EU ViDA Transfer of Own Goods reduces VAT registrations July 2028

From 1 July 2028, many businesses moving inventory between EU Member States will no longer need multiple VAT registrations simply because they store or reposition stock across borders. Instead, qualifying transfers will be reported through a single expanded OSS VAT registration.

This will mean the withdrawal of call-off stock VAT simplification.

Who can use ViDA extended OSS?

The reforms are particularly relevant for businesses operating inventory across multiple EU countries, including:

• E-commerce fulfilment – Amazon FBA, Shopify fulfilment etc and marketplace sellers holding stock in multiple Member States.
• Regional distribution centres – businesses moving inventory between EU warehouses before customer sale.
• Manufacturers – transferring finished goods between factories, logistics hubs and distribution centres or call-off stocks at customers’ sites.
• Retailers – replenishing stores or local warehouses from central European distribution hubs.

For many of these businesses, stock movements are currently one of the biggest reasons for obtaining foreign VAT registrations.

From multiple registrations to single, monthly One Stop-Shop return

Today, moving stock from one Member State to another often creates:

• a deemed intra-Community supply;
• a deemed acquisition;
• a local VAT registration; and
• ongoing domestic VAT returns.

ViDA’s Transfer of Own Goods scheme aims to replace many of those registrations with reporting through a single VAT registration under the expanded One Stop Shop (OSS).

Also available for some B2C domestic transactions

The Commission’s implementation material makes clear that Union OSS will also cover certain B2C supplies of goods under Articles 36, 37 and 39, including supplies without transport and supplies where transport begins and ends in the same Member State. The new return structure expressly accommodates these transactions.

The trade-off: more detailed reporting required

The simplification comes with significantly more digital reporting.

Businesses using the Transfer of Own Goods scheme will report electronically:

• Member State from which goods are transferred;
• Member State receiving the goods;
• taxable value of transferred goods;
• subsequent adjustments;
• corrections to previous transfers;
• adjustments to VAT deductions on transferred capital goods; and
• reasons for adjustments.

OSS returns become much more detailed

The expanded Union OSS return will also capture considerably more transaction data. Businesses will report:

• Member State from which goods were dispatched;
• Member State of consumption;
• domestic supplies falling within the expanded Union OSS;
• supplies made through deemed supplier marketplaces;
• VAT registration or fixed establishment from which supplies originate; and
• taxable values and VAT rates by Member State.

The result is that tax authorities will be able to digitally follow inventory as it moves between Member States before ultimately being sold.

Determination and reporting become one process

This represents an important shift in VAT compliance.

Preparing the new OSS return will require businesses to capture not only the correct VAT treatment, but also the underlying commercial data that supports every stock movement.

VAT determination and VAT reporting can no longer operate as separate processes.

Every movement of goods will need to carry information such as:

• where the goods originated;
• where they moved;
• the applicable VAT treatment;
• the Member State in which VAT is due;
• subsequent corrections; and
• adjustment history.

How to manage TOOG? Single integrated determination and OSS reporting

Many organisations still use separate systems for VAT determination, ERP processing and VAT compliance.

Under ViDA, those disconnected processes become increasingly difficult to manage. Determination errors or incomplete inventory data will flow directly into the expanded OSS return, increasing reconciliation effort and audit risk.

That why at VATCalc we have developed the only solution that combines VAT determination (or tax engine) and VAT reporting within a single platform.

It combines legislative-coded VAT calculation with OSS return preparation from the same transaction data. As the Single VAT Registration replaces local VAT registrations with richer digital reporting, maintaining determination and compliance within one application will become increasingly important.

EU VAT in the Digital Age reforms