With the Import-One-Stop-Shop (IOSS), the EU has been facilitating intra-Community e-commerce trade in the B2C sector since 1 July 2021.
We will show you how you can also benefit from the new regulations and the so-called Import-One-Stop-Shop (IOSS) as a mail order company from a third country such as Switzerland.
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Alternatives to individual customs clearance after the abolition of collective customs declarations with a list of recipients.
For some time now, German customs authorities have no longer accepted collective customs declarations with paper-based recipient lists for imports from third countries. We present our alternative proposals. read more
Required residence of the customs exporter in the EU. Solutions for third country companies from Switzerland.
Delegated Regulation (EU) 2018/1063 of 16 May 2018 redefined the term ‘exporter under customs law’ in the EU. This is generally associated with greater flexibility in determining the exporter, but also has significant implications for companies from Switzerland without their own EU registered office. read more
Solutions for the Swiss food industry (Food Information Regulation / LMIV)
With a trade volume of CHF 298 billion, the EU is Switzerland's largest trading partner and, with a population of 450 million, is also an important target market for the Swiss food industry. Ever new and more complex rules, regulations and standards are making market cultivation more difficult for Swiss exporters. read more
With its digital VAT package, the EU has made intra-Community e-commerce in the B2C sector easier since 1 July 2021. Previously, mail order companies that exceeded certain annual sales (the so-called delivery threshold) with their deliveries to private customers in an EU member state also had to register there for VAT purposes. From then on, B2C customers were invoiced at the VAT rate of this EU member state and also had to be paid there as part of the advance VAT returns. This was not always feasible without the use of local fiscal representatives on site and was associated with considerable additional administrative costs for the mail order company for up to 27 EU countries. With the One-Stop-Shop (OSS) as part of the VAT digital package, mail order companies with an EU-wide turnover of over EUR 10,000 p.a. will now be able to pay the VAT collected via their webshop from all EU member states to a central office in their country for their deliveries to private customers in the EU. For Germany, this is the Federal Central Tax Office. This then takes over clearing with the tax authorities of the other EU member states. This regulation also applies by analogy to mail order companies from third countries that maintain a warehouse in the EU. However, the EU VAT Digital Package also offers opportunities for direct deliveries from third countries such as Switzerland. For example, the so-called Import-One-Stop-Shop (IOSS) scheme is available for consignments with a value of less than EUR 150 to private customers in the EU. By participating in this procedure, mail order companies from third countries no longer need to register for VAT in each EU member state if the delivery thresholds are exceeded there. Instead, the respective VAT per EU member state, which is collected from B2C customers via the webshop check-out, is paid monthly to the Federal Central Tax Office as a single point of contact. We are happy to support you in this as your fiscal representative. In addition, when using this import regulation, no import VAT is due for the mail order company when importing into the EU. This frees up capital previously tied up in EU VAT for you in future. Since January 2022, the German customs administration has been offering the option of using the ATLAS-IMPOST application to transmit electronic customs declarations for IOSS consignments with a reduced data volume. The time required for customs declarations will therefore be reduced and more cost-effective, or can even be carried out by the mail order company itself in future. Have we sparked your curiosity, or do you already have a specific task for us? We look forward to hearing from you.
For some time now, German customs authorities have no longer accepted customs declarations with paper-based consignee lists for imports from third countries. This particularly affects companies from Switzerland that used such a procedure at the customs offices close to the border at the main customs offices in Lörrach, Singen and Ulm. In this case, a customs declaration was made for deliveries to a large number of customers in the EU for the Swiss company’s tax registration in Germany. The respective recipients were notified to the customs authorities with an informal list (recipient list). This means that a separate customs declaration must now be submitted for each individual recipient. The reason given for the abolition of the previous simplification for third-country companies is the adoption of the Union Customs Code (UCC), which only provides electronically transmitted customs declarations, as well as aspects of the EU’s risk analysis and security initiative. The individual customs clearances per recipient required by the new regulations are beyond any cost framework for Swiss companies and can hardly be managed with the existing personnel resources of freight forwarders and customs agents. For this reason, authorities, chambers and logistics service providers are now increasingly advising companies to set up a commercial branch in Germany in the form of a GmbH. This allows import customs clearance along the sales transaction to be carried out by this limited liability company, which in turn invoices the EU customers. Regardless of the actual number of recipients, customs clearance then remains the same. In addition, only the EORI number of the trading company is required. We will be happy to support you in the formation and cost-effective maintenance of your trading company at our location in Constance. Have we sparked your curiosity, or do you already have a specific task for us? We look forward to hearing from you.
Delegated Regulation (EU) 2018/1063 of 16 May 2018 redefined the term ‘exporter under customs law’ in the EU. According to this new definition, an exporter is: a) a private person who transports goods out of the customs territory of the Union if these goods are in the personal luggage of a private person; b) in other cases where letter a) does not apply: I) a person established in the customs territory of the Union who is authorised to determine the removal of the goods from the customs territory of the Union and has so determined; II) if I) does not apply, a person established in the customs territory of the Union who is a party to the contract for the removal of goods from the customs territory. In principle, this regulation is associated with greater flexibility in determining the exporter. However, since 1 October 2019, the EU residence of the exporter under customs law has been a mandatory requirement. This primarily restricts Swiss companies without an EU domicile that previously had their export declarations in Germany carried out by a service provider in indirect representation as a third-country exporter. We support Swiss companies from industry and trade in ensuring their ability to deliver from Germany, e.g. by acting as an exporter under customs law. Have we sparked your curiosity, or do you already have a specific task for us? We look forward to hearing from you.
With a trade volume of CHF 298 billion, the EU is Switzerland’s largest trading partner and, with a population of 450 million, is also an important target market for the Swiss food industry. Ever new and more complex rules, regulations and standards are making market cultivation more difficult for Swiss exporters. CHALLENGE: For example, the EU Food Information Regulation (FIR) requires an importer with an EU address to be indicated on sales packaging for deliveries from Switzerland to the EU in order to provide consumers with a point of contact in the event of complaints. This requirement appears simple at first, but proves to be anything but simple to implement. The involvement of an EU-based third party in the commercial transactions – who then acts as an importer with his address – is always associated with an appropriate margin for him; at the expense of the Swiss manufacturer. Conversely, the question arises as to whether the use of a commercial agent or broker as an importer on the EU side is legally compliant if this is not integrated into the commercial transaction and the invoicing to the EU customers is carried out from Switzerland. SOLUTION: Our GmbH solutions have now established themselves throughout the industry as the optimal set-up for the Swiss food industry. We support our clients in the establishment and lean maintenance of their own GmbH subsidiary at our address in Constance. This subsidiary will be involved in commercial transactions with EU customers and can therefore act as an importer with its address. In addition to this legally compliant implementation of the FIR, Swiss manufacturers also increase the level of service they provide to their EU customers and thus their competitiveness on the EU markets. PROCEDURES: In cooperation with the tax and legal experts of our strategic partners, we provide you with articles of association, organise the necessary notary appointment, take care of the business registration and ensure the tax and customs registration of your new company. We work with you to organise future customs and logistics processes involving your EU subsidiary, provide recommendations on the form and content of proforma and commercial invoices and other customs documents and make suggestions on the communication and document flow with all partners and authorities involved. Our partners help our clients with legal issues and are available to answer tax-related questions, such as the allocation of services and measures on the German side. Our clients benefit from an existing office infrastructure with well-established processes and access to a team of qualified customs, tax and logistics experts for the ongoing maintenance of their GmbH at variable and needs-based costs. Have we sparked your curiosity, or do you already have a specific task for us? We look forward to hearing from you.