The EFC field notes

VAT and OSS

Every field note on this topic, newest first.

All field notes

September 2026

  1. Customs and the border 7 min read DAP or DDP for shipments into the EU Under DDP the seller clears the import and pays duty and import VAT. What that requires of a seller from outside the EU, and when DAP fits better.
  2. Market access and IOR 7 min read Selling in Europe without an EU company Can a company from outside the EU sell in Europe without an EU entity? What a party inside the EU makes possible, and what the law still requires.
  3. VAT and OSS 6 min read One EU stock pool for B2B and B2C buyers Can the same EU stock serve distributors and consumers? Yes: one physical pool, two VAT treatments, and OSS covers only the consumer side.
  4. Customs and the border 9 min read EUR 3 customs duty: per item, not per parcel The EUR 3 customs duty applies per item, not per parcel. What Regulation (EU) 2026/382 says, which shipments it covers, and what IOSS does not change.

August 2026

  1. Country guides 5 min read Canary Islands, Ceuta, Melilla: outside EU VAT The Canaries, Ceuta and Melilla sit outside the EU VAT area. Why a shipment there from Portugal is an export, and what changes only if a buyer is there.
  2. VAT and OSS 9 min read Zero-rated B2B sales from stock in Portugal When a sale from Portuguese stock to a business in another EU country is exempt: the 2020 conditions, what goes wrong, and where OSS applies.
  3. VAT and OSS 8 min read Marketplace deemed supplier rules in the EU When a marketplace becomes the deemed supplier for EU VAT under Article 14a, what that covers for sellers from outside the EU, and what it leaves out.
  4. Logistics and fulfilment 7 min read Pan-European FBA or your own EU stock Pan-European FBA spreads stock across Amazon's EU centres and needs a VAT number in each storage country, compared with one stock base and OSS.
  5. VAT and OSS 9 min read Who needs a fiscal representative in Portugal When a business from outside the EU must appoint a VAT fiscal representative in Portugal, what it is liable for, and what it does not cover.

July 2026

  1. VAT and OSS 9 min read Import VAT in the return, not at the border Which EU countries let importers declare import VAT in the VAT return instead of paying it at the border, on what conditions, and why it helps cash flow.
  2. Customs and the border 11 min read T1 transit explained for importers What T1 external transit is, when a container moves under it from an EU port to Portugal, and how the guarantee, NCTS, time limit and liability work.
  3. Customs and the border 8 min read Customs value: what goes in and what stays out How EU customs value is built from the price paid under UCC Articles 70 to 74: freight to the border, royalties, assists, what is excluded, and the VAT link.
  4. Bonded warehousing 9 min read Bonded or release on arrival, in numbers Cash-flow numbers for a customs warehouse against release on arrival, for slow high-value goods and fast movers, and what bonded costs in discipline.
  5. VAT and OSS 4 min read OSS, IOSS, and what they do not cover What the One Stop Shop covers for sellers from outside the EU, how IOSS differs, and what neither covers: B2B sales and moving your own stock.