- The Guichet Unique simplifies VAT for e-commerce merchants, but errors can be costly.
- The Guichet Unique has been gradually implemented across Europe.
- Some tax authorities, like in Finland and Denmark, have immediately penalized non-compliant e-commerce merchants.
- In France, the tax authorities have been more lenient, allowing businesses time to adapt.
- Since early 2024, French e-commerce merchants have been receiving warning letters.
- Five common errors on the OSS-UE portal that e-commerce merchants should avoid are highlighted.
- Sanctions include VAT adjustments and deregistration.
- The Guichet Unique VAT has three portals: OSS-UE, OSS-non EU, and IOSS.
- Error #1: Registering for the Guichet Unique without regularizing previous VAT obligations.
- Example: A French e-commerce merchant selling to Finnish customers ignored Finnish VAT thresholds before the 2021 reform.
- The merchant should have paid Finnish VAT based on their sales volume in Finland.
- The Finnish tax authority discovered the merchant’s past VAT obligations through third-party platforms like Stripe and Hayden.
- The rule: Ensure compliance with previous VAT rules before registering.
- Sanctions: The Finnish tax authority imposed VAT adjustments and late penalties, resulting in double taxation for the merchant.
- The merchant was audited for three years in Finland and France, with a potential five-year audit in Greece.
- Recommendation: Consult a specialist like EASYTAX to review past VAT obligations before registering.
- Post-registration: Cross-check payment data from platforms like Stripe and Hayden with sales invoices.
Source: easytax.co
Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.
