VAT relevance of subsidy and consideration

The long-awaited Directive 2025/1539 was published in the Official Journal of the EU on 25 July 2025. The main innovation concerns the VAT rules for taxable persons that facilitate distance sales of imported goods and the application of the special regime for distance sales of goods imported from third territories or third countries and the special regime for the declaration and payment of import VAT.

The IOSS, as a one-stop shop for imports, serves as a point of contact for importers of goods from third countries into the EU, simplifying the declaration and payment of VAT on goods imported into the EU by making it sufficient to register in just one Member State even when sales are made throughout Europe.

Non-EU traders or platforms will now be made liable for VAT on imported goods, paid in the member state of final destination of the goods. This will encourage use of the IOSS for VAT, as foreign traders or platforms that do not use the system otherwise need to register in each EU member state in which they sell goods.

As the IOSS enables VAT payments up front when the consumer purchases the item, rather than at the border, it protects member states’ tax revenues and increases VAT compliance for imports. It also shifts the burden for VAT collection from customers to platforms.