What is an ”Intermediary”? (See article 369l of the EU VAT Directive 2006/112/EC)
An ”Intermediary” is a person established in the Community appointed by a supplier or a deemed supplier carrying out distance sales of goods imported from third territories or third countries as the person liable for the payment of the VAT and responsible for fulfilling the obligations laid down in the import One Stop Shop scheme.
Reference in the EU VAT Directive 2006/112/EC
The ”Intermediary” acts in the context of the ”Special scheme for distance sales of goods imported from third territories or third countries”. The arrangements around this special scheme can be found in the EU VAT Directive 2006/112/EC under
- Title XII Special Schemes
- Chapter 6 Special schemes for taxable persons supplying services to non-taxable persons or making distance sales of goods or certain domestic supplies of goods
- Special scheme for distance sales of goods imported from third territories or third countries
This is the scheme referred to the as the ”Import One Stop Shop”
When can this special scheme be used?
The Import One Stop Shop can only be used in case of distance sales of goods imported from third territories or third countries shall only cover goods, except products subject to excise duty, in consignments of an intrinsic value not exceeding EUR 150.
Consequences of using the Special Scheme
- The taxable person making use of this special scheme or his intermediary shall submit by electronic means to the Member State of identification a VAT return for each month, whether or not distance sales of goods imported from third territories or third countries have been carried out. The VAT return shall be submitted by the end of the month following the end of the tax period covered by the return.
Where a VAT return is to be submitted in accordance with the first paragraph, Member States shall not impose, for VAT purposes, any additional obligation or other formality upon importation. - The taxable person making use of this special scheme or his intermediary shall pay the VAT, making reference to the relevant VAT return at the latest at the expiry of the deadline by which the return must be submitted.
See also
- Other newsitems in the serie of articles on ”Demistifying new E-Commerce VAT rules in the EU”
- EU VAT and B2C E-Commerce: Overview of the changes on 1 July 2021
- EU VAT and B2C E-Commerce, the rules will change July 1, 2021 – Chapter 6 – Extension of the OSS to distance sales of imported goods (Import scheme)
