Special one-stop shop scheme: what is Form 369 and what is it used for?

Following the regulatory changes to the e-commerce Value Added Tax (VAT, IVA) rules at European level that entered into force on July 1, 2021, a new tax form has been created that must be filed when online sales are made in certain circumstances.

Let us look at exactly what Form 369 for e-commerce VAT involves and at all the particular features of this new European legislation, which seeks to simplify how countries collect their respective VAT on intra-Community online sales.

With effect from July 1, 2021, the one-stop shop (ventanilla única) is extended to all services supplied by a business or professional to private individuals who are final consumers, where those services take place in Member States in which the business or professional is not established, as well as to distance sales of goods and to certain domestic supplies of goods. It will therefore be renamed the One Stop Shop (OSS).

The one-stop shop is made up of three optional schemes that make it possible to simplify formal VAT obligations for businesses or professionals that supply goods or services to final consumers throughout the European Union.

The one-stop shop scheme means that businesses do not have to be identified for VAT purposes and register in each of the Member States of consumption.

Who is required to file Form 369?

All taxable persons that supply services or make distance sales of goods to private individuals will be required to file it when the volume of those sales exceeds €10,000 per year. Accordingly, as soon as turnover from such services or supplies to private individuals exceeds €10,000 across the European Union as a whole (not on a State-by-State basis), taxation takes place in the recipient’s jurisdiction, with the VAT of the country of destination being paid.

The deadline for filing Form 369 is the last business day of the month, the first period under this scheme being the third quarter of 2021, and the return for that period having to be filed before November 2.

Types of schemes

The new treatment of e-commerce for VAT purposes entails the introduction of three new special one-stop shop schemes which businesses and professionals, generally those not established in the Member State in which the transactions are subject to tax, may optionally use to report and pay the VAT accrued on supplies of goods and services made to final consumers established in the Community.

The three one-stop shop modalities relate exclusively to supplies of goods or services made by businesses or professionals to final consumers (B2C transactions).

Non-Union scheme (EUOSS)

This special scheme will apply to services supplied by businesses or professionals not established in the Community to recipients who are not businesses or professionals acting as such.

Union scheme (UOSS)

Applicable to services supplied by businesses or professionals established in the Community, but not in the Member State of consumption, to recipients who are not businesses or professionals acting as such; to intra-Community distance sales of goods; and to domestic supplies of goods attributed to operators of digital interfaces that facilitate the supply of those goods by a supplier not established in the Community to the final consumer. It is important to bear in mind that the transactions that must be reported under the scheme vary depending on whether or not the taxable person is established in the Community.

Import scheme (IOSS)

Applicable to distance sales of goods imported from third countries or territories. Businesses or professionals making distance sales of goods imported from third countries or territories in consignments with an intrinsic value not exceeding €150, except for products subject to excise duties, may opt for this scheme, under certain conditions, either directly or through an intermediary established in the Community.

When is Form 369 filed and what are the deadlines?

Form 369, which is the “Periodic self-assessment return for the special schemes applicable to taxable persons supplying services to persons who are not taxable persons or making distance sales of goods or certain domestic supplies of goods,” is filed:

– Quarterly by those registered under the non-Union scheme and the Union scheme.

– Monthly by those under the import scheme.

The filing period is the calendar month following the end of the period to which the return relates.

Are the Canary Islands also affected by the new rules?

Yes. They have the same obligations as companies and self-employed workers on the mainland with regard to the sales of goods and services to private individuals in the EU covered by the new rules.