Key Takeaways
- The Union One-Stop-Shop (OSS) lets you cover all your cross-border B2C sales across the EU with one quarterly return instead of registering in every destination country.
- A non-EU company can use the Union scheme if its goods are dispatched from inside the EU. Your Member State of Identification is the country your stock ships from, not where your company is based.
- Stock in a German warehouse means Germany is your Member State of Identification, so you file Union OSS through Germany. No EU subsidiary required.
- OSS does not replace your German VAT registration. German stock triggers German VAT from the first euro, so most sellers who store in Germany and sell EU-wide need both.
Information verified by Vaytax as of June 2026. Sources: BZSt, Council Directive 2006/112/EC (Article 369a), UStG.
If you are a non-EU company (UK post-Brexit, US, China, Hong Kong) selling on Amazon and storing your stock in a German warehouse, you have probably been told that the EU One-Stop-Shop is closed to you. That advice is wrong for the most common setup. A non-EU seller whose goods ship from inside the EU can use the Union OSS scheme, with the dispatch country as its Member State of Identification. For German stock, that means filing Union OSS through Germany off a single German VAT registration. This guide explains the rule, the €10,000 threshold, and exactly what you need.
What is the Union One-Stop-Shop?
The Union One-Stop-Shop (OSS) is an EU simplification scheme introduced on 1 July 2021. Instead of registering for VAT in every country where you sell to consumers, you register once, file one quarterly return, and pay the VAT for all your cross-border B2C sales in a single place. Your Member State of Identification collects the VAT at each customer's local rate and routes it to the right destination tax authority for you.
OSS covers B2C distance sales: goods you ship to private consumers in other EU countries, plus certain B2C services. It does not cover B2B sales (those use the reverse-charge mechanism), and it does not replace a local VAT registration in a country where you physically store goods.
Where do you file OSS? Your Member State of Identification
This is the part most sellers get wrong, and it is the whole game. Your OSS return is filed in your Member State of Identification (MSI). The MSI is not necessarily where your company is registered. It is set by a simple rule:
- If your company is established in an EU country, your MSI is your home country.
- If your company is NOT established in the EU, your MSI is the country from which your goods are dispatched.
For a non-EU business, that second rule is decisive. Under Article 369a of the EU VAT Directive (2006/112/EC), a taxable person not established in the EU who uses the Union scheme has, as its Member State of Identification, the member state in which the dispatch or transport of the goods begins. So a UK, US, or Chinese company that keeps stock in a German warehouse and ships B2C across the EU registers for Union OSS through Germany.
Can a non-EU company really use Union OSS?
Yes, when its goods are dispatched from within the EU. The widespread belief that "you must be EU-established to use OSS" is true only for the establishment route into the scheme. It misses the dispatch route entirely.
There are two ways into the Union scheme:
- Establishment: your business is set up in an EU country. (Closed to non-EU companies.)
- EU-dispatched stock: your goods ship to EU consumers from a warehouse inside the EU. (Open to non-EU companies.)
The practical upshot: if you are a non-EU seller and someone told you to register for VAT in every EU country you sell into, or to set up a Dutch or Irish entity just to access OSS, you were almost certainly over-advised. One German VAT registration plus Union OSS through Germany usually covers your pan-EU B2C obligation, no subsidiary and no fiscal representative needed for the OSS itself.
The €10,000 threshold, honestly
OSS does not kick in from your first sale. It becomes relevant once your total B2C distance sales across all EU countries (not just Germany) pass €10,000 in a calendar year.
- Below €10,000: you can charge German VAT on those cross-border B2C sales and report them on your normal German return. No OSS needed yet.
- Above €10,000: you must charge each customer's destination-country VAT rate, and OSS is what saves you from registering in every one of those destination countries.
The threshold is a single EU-wide figure that combines all your cross-border B2C distance sales, not a per-country allowance. It is the same €10,000 line that replaced the old country-by-country distance-selling thresholds in 2021.
One German warehouse, every EU destination
If all your EU stock sits in one German warehouse, the structure is clean:
- One German VAT registration covers your domestic German sales (from German stock to German customers) and your German input-VAT reclaim (Vorsteuer on Amazon fees, logistics, warehousing).
- One quarterly Union OSS return covers your B2C sales dispatched from that German stock to consumers in every other EU country.
That is the entire pan-EU B2C obligation, off a single warehouse, handled in one place.
The one real limit: OSS removes the need to register in every country you sell to, not every country you store in. If you also hold stock in another EU country (multi-country Pan-EU FBA, say warehouses in Germany and Poland), that country needs its own VAT registration as well. OSS then consolidates the cross-border reporting from both warehouses onto one return, but it does not remove the storage-country registration itself.
Do you need German VAT, OSS, or both?
The two obligations answer different questions. German VAT registration is about storing and selling from Germany. OSS is about cross-border B2C across the EU. Here is how the common cases land:
| Your situation | German VAT registration? | Union OSS? |
|---|---|---|
| Non-EU seller, stock in a German warehouse, B2C only to Germany | Yes (German stock triggers it from €0) | Not yet (no cross-border B2C) |
| Non-EU seller, German warehouse, B2C across the EU over €10,000 | Yes | Yes, through Germany (Germany is your MSI) |
| German warehouse, B2C across the EU under €10,000 | Yes | Not yet (report cross-border sales on your German return) |
| German warehouse, B2B sales only into the EU | Yes | No (OSS is B2C-only; reverse charge + ZM covers B2B) |
| Stock in Germany AND another EU country, selling B2C EU-wide | Yes, plus a registration in the other storage country | Yes; OSS consolidates the cross-border reporting |
The thread running through every row: German stock means German VAT, full stop. OSS is the add-on that handles your cross-border B2C once it crosses the threshold. Not sure which applies to you yet? Our EU One-Stop-Shop via Germany page walks through the same logic in more detail.
How Vaytax handles your OSS
OSS through Vaytax is a self-service portal plus a licensed German tax advisor, the same model as our German VAT filing. It is not a fully hands-off service, a licensed tax advisor reviews and files every return, but you do enter the figures:
- You enter your cross-border B2C sales for the quarter in the Vaytax dashboard, as totals by destination country and VAT rate (a few minutes).
- A licensed German tax advisor reviews the figures, prepares the Union OSS return, and files it through Germany's One-Stop-Shop portal, run by the Bundeszentralamt für Steuern (the BZSt).
- You pay the VAT due by bank transfer before the quarterly deadline, and get filing confirmation in the dashboard.
A Union OSS return is due every quarter, even when you had no sales (a nil return still has to be filed). That quarterly filing is what the per-quarter fee covers.
What it costs
OSS is an add-on to your German VAT plan, priced on Vaytax's own figures:
- German VAT plan: €1,199/year all-in with German registration included (if you don't have a German VAT number yet), or €79/month if you are already registered.
- OSS add-on: €250 one-time setup to register you for OSS through Germany, then €150 per quarter for the quarterly returns. Charged when you add OSS.
We switch OSS on when your EU-wide B2C crosses €10,000, not before you need it.
How to start
- Register for German VAT with Vaytax if you don't have a German VAT number yet (the storage in Germany requires it regardless of OSS). Start your registration.
- Add One-Stop-Shop from your dashboard once your EU-wide B2C approaches €10,000. We register you for OSS through Germany.
- File quarterly. Enter your cross-border sales each quarter; a licensed tax advisor reviews and files your OSS return through the BZSt portal.
Related guides:
Sell across the EU off one German registration
German VAT registration, monthly filings, and your quarterly Union OSS return, handled by a licensed German tax advisor. One place, in English. German VAT plan €1,199/year all-in (or €79/month if already registered); OSS add-on €250 setup + €150/quarter.
How OSS via Germany works Start registration Amazon FBA sellers
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a non-EU company use the Union OSS scheme?
Yes, if its goods are dispatched from within the EU. The Union One-Stop-Shop is usually described as "EU-established businesses only", but a non-EU company (UK, US, China, Hong Kong) that stores stock in an EU warehouse and ships it to consumers in other EU countries can use the Union scheme too. The route is the dispatch country, not establishment. If your stock sits in a German warehouse, Germany is your Member State of Identification and you register for Union OSS through Germany. No EU subsidiary is required.
Where does a non-EU seller file OSS if stock is in Germany?
Through Germany. For a business not established in the EU, the Union scheme's Member State of Identification is the country from which the goods are dispatched. If your stock is in a German warehouse, Germany is your Member State of Identification, so you register for Union OSS through Germany's One-Stop-Shop portal (run by the BZSt) and file one quarterly return covering your B2C sales to consumers across the EU.
Does the Union OSS replace my German VAT registration?
No. They cover different sales. Storing goods in a German warehouse creates a German VAT obligation from the first euro, so you need a German VAT registration for domestic German sales and your German input-VAT reclaim. The OSS return covers your cross-border B2C sales dispatched from that German stock to consumers in other EU countries. Most sellers who store in Germany and sell EU-wide need both.
What is the €10,000 OSS threshold?
OSS becomes relevant once your total B2C distance sales across all EU countries, not just Germany, pass €10,000 in a calendar year. Below that line you can charge German VAT on those cross-border sales and report them on your German return. Above it, OSS lets you handle every EU destination on one quarterly return instead of registering in each country.
If I use OSS, do I still need to register in other EU countries?
OSS removes the need to register in every country you sell to. It does not remove the need to register in every country you store goods in. If all your EU stock sits in one German warehouse, one German registration plus OSS covers your EU-wide B2C sales. If you also hold stock in another EU country (for example multi-country Pan-EU FBA), that country needs its own VAT registration, and the OSS return then consolidates the cross-border reporting.
What does OSS cost with Vaytax?
€250 one-time to register you for OSS through Germany, then €150 per quarter for the quarterly OSS returns, on top of your German VAT plan (€1,199/year all-in with German registration included, or €79/month if you already have a German VAT number). The OSS fees are charged when you add OSS. A Union OSS return is due every quarter, even a nil return, and that is covered by the quarterly fee.