Since July 1st 2021, the OSS application or One Stop Shop has replaced the MOSS (Mini One Stop Shop) application and allows to declare all taxable transactions provided for under the new OSS schemes.

OSS is intended for taxable persons who carry out:

• supplies of telecommunications services, radio and television broadcasting services and electronically supplied services to non-taxable persons in Member States (transactions already covered by the MOSS),
• other B2C supplies of services,
• intra-EU distance sales of goods,
• certain domestic supplies of goods,
• distance sales of goods imported from third territories or third countries in consignments of an intrinsic value not exceeding EUR 150.

Depending on the type of taxable transaction, you should declare them under one of the three OSS special schemes:

• Non-Union scheme,
• Union scheme,
• Import scheme.

These three schemes are applicable to taxable persons established within or outside the European Union, who carry out different taxable transactions for non-taxable persons (final consumers) in the European Union.

OSS allows taxable persons to choose a simplified scheme in order to declare and pay, in Belgium (Member State of identification), the VAT due in the different Member States of consumption.

After choosing one of the three OSS schemes, the taxable persons must use the special scheme in every Member State of consumption concerned and apply it to all supplies to consumers in those Member States.

All EU Member States will offer a similar system.

However, the use of OSS remains optional for taxable persons.

Via OSS, you can:

• register in one single identification Member State (Belgium)
• file one single online VAT return per scheme for all concerned supplies in all Member States
• make a single payment per scheme in Belgium of the VAT due for all these transactions.

You have to continue filing, through the Intervat dashboard, your MOSS returns and corrections of MOSS returns related to supplies of services carried out before 1 July 2021.

From the 3rd quarter 2021, all returns under the OSS schemes must be filed via OSS (EU e-Commerce), accessible from Intervat home page.

Do your taxable supplies not change with the entry into force of the OSS?

In that case, you have nothing to do. You will be automatically registered in OSS.

Should you declare in OSS other supplies than the ones covered by MOSS?

In that case, you should update your registration details in OSS (EU e-commerce) and register in a new OSS scheme if necessary.

The update of your registration details must be done directly in OSS (EU e-commerce) and no longer in MOSS.

If you fulfil the requirements of one or more of the OSS special schemes, you need to make one registration request per scheme.

If you need to be represented by an intermediary, they will handle your registration request.

More information about the registration in the OSS special schemes

An intermediary is a person established in the Community appointed by the taxable person carrying out distance sales of goods imported from third territories or third countries as the person liable for payment of the VAT and to fulfil the obligations laid down in the import scheme in the name and on behalf of the taxable person.

The intermediary represents a taxable person who wishes to use the import scheme.

He must first be registered as an OSS intermediary in order to handle:

• the registration of a taxable person in the import scheme,
• the filing of the OSS VAT returns of the taxable persons,
• the payment of the VAT due by the taxable person.

The appointment of an intermediary is mandatory for taxable persons/electronic interfaces wanting to register for the import scheme without being established in the Community or in a third country with which the Union has concluded an agreement on mutual assistance similar in scope to Council Directive 2010/24/EU and Regulation (EU) No 904/2010.

Taxable persons established in the Community or in a third country with which the Union has concluded such an agreement, may appoint an intermediary if they wish to do so.

In order to register and act as an OSS intermediary – import scheme in Belgium, you must have established your business in Belgium or have a fixed establishment here if your business is established outside the EU.

Via the tab “OSS (EU e-commerce)”, accessible from the Intervat home page, you can:

• register as OSS intermediary
• act as an intermediary, i.e. make a registration or exclusion request of a taxable person for the import scheme, manage their data, file their OSS VAT return …

The intermediary will be requested to provide a guarantee in order to ensure the recovery of any amount that may become due by the taxable person(s), as taxes, penalties, interest and charges.

The amount of this guarantee:

• is set at 10% of the balance of taxes due, for a period of twelve calendar months resulting from the OSS - import scheme returns
• may not be:
  • less than EUR 7 500 or
  • more than one million EUR

In 2021, the guarantee will be temporarily set by the FPS Finance based on the estimations of the intermediary. It will be finally set at the latest on 30 April 2022.

The guarantee can be provided in the form of:

• a cash deposit
• securities
• a personal guarantee
  
  by an insurance company, a bank or a private savings bank, which carries out its activity in Belgium.

You must to submit one OSS VAT return per OSS scheme in which you are registered for the transactions carried out from 1 July 2021.

Whether or not you have carried out supplies under the scheme, you must submit your OSS VAT return by the end of the month following the tax period covered by the return.

The declared VAT must be paid at the latest at the expiry of the deadline by which the return must be submitted, i.e. by the end of the month following:

• the quarter covered (April, July, October, January) for the Union scheme and the non-Union scheme and
• the month covered by the return for the import scheme.
   

Union scheme and non-Union scheme

The returns are due quarterly. The return of each quarter must be submitted by the end of the month following the quarter (April, July, October, January).

VAT return/payment for the...	To submit at the latest on/to be paid by...
1st quarter 2023	30.04.2023
2nd quarter 2023	31.07.2023
3rd quarter 2023	31.10.2023
4th quarter 2023	31.01.2024

Import scheme

The returns are due monthly. The return of each month must be submitted by the end of the following month.

If you are represented by an intermediary, he will submit your return.

VAT return/payment for the...	To submit at the latest on/to be paid by...
December 2022	31.01.2023
January 2023	28.02.2023
February 2023	31.03.2023
March 2023	30.04.2023
April 2023	31.05.2023
May 2023	30.06.2023
June 2023	31.07.2023
July 2023	31.08.2023
August 2023	30.09.2023
September 2023	31.10.2023
October 2023	30.11.2023
November 2023	31.12.2023
December 2023	31.01.2024

When requested by a tax authority, you must provide OSS records electronically and without delay.

You may use (without obligation) the standard XML file "SAF-OSS" developed by the European Commission for this purpose.

SAF-OSS technical documentation

•  Schema definitions - version 1.00.20 (ZIP, 35.15 KB)
•  Userguide - version 2.00 (PDF, 799.34 KB)

The non-Union scheme can be applied for all services to non-taxable persons carried out in a Member State according to the rules on the place of supply.

Who can use the non-Union scheme in Belgium?

The non-Union scheme can be used only by taxable persons, which are not established in the Community and choose to register in this scheme in Belgium.

Examples of services covered by the scheme

• telecommunications, broadcasting and electronic services
• services connected with immovable property (renovation work …)
• transport services
• services consisting of the admission to cultural, artistic, sporting, scientific, educational events etc.
• hiring out of means of transport

Union scheme concerns:

• intra-Community distance sales of goods
• supplies of goods carried out in a Member State through an electronic interface facilitating those supplies
• services supplied by taxable persons established in the Community but not in the Member State of consumption.

Who can use the Union scheme in Belgium?

• Taxable persons established in Belgium who carry out intra-Community distance sales of goods and/or supply services to non-taxable customers in other Member States where they do not have a fixed establishment.
• Taxable persons not established in the EU who carry out intra-Community distance sales of goods from a place of storage in Belgium.
  In order to register, those taxable persons must  be identified for VAT purposes in Belgium through a tax representative (except taxable persons established in a third country with which the Union has concluded an agreement on mutual assistance similar in scope to Council Directive 2010/24/EU and Regulation (EU) No 904/2010, such as Norway, who may get a direct VAT identification).
• Electronic interfaces established in Belgium or outside the EU and which facilitate (“deemed supplier”) intra-Community distance sales of goods or certain domestic supplies of goods.

Appointment of the tax representative

The tax representative will be requested to provide a guarantee in order to ensure the recovery of any amount that may become due by the taxable person(s), as taxes, penalties, interest and charges.

The amount of this guarantee:

• is set at 10% of the balance of taxes due, for a period of twelve calendar months resulting from the OSS - Union scheme returns
• may not be:
  • less than EUR 7 500 or
  • more than one million EUR

In 2021, the guarantee will be temporarily set by the FPS Finance based on the estimations of the tax representative. It will be finally set at the latest on 30 April 2022.

The guarantee can be provided in the form of:

• a cash deposit
• securities
• a personal guarantee
  
  by an insurance company, a bank or a private savings bank, which carries out its activity in Belgium.

EUR 10 000 threshold applicable in order to determine the place of supply

Since 1 July 2021, the EUR 10 000 threshold, introduced on 1 January 2019, below which the place of supply of telecommunications, broadcasting and electronically supplied services ("TBE" services) was the Member State of the supplier, has been extended to intra-EU distance sales of goods.

The calculation of this threshold takes into account the total value of TBE services and intra-EU distance sales of goods carried out since 1 January of the current calendar year or in the course of the preceding calendar year.

Your use of OSS will therefore depend on whether or not you exceed the annual turnover threshold:

• less than or equal to EUR 10 000: your transactions (services or distance sales) are normally located in Belgium, so you do not have to use OSS. You can opt to tax your transactions in the Member State of consumption: you can choose to use OSS.
• more than EUR 10 000: your transactions must be taxed in the Member State of consumption. You can choose to use OSS.