VAT and IOSS obligations: the 2026 guide

Updated March 2026 - In e-commerce, VAT is no longer just a simple French CA3. As soon as you sell to individuals in several European Union countries, import low-value packages or go through a marketplace, you must deal with several layers of compliance: French VAT, OSS, IOSS and sometimes customs.

• ▸OSS = intra-EU B2C sales.
• ▸IOSS = low value imports to EU consumers.

For intra-community B2C distance sales, the overall threshold of 10,000 euros remains the key tipping point. Beyond that, you apply the VAT of the customer's country and you organize yourself via the OSS counter or via local registrations if necessary.

This point must be managed at the same time as your French compliance, in particular with our guide on VAT for SMEs, our article on the VAT declaration and our decryption of EORI number.

IOSS is particularly useful if you sell goods shipped from a third country to European consumers in shipments with an intrinsic value not exceeding 150 euros.

Platforms sometimes play the role of presumed debtor. This can move the collection of VAT to the marketplace, without removing your reconciliation and proof obligations.

Hayot Expertise Advice: The problem is not only registering at the right counter. It’s about making the data from your site, the marketplace, your logistician and your accounting speak in the same way.

In a classic scheme, you can combine:

• ▸a CA3 declaration in France;
• ▸a quarterly OSS declaration;
• ▸a monthly IOSS declaration.

We help e-retailers to structure their VAT flows, to make OSS/IOSS counters more reliable and to organize the reconciliation between sales, customs and accounting.

👉 Securing your e-commerce VAT obligations

The question is no longer whether your business is small or large. As soon as it becomes cross-border, e-commerce VAT requires a method.

📞 Do you sell in several countries or import small packages? We can audit your VAT chain and make your declarations more reliable. Make an appointment with Hayot Expertise

(Official sources: BOFiP - BOI-TVA-DECLA-20-20-60-10, European Commission - VAT rules for e-commerce, impots.gouv.fr - OSS/IOSS one-stop shop)