Apply to report distance sales through One Stop Shop (OSS)
If you sell goods and certain services to private individuals living in another EU country, you can report and pay VAT under one of the special schemes. To do this, you need to submit an application to us.
If you make sales to non-taxable persons (such as private individuals) in another EU country, you may need to register for VAT in the EU country in question. To facilitate reporting and payment, you can apply to report and pay VAT in one country – even if your buyers are situated in different EU countries.
A taxable person, such as a business, can submit an application to report and pay VAT under one of these three special schemes:
- the non-Union scheme
- the Union scheme
- the import scheme
The scope of the special schemes (legal guidance, in Swedish)
External link.
Apply to register for One Stop Shop (OSS)
The application process is voluntary. You apply in the e-service One Stop Shop (OSS). You can use the OSS e-service to register for, report and pay VAT in one country – even if your buyers are situated in different EU countries. When you have been registered, you will receive an identification decision notice with an identification number.
If you only make sales to businesses in another EU country
Do not apply to register under the OSS schemes if you only make sales to taxable persons such as businesses.
Sales to other EU-countries (in Swedish)
The purpose of reporting under the special schemes
The special schemes facilitate reporting and payment of VAT if your business is not established in the member state of consumption. Your country of establishment is usually the country in which your business is based. The member state of consumption is the EU country in which a sale of goods or services has been made. It is also the country to which you must pay VAT.
When you sell goods and certain services to private individuals in another EU country, you may need to register for and report VAT in the buyer’s country. In order to avoid registering for VAT in each EU country in which you have customers, you can choose to register for the relevant special schemes and report and pay VAT in just one country. If you register in Sweden, you can use our One Stop Shop (OSS) e-service to report and pay VAT.
The VAT rate that applies in the member state of consumption
When you are registered for OSS, you must charge VAT on your sales at the rate that applies in the member state of consumption. You must therefore find out which VAT rate applies to the goods or service in question in the member state of consumption: i.e., the country in which the buyer is located.
Special schemes: terms and conditions of use
You can use the special schemes if your business:
- sells services to buyers located in other EU countries, who are non-taxable persons – such as private individuals
- makes distance sales of goods to buyers in other EU countries
- carries out certain supplies of goods where the dispatch or transport of the goods supplied begins and ends in the same EU country
- makes distance sales of certain goods of minor value imported to the EU.
Distance sales of goods
There are two types of distance sales of goods: intra-EU distance sales of goods; and distance sales of goods imported from a non-EU country. One example of distance sales is e-commerce involving the sale of goods to private individuals.
Intra-EU distance sales involve the sale of goods that are transported by – or on behalf of – the seller from one EU country to another, to a buyer that is a non-taxable person.
Distance sales of goods imported from a non-EU country involve the sale of goods that are transported by – or on behalf of – the seller from an EU country to a non-EU country, to a buyer that is a non-taxable person.
Sales of goods that constitute new means of transport, or that are included in an assembly delivery, are not covered by the distance selling regulations.
Distance selling through e-commerce platform companies
Distance sales of goods are usually made through the use of an electronic interface such as a marketplace, platform, portal or other similar means. A business that enables sales of goods through the use of this type of electronic interface is known as a platform company. Such a company enables sellers to offer goods to buyers through its electronic interface. Buyers and sellers connect through this electronic interface, which leads to the supply of goods. The platform company is deemed to carry out the supply to the buyer and is obliged to report VAT on the sale.
A platform company can be established in either an EU or a non-EU country, and can use either the Union scheme or the import scheme.
A platform company that enables the intra-EU sale of goods by a taxable person that is not established in an EU country, to a non-taxable person, is deemed to have purchased the goods and sold them on. In these circumstances, a platform company can use the Union scheme.
A platform company that enables the distance sale of goods imported from a country outside the EU, involving consignments of goods with a maximum value of EUR 150, is deemed to have purchased the goods and sold them on. In these circumstances, a platform company can use the import scheme.
Supply of goods through an electronic interface (legal guidance, in Swedish) External link.
Threshold for the sale of goods and certain digital services
If you are based in Sweden and make distance sales of goods and sell telecommunications, broadcasting or electronic services to private individuals in another EU country, you can choose for your sales to be taxed in Sweden. This applies if your annual sales threshold is below the EUR 10,000 (SEK 99,680) limit. You then charge Swedish VAT on your sales and report this VAT in your regular VAT return.
Your annual sales calculation must include all intra-EU distance sales of goods, and all sales of telecommunications services, radio and TV broadcasting and electronic services. The SEK 99,680 annual threshold applies to both the current and previous calendar year. A threshold is an amount limit.
Annual turnover limit: sales to non-taxable persons in other EU countries (in Swedish)
If your sales exceed the annual turnover limit
If your turnover exceeds the annual limit, your sales must be taxed at the applicable rate in the country in which the buyer is located. You then either need to register for VAT in the EU country in which the buyer is located, or apply to register for the Union scheme. If you use the Union scheme, you must report your sales in the One Stop Shop (OSS) e-service
If your sales turnover is under the annual limit
If your sales turnover is under the annual limit, you can apply to register for the Union scheme voluntarily. Your sales must then be taxed at the applicable rate in the country in which the buyer is located. You report your sales in the One Stop Shop (OSS) e-service.
Apply for OSS
If you want to report and pay VAT under one of the special schemes, you must submit an application in an EU country. The country in which you register for OSS will be your member state of identification. If you register your business for OSS in Sweden, Sweden will be your member state of identification.
In certain situations, you might need to use more than one of the special schemes.
Apply to the Swedish Tax Agency to register
You can choose to apply to the Swedish Tax Agency if your business’s fixed establishment or economic activities are based in Sweden. In some cases, applications for the import scheme must be submitted by a business representative.
You can apply to the Swedish Tax Agency to register for the non-Union scheme, even if your business is not established in Sweden. Your registration will be valid for all service sales to buyers in other EU countries.
Your business can apply for one of the special schemes even if you haven’t started making sales of services or distance sales of goods. You don’t have to know in advance in which countries you will make sales. The intention to carry out distance sales of goods, or sales to non-taxable persons within the EU, qualifies you to apply for registration.
If we approve your application, we’ll send you a decision notice
If we can approve your application, you’ll receive a decision notice from the Swedish Tax Agency. Your business must then report and pay VAT in accordance with one of the special schemes. If a business with a representative applies for the import scheme, the Swedish Tax Agency will decide that this representative must report and pay the VAT due.
In certain cases, we may not be able to register your business
Certain obstacles can prevent the Swedish Tax Agency from registering your business for VAT reporting under the special schemes. One example of such an obstacle is if your business has already registered in another EU country.
Obsticles to identification decisions (legal guidance, in Swedish) External link.
Applications for non-Union scheme registration
Businesses that are not established within the EU can use the non-Union scheme when they sell services subject to VAT within the EU.
The Swedish Tax Agency can decide to register your business for VAT reporting under the non-Union scheme, provided that the following requirements are fulfilled:
- the business does not have economic activities or a fixed establishment in the EU
- its VAT reporting applies to the sale of services
- these services are subject to VAT in Sweden or another EU country
- the buyer is a taxable person that is established or resident in Sweden or another EU country, or stays there on a permanent basis.
Details to include in your application
You must provide the following details about the business when you submit your application to the Swedish Tax Agency:
- name
- postal address
- email address and website
- national tax identification number (TIN), if available
- confirmation that the business does not have economic activities or a fixed establishment in the EU
- details of when the business intends to start operating
Non-Union scheme identification numbers
If your business fulfils the VAT reporting requirements under the non-Union scheme, you will receive an identification decision notice from the Swedish Tax Agency. You will also receive an identification number with this decision notice. Your identification number is not a VAT registration number.
Under the non-Union scheme, an identification number is structured as follows:
EU123456789
Applications for Union scheme registration
You can use the Union scheme if your business:
- sells services
- makes intra-EU distance sales of goods
- makes sales of goods where the dispatch or transport of the goods supplied begins and ends in the same EU country.
If your company sells services
In order for your business to be permitted to use the Union scheme when reporting its sales of services, the following requirements must be fulfilled:
- The business’s economic activities are based in Sweden. If the business is not based in the EU, it must have a fixed establishment in Sweden.
- The VAT due to be reported by the business applies to the sale of services.
- Its services must be subject to VAT in another EU country.
- The business does not have a fixed establishment in the EU country in which its services are subject to VAT.
- The business sells services to a buyer that are non-taxable person – such as private individual.
If your business makes intra-EU distance sales of goods
In order for your business to be permitted to use the Union scheme when reporting distance sales of goods, the following requirements must be fulfilled:
- The business’s economic activities are based in Sweden. If your business is not based in the EU, it must have a fixed establishment in Sweden.
- Your business is not established in the EU, but it makes intra-EU distance sales of goods that are transported from Sweden to another EU country.
- The VAT due to be reported by the business applies to intra-EU distance sales of goods.
- Its goods sales must be subject to VAT in another EU country.
- The business sells these goods to a buyer that are non-taxable person – such as private individual.
If the business makes sales of goods where the dispatch or transport of the goods supplied begins and ends in the same EU country
In order for your business to be permitted to use the Union scheme when reporting sales of goods where the dispatch or transport of the goods supplied begins and ends in the same EU country, the following requirements must be fulfilled:
- The business’s economic activities are based in Sweden, and the business has a fixed establishment in Sweden if it is not based in the EU. Dispatch or transport begins and ends in the same EU country.
- The business is a platform company that is deemed to have purchased the goods and sold them on, and is therefore obliged to report and pay VAT on sales through the platform. The business is not established in the EU, and dispatch or transport begins and ends in Sweden.
- The VAT relates to intra-EU sales of goods made by a taxable person that is not established in an EU country, to a non-taxable person such as a private individual. Sales must have been enabled by a platform company that is deemed to have purchased the goods and sold them on, and is therefore obliged to report and pay VAT on sales through the platform.
- These sales of goods are subject to VAT in Sweden or another EU country.
Details to include in your application
You must provide the following details about the business when you submit your application to the Swedish Tax Agency:
- name
- postal address
- email address and website
- national tax identification number (TIN) if available
- confirmation that the business does not have economic activities or a fixed establishment – in the EU
- VAT or tax registration numbers – and names and addresses in the EU countries that issued such numbers – where the business has fixed establishments, or to which the goods are dispatched or transported
- VAT numbers in other EU countries in which the business has no fixed establishment
- details of whether the business is a platform company
- information about when the business’s activities are due to begin
Union scheme identification numbers
If your business fulfils the VAT reporting requirements under the Union scheme, you will receive an identification decision notice from the Swedish Tax Agency. You will also receive an identification number with this decision notice, if your business doesn’t have a VAT registration number. If your business already has a VAT registration number, this must be used as an identification number for the Union scheme.
Applications for use of the import scheme
You can use the import scheme if the following requirements are fulfilled:
- The business’s economic activities are based in Sweden. If the business is not based in the EU, it must have a fixed establishment in Sweden.
- The business is not based in the EU, but its circumstances are either of the following:
- it is established in a country with which the EU has entered into a special agreement relating to mutual assistance regarding the collection of taxes and the exchange of information relating to tax matters, and it carries out distance sales of goods from the country in question, or
- it is not established in the EU but has a representative whose economic activities are based in Sweden, or – if the business is not based in the EU – it has a fixed establishment in Sweden
- The business’s VAT reporting relates to distance sales of goods imported from a non-EU country, and the maximum value of each consignment is EUR 150. This does not apply to excise goods. Consignments constitute goods that are packed together and dispatched simultaneously by the same supplier to the same consignee, and covered by the same transport contract.
- Deliveries are subject to VAT in Sweden or another EU country.
Certain businesses must have a representative
A business that is not established in the EU or in a country specified in the implementing act adopted by the EU Commission, must have a representative. All reporting according to the special scheme is then carried out through that representative. A representative is a person or business established in the EU that has been appointed by a business to fulfil its obligation to report and pay VAT under the import scheme.
A business is permitted to have one representative only.
Details to include in your application
Businesses without a representative
If your business doesn’t need to have a representative, you must provide the following details when you submit your application to the Swedish Tax Agency:
- name
- postal address
- email address and website
- VAT registration number or national tax identification number (TIN)
Businesses with a representative
In order to use the import scheme on behalf of a business, a representative must provide their details when submitting their application to the Swedish Tax Agency, as follows:
- name
- postal address
- email address
- VAT registration number
In their application, a representative must also provide the following details for each business they intend to represent:
- name
- postal address
- email address and website
- VAT registration number or national tax identification number (TIN)
- previous or current identification number for one of the OSS schemes.
Import scheme identification number
The Swedish Tax Agency will issue your business with a special identification number when we receive an application to use the import scheme. If your business has a representative, this representative will be given a unique identification number. Your representative will be given an identification number for each business they represent. This identification number can only be used for the import scheme.
Your representative must report VAT under the import scheme for every business they represent, using the relevant identification number for each business. VAT reporting is only permitted for sales covered by the import scheme.
Under the import scheme, an identification number is structured as follows:
IM1234567890
Under the import scheme, a representative’s identification number is structured as follows:
IN1234567890
A platform company must provide its identification number to all of its underlying suppliers. If the platform company does not do this, Swedish Customs can charge VAT on imports.
An identification number used under the import scheme is accessible to all customs authorities within the EU for validation purposes.
If a business replaces its representative, the new representative must apply for a new identification number for the business. The new representative must notify the member state of identification of the business’s previous identification number when applying for a new one on behalf of the business. This procedure also applies when a representative’s member state of identification changes.
When does VAT reporting begin under the special schemes?
The date on which your business must start reporting VAT under a special scheme depends on which scheme your business uses.
Non-Union and Union scheme reporting
Under the non-Union and Union schemes, you must start reporting VAT from the first day of the calendar quarter that begins after your application has been received by the Swedish Tax Agency.
If your business sells goods or services before this date, the relevant scheme applies from the first date of sale. This rule applies provided that you submit your application to the Swedish Tax Agency by the 10th day of the month after the first date of sale. If we receive your application after this date, your business might be required to register for and pay VAT in the countries to which it makes sales, if its sales turnover exceeds the annual limit of SEK 99,680.
Examples
Application on 1 January
If a business's application to register for a special scheme is received on 1 January, this scheme applies from 1 April.
Application on 31 March
If a business’s application to register for a special scheme is received on 1 March, this scheme applies from 1 April.
New business established on 15 December
Option 1: Having made its first sale of electronic services on 15 December (during year one), the business applies to register for a special scheme on 10 January (during year two). The business must use the special scheme from 15 December.
Option 2: The business’s application for OSS registration is received on 20 January during its second year of operation, having made its first sale during year one. The business must use the special scheme in question from 1 April of year two. The business must report and pay VAT in each buyer’s country of residence, or in each country in which its buyers stay on a permanent basis. The business must therefore register for VAT in all of these countries.
VAT reporting under the import scheme
The import scheme is valid from the date on which a business or its representative is given an import scheme identification number.
Changes and deregistration
You must inform the Swedish Tax Agency of any changes or if you no longer wish to use a special scheme.
Changes
You must inform us of any changes that affect your business’s eligibility for the special scheme in question. You must also notify us of any changes to the details you provided at the time of registration. If your business has a representative, they must inform us of any such changes.
Use the Swedish Tax Agency’s OSS e-service to notify us of any changes by the 10th day of the month after the change in question took place.
Deregistration
You can choose to stop using an OSS scheme whenever you like – even if you continue to sell goods or services that are covered by the scheme. Use our OSS e-service to deregister.
If you wish to stop using the non-Union or Union scheme during a particular calendar quarter, you must notify us at least 15 days before the end of the previous calendar quarter. Your business will then be deregistered from the first day of the next calendar quarter, after which the general rules on VAT reporting will apply.
If you wish to stop using the import scheme, you must notify us at least 15 days before the end of the month that ends before the month during which you wish to stop using the scheme. Deregistration is then valid from the first day of the next month. From that date, you are no longer permitted to use the scheme for any sales you make. If your business has a representative, they must apply for deregistration from the special scheme.
Deregistration: final VAT return
If you stop using special schemes, you must submit your final VAT return to the EU country that was the member state of identification when you stopped using the schemes. The same rule applies if you have been excluded from the schemes, or your member state of identification changes.
Legal guidance
- Overview of the special VAT regulations (legal guidance in Swedish) External link.
- The scope of the special schemes (legal guidance in Swedish) External link.
- Supply of goods through an electronic interface (legal guidance in Swedish) External link.
- Obstacles to identification decisions (legal guidance in Swedish) External link.
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