The situation
Orders shipped to consumers in the Netherlands and Belgium from a warehouse outside the EU
A Dutch cycling-apparel brand keeps its main stock in a warehouse in the UK, set up before Brexit. Most orders go to consumers in the Netherlands and Belgium, and almost all are under EUR 150. Customers have started complaining about import VAT and handling fees charged at the door, and returns of refused parcels are rising.
The finance team has to decide whether to register for the IOSS, charge VAT at checkout and give the carrier an IOSS number. The questions pile up: which orders qualify, what counts toward the EUR 150, which rate applies to Belgian customers, how often to file, and what happens to the orders above the limit.
What the research has to settle
The rules behind the answer
- Every imported consignment carries VAT
- The VAT exemption for small consignments ended in 2021. Goods imported for consumers are now subject to VAT whatever their value. The question is who collects it and when.
- The IOSS covers consignments up to EUR 150
- For distance sales of goods imported from outside the EU in consignments with an intrinsic value up to EUR 150, the seller can charge the VAT of the customer’s country at checkout and declare it in one monthly return. Goods subject to excise duty are excluded.
- The import is then exempt
- When a valid IOSS number is given in the import declaration, the import is exempt from VAT, so the customer pays no VAT at the door. Above EUR 150 the IOSS cannot be used and import VAT is due under the normal rules.
- Without the IOSS, the customer pays on arrival
- Where the seller does not use the IOSS, VAT is collected at import, often from the customer by the carrier under a special arrangement with its own conditions. Customs duty is a separate question from VAT.
How it runs in azta
From the question to the document
The question, as you would type it
Dutch BV sells cycling clothing online to consumers in the Netherlands and Belgium. Orders ship from our own warehouse in the UK, nearly all under EUR 150. Should we register for the IOSS in the Netherlands, how do we treat Belgian VAT, and what happens to orders over EUR 150?
You start with
Orders shipped to consumers in the Netherlands and Belgium from a warehouse outside the EU
- 01
Describe the shipments
Give where the stock sits, where customers are, typical order values and who carries the parcels. azta searches the VAT Directive, the implementing rules and the Dutch and Belgian VAT acts.
Cited research· Free - 02
Check the conditions in the text
Open the provisions on the IOSS and on intrinsic value in the reader, and confirm each condition against your order data.
Atlas statute reader - 03
Write the finance note
Ask for a note with a recommendation, the checkout changes and the treatment of orders above EUR 150. Edit it in Canvas.
Canvas · Ask azta· Pro - 04
Share it as Word
Export the note for the finance director and the carrier’s account team. The research stays with the file.
Word export· Pro You send
A note on whether to use the IOSS, and what changes at checkout and at import
What you get
A note on whether to use the IOSS, and what changes at checkout and at import
Finance note · draft
Orders from the UK warehouse: using the IOSS
Recommendation for discussion. Register for the IOSS in the Netherlands. For orders up to EUR 150 we would charge Dutch VAT to Dutch customers and Belgian VAT to Belgian customers at checkout, and declare both in one monthly IOSS return.
At import. The carrier quotes our IOSS number in the import declaration. The import is then exempt from VAT and customers are not asked to pay VAT on delivery. We should agree with the carrier how the number is passed on and protected.
Orders above EUR 150. These fall outside the IOSS. Import VAT and any customs duty are due at import under the normal rules. The checkout should treat these orders differently, and we need to decide who acts as importer for them.
Outcomes on your numbers
What azta is worth on this task
Pro pays for itself after
20 minutes a month
At €85 an hour, that is all the time Pro (€27 a month) has to take off your desk to cover its price.
Example figures. Replace them with your own.
- Hours back a year
- 16
- Capacity at your rate
- €1,377
- More import VAT reviews a quarter
- 0.7
- Return on Pro
- 4.3×
- Research
- Drafting
- Your review
A scenario you set, not a promise. The hours that come back go to another client, or deeper into this one.
Want these numbers on your team’s real workload?
Book a demoSources azta searches here
- EUR-Lex · Curia
- wetten.overheid.nl
- Belastingdienst
- Justel
What stays with you
- Deciding whether to register, and agreeing the process with the carrier.
- Setting the checkout rules for baskets close to the EUR 150 line.
- Filing the monthly return.
Frequently asked questions
- Does the EUR 150 include shipping?
- The test is the intrinsic value of the consignment, which follows the customs definition. Ask with your invoice layout and azta cites the definition, so you can check how shipping and insurance are treated.
- Can a company outside the EU use the IOSS?
- Usually only through an intermediary established in the EU, unless an exception applies. Describe the seller and azta researches the conditions.
- Does azta file the IOSS return?
- No. It researches the rules and drafts the note. Registration and filing stay with you or your advisor.
