IOSS
EU Import One-Stop Shop, in force since 1 July 2021, allowing sellers and marketplaces to charge and remit EU VAT at the point of sale for B2C distance sales of goods with an intrinsic value up to €150.
EU & UK customsTL;DR: This term is one of 37 definitions in the freight glossary, so the signal is the number it changes — not the acronym. It sits in the EU & UK customs category and links to 4 related terms for adjacent freight math. Use the example below to turn the definition into a before/after calculation before you quote or clear cargo.
What it means
IOSS (Import One-Stop Shop) has applied since 1 July 2021 to B2C distance sales of goods with an intrinsic value up to €150, letting the seller or marketplace charge EU VAT at checkout and remit it through one member state. The €150 threshold is a hard cliff. A €149 item with 20% VAT charges €29.80 at the point of sale. A €151 item is outside IOSS, so import VAT is collected at delivery: 20% × €151 = €30.20, plus an estimated €10–€25 courier handling fee (estimate, MEDIUM confidence), giving €40.20–€55.20 in tax and fee at the door. The gap is not €2 of goods value; it is the difference between €29.80 collected upfront and €40.20–€55.20 collected later. Above €150, the seller should instead state that import VAT and duty are due at destination. A seller pricing a product at €151 creates a worse delivery experience than one at €149, which is why margin decisions should be tested against the threshold rather than after launch.
Why it matters
For a B2C parcel at the €150 boundary, IOSS moves VAT to checkout; above €150 the same item can trigger destination import VAT plus an estimated €10–€25 courier fee, a cash-flow and customer-experience cliff that pricing cannot smooth over.
Example
A consumer buys a €149 phone case under IOSS and pays €29.80 VAT at checkout; the same case priced at €151 falls outside IOSS, so they pay €30.20 import VAT plus an estimated €10–€25 courier handling fee at delivery — €40.20–€55.20 at the door instead of €29.80 upfront.
Related terms
VAT Deferral
A customs mechanism, including UK Postponed VAT Accounting since 1 January 2021, that lets VAT-registered importers account for import VAT on their next VAT return instead of paying at the border.
Learn more →EORI
Economic Operators Registration and Identification — the free EU or UK identifier required to clear imports and exports, using an ISO country code plus up to 15 alphanumeric characters.
Learn more →Union Customs Code (UCC)
Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, in force since 1 May 2016, setting EU customs rules for valuation, origin and procedures, with duty levied on the transaction value adjusted to a CIF basis at the EU border.
Learn more →DAP
Delivered At Place — the seller delivers goods ready for unloading at the destination, but the buyer handles import clearance.
Learn more →