The One-Stop-Shop confuses almost every foreign seller. Answer three questions for a plain-English verdict: whether you need Union OSS, whether Germany is your filing country, and what it costs.
OSS (One-Stop-Shop) lets you report cross-border B2C sales to consumers across the EU in a single quarterly return, instead of registering for VAT in every country you sell to. It applies once your goods are already inside the EU (for example, shipped from a German warehouse) and you sell B2C across borders.
For the full picture, see our OSS for German VAT guide.
Free to cite with a link: Vaytax, "Do I Need EU OSS? One-Stop-Shop Checker", https://vaytax.com/oss-checker
Only for your cross-border B2C sales. German stock selling to German consumers goes on your normal German VAT return; selling B2C to consumers in other EU countries is what Union OSS covers. B2B sales never need OSS. As a non-EU company with German stock, Germany is your Member State of Identification.
No. Union OSS covers B2C sales of goods already inside the EU (e.g. shipped from a German warehouse). Import OSS (iOSS) is a separate scheme for goods imported from outside the EU at or under €150. Vaytax files Union OSS as an add-on; Vaytax does not file iOSS.
For non-EU sellers whose filing country is Germany, OSS is an add-on to the German VAT service: €250 one-time setup plus €150 per quarter. It still needs an underlying German VAT registration, but since July 2026 you can also book OSS on its own with us if that registration is handled elsewhere.
Yes. A non-EU company holding stock in Germany can use Union OSS with Germany as its Member State of Identification, so one quarterly return covers cross-border B2C sales to all EU countries.
Got your OSS verdict?
OSS sits on top of a German VAT registration, never replaces it. Answer a few quick questions about how and where you sell, and we will tell you whether Germany requires you to register, and what it costs, in plain English. No account, no obligation.