Why is tax part of the sales experience?
In e-exports to the EU, the customer meeting a surprise at the door — VAT plus a courier collection fee — is the number-one cause of returns and bad reviews. The 2021 EU VAT e-commerce package introduced two tools to solve this problem: IOSS for imports and OSS for intra-EU distance sales. The right setup is a matter of both compliance and conversion rate.
Practical guidance
The IOSS number is not published on your site; it is declared to the carrier. If your site says “customs charges are borne by the buyer”, you are announcing that you do not use IOSS.
Let us build your VAT and customs setup
IOSS/OSS registrations, intermediary representation, invoicing arrangements and the Türkiye leg (ETGB, withholding) — in a single project with our tax team.
IOSS: consignments up to €150
If you use IOSS for consignments going from Türkiye to EU consumers with an intrinsic value not exceeding €150: you collect VAT at checkout at the rate of the customer’s country and pay it through a single monthly IOSS return; the parcel clears customs quickly and free of VAT. Since 1 July 2026 these consignments are no longer exempt from customs duty: under Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382 a flat duty of €3 per item is charged on consignments up to €150 until 1 July 2028. The €150 IOSS threshold for VAT is unchanged; this item should be shown separately in your pricing. As a rule, third-country sellers register through an intermediary established in the EU. The IOSS number is declared to the carrier; your declarations must match your shipment data.
OSS: sales made from within the EU
If your goods reach consumers from a warehouse inside the EU (your own warehouse, a 3PL or FBA), you are under the intra-EU distance sales regime. Note: the EU-wide €10,000 threshold is available only to suppliers established in a single Member State (Article 59c(1)(a) of Directive 2006/112/EC); a seller established in Türkiye cannot use it, destination-country VAT applies from the first supply, and the Union OSS is used from the first supply. Caution: holding stock in the warehouse country requires a local VAT registration in that country — OSS does not replace it. That is why FBA’s multi-country storage calls for a tax plan.
The marketplace scenario: deemed supplier
For sales of ≤€150 made through a marketplace from outside the EU, and for third-country sellers’ stock held inside the EU, in most scenarios the platform assumes the VAT liability. This relieves you of the return, but you must align your records, invoicing and returns arrangements with the platform’s rules; if your own site runs in parallel, the channel split must be reflected in your accounting.
The Türkiye leg: ETGB and the 1% withholding
The Türkiye side of the same setup has two items: VAT refunds and simplified customs via ETGB (the electronic commerce customs declaration) in micro-exports; and, on domestic marketplace sales, the 1% withholding applied since January 2025 (on the gross amount excluding VAT, creditable). Pricing and cash flow should be built with both ends in view — for details, see our marketplace guide.
The setup sequence
(1) Channel map: own site / marketplace / EU warehouse; (2) IOSS intermediary and/or OSS registration; (3) checkout VAT matrix and invoice templates; (4) IOSS declaration arrangements in the carrier contract; (5) integration of the Türkiye leg (ETGB, withholding, e-invoice). This setup is the standard scope of our OSS/IOSS service; for the strategy as a whole, see our e-commerce focus area.
