IOSS and EU VAT
IOSS is the difference between a customer receiving their parcel and a customer being asked for money at the door. Holding a number is not the same as being able to use it.
What IOSS does
The Import One Stop Shop lets you collect EU VAT at the checkout and declare it centrally, so the parcel clears without your customer being asked for VAT and a handling fee on the doorstep. It applies to consignments with an intrinsic value up to €150.
Intrinsic value means the goods themselves, net of tax and excluding shipping and insurance where those are itemised separately. It is not the order total, and treating it as the order total is the most common way to breach the ceiling by accident.
Holding a number is not the same as claiming
Being IOSS registered says you can collect EU VAT. It does not say you collected it on this parcel. The paperwork and the electronic declaration have to agree, because an invoice saying VAT paid against a declaration that claims nothing is how a parcel gets taxed twice, and it is your customer who pays.
- Domestic orders have nothing to claim.
- Excise goods, meaning alcohol and tobacco, are outside IOSS at any value.
- VAT has to have actually been collected at the point of sale.
- The €150 ceiling is converted using the European Central Bank rate in force for the month, which is a legal conversion rather than a live exchange rate.
- Then, and only then, the question of whose number travels.
Marketplace orders use the marketplace's number
On Amazon, eBay, Etsy, OnBuy and TikTok the marketplace is the deemed supplier. It collected the VAT, so its IOSS number belongs on the parcel and yours does not. A number is issued to one business and is not transferable, so putting yours on a marketplace order is a false declaration in your name.
If a marketplace number is missing, the correct behaviour is to claim nothing rather than fall back to your own.
Common questions
What is the IOSS threshold?
€150 of intrinsic value. Intrinsic value means the goods net of tax, excluding shipping and insurance where they are itemised separately, so it is not the same as the order total.
Whose IOSS number goes on a marketplace order?
The marketplace's. On Amazon, eBay, Etsy, OnBuy and TikTok the marketplace is the deemed supplier and collected the VAT, so its number belongs on the parcel. An IOSS number is issued to one business and cannot be transferred, so using your own on a marketplace order is a false declaration.
Can I use IOSS for alcohol?
No. Excise goods including alcohol and tobacco are outside IOSS at any value, however small the consignment.
How is the €150 limit converted to pounds?
Using the European Central Bank reference rate that applies for the month, not a live market rate. Under the Union Customs Code the rate published on the penultimate Wednesday of a month applies for the whole of the following month.
You do not have to work it out alone. Tell us what you ship and where, and someone here will talk it through with you. We would far rather answer a question early than see a parcel held at a border.
Talk to the teamSources
Checked 2026-08-01. This is guidance, not customs or tax advice. Rules in this area change, so follow the links above for anything that turns on your own goods or registrations.
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