IOSS explained for online sellers in Germany

The Import One-Stop Shop (IOSS) is an optional scheme for goods you sell from a non-EU country to private persons in the EU in consignments of up to 150 euros. You declare the VAT for all EU countries centrally and monthly with the BZSt, and import VAT does not apply if your IOSS number is in the customs declaration. If you sell from a warehouse inside the EU, you do not need it.

Last updated: 27 October 2026

In brief

What: an optional scheme for third-country goods up to 150 euros sold to private persons in the EU.
Effect: no import VAT if your IOSS number is in the customs declaration; you declare the tax monthly with the BZSt (section 5(1) no. 7 UStG).
Marketplace: if it supports the sale, it counts as the supplier (section 3(3a) sentence 2 UStG).
Limit: IOSS concerns VAT only, not customs duty.

Who is IOSS for?

According to the BZSt, traders can use IOSS to declare distance sales of goods in consignments of an intrinsic value of no more than 150 euros to private persons within the European Union centrally. Customs states the conditions like this: the goods are dispatched from a third country, the consignment is worth no more than 150 euros, and the recipient is a private person. You cannot use the scheme for goods subject to excise duty, for sales to businesses, or for gifts between private persons.

Taking part is not mandatory. If you do not use it, you stay with the standard procedure or the special arrangements of the customs administration. It becomes relevant for sellers who send goods from a third country directly to customers in the EU, for example in dropshipping. The VAT side of that is explained in Dropshipping and VAT in Germany.

What does the marketplace take over?

If a marketplace or platform supports the distance sale of imported goods up to 150 euros, the law says: whoever uses its electronic interface to support the distance sale of goods imported from the third-country territory in consignments of an intrinsic value of no more than 150 euros is treated as if it had itself received and supplied the goods for its business (section 3(3a) sentence 2 UStG). An electronic interface here is an electronic marketplace, an electronic platform, an electronic portal or the like (section 3(3a) sentence 3 UStG).

The BZSt expressly counts such platforms among the participants in the scheme. The law says no more than that at this point. What stays with you in your case depends on which sales run through the platform and which do not. How this looks for Amazon is in VAT collected by Amazon: what it means for you.

How does IOSS work in your own shop?

Register: you apply electronically to the BZSt in the BZStOnline portal. According to the BZSt, the reply with your IOSS registration number usually arrives within two to fourteen working days in your mailbox in the portal. Participation applies uniformly in all EU states.
Number in the customs declaration: if no valid IOSS registration number is given in the customs declaration, the scheme cannot be granted. It is not enough for the number to appear only on the parcel or on the invoice, says customs.
Declare monthly: the tax return goes to the BZSt within one month after the end of each calendar month (section 18k UStG). The tax is due on the last day of the following month and must have arrived at the federal cash office by then; direct debit is not possible.
Report even without sales: if there were no sales in a month, you still file a nil return.
Keep records: the retention period for the records is ten years.

The BZSt deadlines: January by 28 February, February by 31 March, March by 30 April, and so on through to December by 31 January of the following year.

OSS and IOSS compared

	OSS (EU scheme)	IOSS (import)
What for	Distance sales of goods and services to private customers in other EU countries	Goods from non-EU countries up to 150 euros to private customers in the EU
Period	Calendar quarter	Calendar month
Filing	By the end of the month after the quarter, for example 30 April for the first quarter	By the end of the month after the month
Payment	Federal cash office, no direct debit	Federal cash office, no direct debit

How the OSS scheme works is explained in OSS explained simply. Sales to non-EU countries are covered in Exports to non-EU countries and VAT. The OSS return is described in The OSS return for online sellers.

What changes at customs?

According to customs, the previous customs-free threshold for e-commerce consignments from non-EU countries up to 150 euros has been dropped since 1 July 2026. For certain consignments a flat customs duty of three euros per item of the customs declaration is charged, for others the standard rate. As things stand, a handling fee is added from 1 November 2026. IOSS frees you from import VAT, not from these charges.

Common mistakes

Using IOSS for goods from an EU warehouse. The scheme is for consignments from a third country.
Writing the registration number only on the parcel. It has to be in the customs declaration.
Forgetting the nil return. Even without sales, the return has to be filed.
Mixing up customs duty and VAT. IOSS covers VAT only.
Including a consignment over 150 euros. The scheme applies only up to 150 euros intrinsic value.

How VAT GPT helps

VAT GPT is the tax software for Amazon and eBay sellers in Germany: your OSS return first, then every other tax you owe, calculated and filed in one place.

You upload the Amazon CSV, and VAT GPT sorts the sales rows by tax scheme and country (Germany or EU/OSS).
Rows of Amazon's non-EU schemes (CH-VOEC, UK-VOEC-IMPORT) count as sales outside the EU.
With VAT GPT Pro you send the OSS return to the BZSt and the VAT return through ELSTER.

There is Free, Go (30 days free with all Pro features) and Pro (€49 per month or €444 per year, including VAT). Try for Free Now

Frequently asked questions

Is IOSS mandatory? No, taking part is not compulsory.

Does IOSS apply to goods from my German warehouse? No, it is about goods from a third country.

Do I have to report without sales? Yes, in that case you file a nil return.

Does IOSS replace the OSS scheme? No, they are two separate schemes with their own registration and period.

What about customs duty? IOSS exempts from import VAT, not from duty; the rules since 1 July 2026 are above.