Tax law - OSS interface - "margin scheme goods"
@miriam@ebay
@patrick@ebay
"Houston, we have a problem."
Priority = HIGH
In principle, "margin-taxed goods" are only taxed in the country of origin (seller), since the full VAT is never calculated, but only the difference between the purchase price and the sale price.
When selling across the national border, eBay sometimes gets involved and processes the goods via the OSS interface. However, the respective VAT rate is applied to the full sale price.
An example with numbers:
a.) Standard taxation (new goods):
Sale price = €119.00
VAT included = €19.00, which is withheld via OSS (CORRECT)
b.) Margin-taxed goods (new and used goods without VAT shown by private individuals and small businesses):
Sale price €119.00
The seller paid €70.00 at purchase and only has to remit VAT on the difference between purchase and sale price of €49.00 (€119.00 - €70.00 = €49.00). In total, that is €7.82.
So in this example, €11.18 (€19.00 - €7.82 = €11.18) is withheld too much. Withholding €19.00 would therefore be WRONG.
We need a proposed solution from eBay on how the overpaid VAT can be reclaimed.
--------
In principle, it should therefore work the same way (or better) as when selling "digital goods" that are sold domestically.
chikara-kiss
·1 year agoHello Ebay Team,
first of all, happy New Year.
my name is Marco and my shop is: chikara-kiss
I have received 21 emails from Ebay (please update your VAT identification number in your Ebay account and/or confirm here that you use OSS).
Otherwise my account will be restricted.
As a user of margin taxation under §25a USTG, I do not have to register for the OSS procedure.
THE distance selling rule does NOT apply in the OSS procedure for margin-taxed goods (this includes used goods).
In another thread I read (unfortunately I can no longer reply there) that you inform the specialist department, they review the account and grant an exception.
I would be very happy if you could help me, like the other Ebay members who also have margin taxation.
Kind regards
Marco
ttd4it
OP1 year ago@miriam@ebay
Hello Miriam,
I recently had a private discussion with a commercial eBay seller who sells via eBay-DE from an EU country. He had posted the topic here translated into English as a thread.
That is exactly where, among other things, the problem arises. You simply can’t tell a Pole, Romanian, Bulgarian, etc. to take care of the matter himself while he is selling via eBay-DE and even recommend that the German merchant completely restrict/stop cross-border trade in margin-taxed goods.
I can’t quite follow that at the moment, because after all the same rules based on turnover also apply to the EU member states, according to which registration for OSS is either voluntary or required by law.
Here too, one could set a flag for “margin-taxed goods” that activates or deactivates processing via the OSS interface.
I’ll at least include that in my Excel table. 🙂
Best regards
Thomas
miriam@ebay
Hello @ttd4it! We're always working on improvements and recognize your request.
Best regards
Miriam
ttd4it
OP1 year ago@miriam@ebay
Many thanks for the reply.
The problem is much more extensive, as it affects the entire movement of goods within the EU, including cross-border trade between all EU member states and Germany.
So the EU rules only ensure that margin scheme goods are taxed only in the country of origin. In my view, there is no explicit requirement just for eBay to withhold the full VAT rate. However, I’d be happy to be convinced otherwise with the appropriate letter from the "Bundeszentralamt für Steuern".😉
Until then, it remains a technical problem that can be solved at item level.
Best regards
Thomas
miriam@ebay
Hello, @ttd4it. Now you’re coming at me with a different topic: Within the EU, we don’t make any adjustments; our sellers have to take care of their own presentation. This also applies to all sellers who are subject to VAT on every item.
Best regards
Miriam
vikon-doo
·1 year agoHello Miriam, please help me with my problem:
I am registered as a commercial seller and also registered for OSS. As far as I understand, ebay should automatically calculate VAT depending on the buyer's country and show the VAT in a separate line when paying for the goods. However, this is not the case. Only the value of the goods and the shipping costs are shown. How can I fix this problem? Thank you very much in advance.
ttd4it
OP1 year ago@vikon-doo
Have you entered your tax ID and checked the box that says you participate in the OSS procedure?
Usually this link will help you if you're logged in with your seller account.
https://www.ebay.de/spr/vat
You need to check the box in the yellow-marked field.
miriam@ebay
Hello @vikon-doo! What you’re describing here is only true if eBay is responsible for the collection and remittance of VAT (Collect&Remit). We do not state this anywhere, and at present we also do not see any problem with it in this respect.
I can confirm that the information you have stored matches the data from the BZSt.
Best regards
Miriam
miriam@ebay
Hello @ttd4it! Commercial sellers can use the margin scheme if they sell used goods, works of art, antiques, or collectibles.
However, if eBay is responsible for collecting VAT under the EU and UK rules, eBay cannot apply the margin scheme for these products due to legal requirements. If eBay is required to remit the VAT for these items, eBay collects VAT at the applicable tax rate based on the total value of the items.
If that is not acceptable to you, the recommendation is to exclude shipping outside the EU.
Kind regards
Miriam