.
Send: With VAT GPT Pro, the advance return goes via ELSTER directly to the tax office.

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Frequently asked questions

Is a sale to a private customer in Switzerland VAT-exempt? As an export supply it is exempt if you transported or shipped the goods there and can prove the export (§ 4 no. 1 letter a, § 6 UStG).

Must I report exports in the OSS? No. The OSS applies to distance sales to other EU countries (§ 3c UStG).

Which document applies when I ship by post? For shipments, § 10 UStDV names, among others, the postal receipt for items sent by post when there is no electronic export declaration.

Which box in the advance return takes the export? Box 43: export supplies and other exempt supplies with input VAT deduction.

Do I lose input VAT on export supplies? No. The exclusion of input VAT deduction does not apply to supplies under § 4 nos. 1 to 7 UStG (§ 15 para. 3 UStG).

Does the EUR 10,000 threshold apply to sales to third countries? No. The threshold in § 3c para. 4 UStG concerns distance sales within the EU.