Infopage EU VAT Regulation 2021

On 1 July 2021, the countries of the European Union (EU) introduced a new VAT regulation for e-commerce („EU Digital Package 2021”) which will affect your sales of goods to EU consumers via online marketplaces and therefore also via Kaufland Global Marketplace.

Aim of the regulations 

• country-specific sales tax registration obligations are standardized
• existing VAT fraud gap in the European e-commerce, amounting to billions of euros, is closed.

Who is affected by the changes?

• You are a seller based in the EU and deliver goods from a warehouse outside the EU
• You are a seller based in the EU and do not have a German VAT ID and a German tax number registered in our system, or you use the OSS procedure
• You are a seller from a non-EU country, such as China, the USA or the UK, and the value of the shipment does not exceed 150 euros.

What did change since July 1, 2021?

Kaufland Global Marketplace will be considered a „Deemed Supplier” in the following situations and will be obliged to calculate and pay VAT on B2C sales of goods on Kaufland Global Marketplace.

You are affected by this change if you have the following transactions for B2C sales on Kaufland Global Marketplace:

• Shipments of goods sent from an EU location to an EU customer if the seller is not located in the EU
• Shipments of goods sent from a non-EU location to an EU customer if the value of the shipment does not exceed 150 euros.

Existing country-specific delivery thresholds for distance sales of goods within the EU will be abolished and replaced by a new EU-wide threshold of 10,000 euros. If you have exceeded the delivery threshold you will be subject to registration in every member state in which you make distance sales.

Introduction of the special reporting procedure „One-Stop-Shop” (OSS) which enables sellers to centrally pay VAT on their distance sales throughout the EU with a single VAT registration application. In this way, registration in several EU member states can be avoided. Independently of this regulation, the German VAT Act in 22f (1) No. 3 requires the application of a German VAT ID for all sellers who sell goods to German end customers.

Abolition of the import VAT exemption for import of goods with a value of up to 22 euros which makes all consignments of goods subject to import VAT from 1 July 2021. Through the new „Import-One-Stop-Shop” (IOSS) procedure, consignments of goods with a value of up to 150 euros can be exempted from import VAT in the future.

What did change for sellers after July 1 in case a „Deemed Supplier” model applies?

Kaufland Global Marketplace will be treated under a legal fiction as if the online marketplace itself had purchased the goods from the online seller and delivered them to the end customer.

This new procedure involves some changes with regards to billing documents (vis-à-vis you and the end customer) and the commissioning or shipping of the goods:

Tax payment

As soon as the case of the „Deemed Supplier” model exists, Kaufland Global Marketplace acts as the seller of the goods under VAT law, determines the VAT and pays it in your place. Your payouts will not include any VAT in these cases, as you are no longer responsible for VAT payment.

Billing documents

Kaufland Global Marketplace will provide you with a monthly credit note per warehouse country for sales made within the „Deemed Supplier” model via Kaufland Global Marketplace.

Customer invoice

In the case of the „Deemed Supplier” model, Kaufland Global Marketplace will send an invoice for the goods sold to the end customer. Of course, you remain the contractual partner of the customer and are responsible for product liability and warranty as you are today.

Import from a Non-EU country

If the goods are delivered from a non-EU country, you are responsible for the import and must import the goods using the Incoterm „Delivery Duty Paid” (DDP). Shipments that fall under the „Deemed Supplier” model can be exempted from import VAT through the new „Import-One-Stop-Shop” (IOSS) procedure.

Shipment of the order from a non-EU-country

It is necessary that you ship the items of an order of a warehouse together in one package.