Using the EU One Stop Shop from Northern Ireland

What is the One Stop Shop?

The one stop shop is a new EU scheme which came into place from the 1st July 2021. The one stop shop is a simplification scheme allowing businesses to register and charge the destination VAT of the relevant EU country and reduce the need for businesses to VAT register directly with local authorities.

The Northern Ireland Protocol agreed as part of the Brexit deal to avoid having a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland allows for businesses located in Northern Ireland to take advantage of the EU schemes and UK schemes available to them. 

How does it affect Northern Ireland?

Because Northern Ireland shares an open border with Ireland businesses that reside in the country and consumers have access to the EU One Stop Shop despite still being part of the VAT regime set our and governed by HMRC. This opens up a lot of opportunities in Europe for Northern Ireland businesses which aren’t available to businesses in England, Wales and Scotland. 

Northern Irish businesses can use the One Stop Shop to simplify their VAT in Europe and also avoid customs clearance and duties when selling into the EU. Businesses can also take advantage of the new 10,000 EU wide sales threshold, you will not need to register for OSS until you exceed total sales of 10,000 EUR to EU countries.

How do i register for OSS?

Registration for OSS in Northern Ireland is facilitated by HMRC and you can register directly on their website here. 

To apply to use this scheme your business must:

• sell goods from Northern Ireland to consumers in the EU under the terms of the Northern Ireland Protocol
• be registered for UK VAT
• sell goods worth more than £8,818 (10,000 euros) a year to consumers in the EU

If you register for UK VAT so that you can use the OSS Union scheme, you will not need to account for VAT on domestic sales until you become liable under the normal rules.

How does OSS work?

Enrolling in the OSS scheme means you will now charge destination VAT on all sales made through your own website. You can check a list of EU VAT rates here.

VAT returns on the OSS scheme will be quarterly due by the end of the month after the reporting period;