ViDA and the OSS: what changes in 2027 and 2028

ViDA is no longer a draft: the Council adopted the package on 11 March 2025, and the directive has been in force since 14 April 2025. For your OSS there are two key dates: 1 January 2027 with small clarifications and 1 July 2028 with a clear extension. According to the text of the directive, the platform rule covers only short-term accommodation and passenger transport, not the sale of goods.

Only VAT GPT sends all three returns itself. Of the tools we compare, according to the providers' own pages (checked 3 November 2026), only VAT GPT submits the OSS return itself to the BZSt, plus the VAT advance return and the annual VAT return via ELSTER to the tax office, calculated from your Amazon and eBay reports. You do not have to go into Mein ELSTER or the BZStOnline portal yourself. With the others, you upload the OSS file in the BZStOnline portal yourself, or a tax adviser or the provider's service files it for you. Sending needs Pro. OSS software compared

Last updated: October 28, 2026

In brief

Status: Adopted and in force since 14 April 2025. The countries are transposing it into national law.
From 1 January 2027: Clarifications for OSS users, for example on the 10,000 euro threshold.
From 1 July 2028: The OSS is extended, also for warehouses abroad. The platform rule applies to accommodation and passenger transport.

Is ViDA adopted or only a proposal?

Adopted. The European Commission published the proposal on 8 December 2022. After the European Parliament was consulted again, the package was adopted on 11 March 2025 and published in the Official Journal on 25 March 2025. It consists of Directive (EU) 2025/516, Regulation (EU) 2025/517 and Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/518.

The directive entered into force on the twentieth day after publication, that is on 14 April 2025. A directive does not apply to you directly, though: every EU country must transpose it into its own law. The deadlines are in the table below. How far Germany has come with the transposition was not checked for this text; ask your tax adviser or look at the announcements of the Federal Ministry of Finance.

What this means for you: Treat ViDA as adopted, not as a proposal, and keep working under today's rules.

Which dates apply?

Date	What happens
14 April 2025	The directive is in force. Countries may already apply the first parts, for example on e-invoicing.
1 January 2027	Countries apply clarifications that concern OSS users (transposition by 31 December 2026).
1 July 2028	Countries apply the OSS extension (transposition by 30 June 2028). The platform rule starts between 1 July 2028 and 1 January 2030, depending on the country.
1 July 2029	The call-off stock rule (Article 17a) has ended; goods may be moved into such a stock only until 30 June 2028.
1 July 2030	Digital reporting duties for cross-border transactions between businesses.
1 January 2035	Countries with their own real-time reporting align their systems with the EU model.

For the e-invoice deadlines in Germany see E-invoice obligation in Germany from 2027.

What this means for you: Note the dates, but remember that Germany must write the changes into its own law first.

What changes for the OSS from 2027?

For 1 January 2027 the European Commission names small legislative clarifications for users of the OSS and IOSS. The text of the directive contains two points that touch sellers like you:

The 10,000 euro threshold. Only distance sales from the country where you are established count towards it. Sales of goods stored in another EU country do not count: the threshold does not apply to them at all, and they are taxable in your customer's country from the first euro. The threshold itself stays at 10,000 euro per calendar year. More on the OSS procedure is in The OSS explained simply.
If you are registered in the OSS, you have opted for taxation in the destination country. The directive says: the option to place the supply according to the destination country is deemed exercised by taxable persons registered for the Union scheme of the OSS. This choice binds you for two calendar years.

In addition, 1 July 2027 is a reporting date: by then the Commission presents to Parliament and the Council a report on the deemed supplier rule for marketplaces. That is an evaluation, not a new duty for you.

What this means for you: Expect clarifications for the OSS from 2027, including how the €10,000 threshold works.

What changes on 1 July 2028?

Under the directive, three things, as far as they concern the OSS. They apply to you once Germany has written them into its own law:

The OSS also covers domestic sales to private customers in the country of your warehouse. So far the Union scheme mainly covers cross-border distance sales. In future, businesses that are not established in the country where the goods are taxed can also declare supplies within that same country through the OSS (Article 369b(e)).
A new special scheme for moving your own goods. If you move goods to a warehouse in another EU country, you can use a special scheme for that, provided you have the full right to deduct input VAT on those goods there. The transfer is then recorded only in your country of registration, for you Germany. The directive says: the countries permit it (Articles 369xa, 369xb, 369xd).
The platform rule. Platforms that facilitate short-term accommodation rental (at most 30 nights) or passenger transport by road are treated as if they supplied the service themselves, unless the provider has given them its VAT number and declared that it will charge the VAT itself (Article 28a). Countries apply this rule from 1 July 2028 at the earliest and from 1 January 2030 at the latest.

What this means for you: Expect the OSS to cover more from 1 July 2028 once Germany has transposed it.

How will the scheme for moving your own goods work?

The directive sets the main rules in Articles 369xa to 369xk. Only the points that matter for a seller are listed here:

Registration: you are identified for this scheme only in your country of identification, for you Germany, with the VAT number you already have (Article 369xd). If you already use the Union OSS, it is the same country (Article 369xa(3)). You need no VAT registration in the warehouse country for these transfers (Article 369xi).
Return: one return per month, even if you moved no goods that month, due by the end of the following month (Article 369xf). This is different from the quarterly OSS return for sales.
Content: the net value of the transfers per country of destination (Article 369xg). The scheme covers only goods for which you have the full right to deduct input VAT in the destination country (Article 369xa(1)).
Records: keep them for 10 years from 31 December of the year of the transfer (Article 369xk).

Two further texts exist. Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1869 was adopted on 27 July 2026 and published on 28 July 2026. It amends Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/194, introduces the new scheme and sets uniform rules and electronic reporting for the special schemes. Some changes to registration data apply from 1 January 2027, the main changes from 1 July 2028. The Commission also published revised OSS guidelines on 24 July 2026. They cover the changes from 1 January 2027 and are not legally binding. The Commission says a new version for the extension and the own-goods scheme will follow. How Germany implements the scheme was not checked for this text.

What this means for you: Read the main rules for moving your own goods, and watch for the Commission's new version of the extension.

What does this mean for my Amazon warehouses abroad?

If you hold goods in Amazon warehouses in other EU countries, points 1 and 2 above are the core of the reform for you. Simply put: instead of registering separately in the warehouse country for these cases, the OSS is meant to cover more. If you sell there to businesses registered for VAT in the warehouse country and you are neither established nor registered there yourself, the directive makes the buyer liable for the VAT (Article 194(1)). The directive provides for this, and how it works in practice depends on how the countries implement it. The direction is certain, the details of the national laws are open.

Until then the current state applies. How Amazon warehouses abroad are treated for tax today is explained in Amazon Pan-EU and FBA VAT. Whether the OSS or a local registration is better for you is in OSS or local VAT registration.

What this means for you: Ask your tax adviser how the reform affects your Amazon warehouses abroad.

Does the platform rule affect my sales of goods on Amazon or eBay?

According to the text of the directive, no. The new platform rule from 1 July 2028 names short-term accommodation rental and passenger transport by road. The sale of goods is not named there. A marketplace rule for goods already exists: for distance sales of imported goods in consignments up to 150 euro, and for supplies within the EU to private customers by sellers not established in the EU, the platform itself is treated as the supplier (Article 14a). It does not apply to German sellers who sell goods from a warehouse in the EU. How marketplace liability works in Germany is in Marketplace liability under Section 25e UStG.

What this means for you: The platform rule does not affect your sales of goods on Amazon or eBay.

What should you do now?

Do not rush. The current state counts today: your OSS runs on today's rules. The return and deadlines are in OSS return for online sellers.
Note the dates. 1 January 2027 and 1 July 2028 are the dates on which German rules may change if Germany transposes them.
Check warehouses abroad. If you store goods in other EU countries, ask your tax adviser what the transposition means for you as soon as the German law is available.
Keep your records. The retention duties stay: OSS record keeping and audits.

What this means for you: Do not rush, note the dates and check your warehouses abroad.

Common misunderstandings

"ViDA is only a proposal." The proposal was from 2022. The package was adopted on 11 March 2025.
"Everything new applies from 2027." In 2027 these are clarifications. The OSS extension comes on 1 July 2028.
"The platform rule hits sellers of goods." It concerns short-term accommodation and passenger transport, not the sale of goods.
"The directive applies directly." Only the national laws make it binding for you.

What this means for you: Do not rely on the common misunderstandings: ViDA is adopted, 2027 brings clarifications and the platform rule does not hit sellers of goods.

How VAT GPT helps

VAT GPT is the tax software for online sellers, freelancers and small businesses in Germany. It calculates and files in one place, in this order:

your OSS return
VAT
EÜR
trade tax
income tax

The VAT GPT method has three steps:

Upload: You upload your sales reports (for example Amazon or eBay CSV files) and your invoices. The AI reads amounts, countries and tax rates.
Check: VAT GPT calculates your returns from this data and flags invoices with low confidence for manual review. You check and confirm.
Send: With VAT GPT Pro, the VAT returns and the other returns go through ELSTER to the tax office, the OSS return directly to the BZSt.

You upload your Amazon and eBay reports. VAT GPT detects the report type, breaks the sales down by country and calculates the OSS return for all EU countries. Sending the OSS return is a Pro feature. Create an account to try it.

Not tax advice: the content does not replace individual advice.

Frequently asked questions

Is ViDA already in force? Yes, the directive since 14 April 2025. The individual rules apply to you once the countries have transposed them, according to the directive by the dates in 2027, 2028 and later.

What changes on 1 January 2027? According to the European Commission, small clarifications for OSS and IOSS users. The text says, among other things, that only distance sales from the country of establishment count towards the 10,000 euro threshold.

What changes on 1 July 2028? Under the directive, the OSS is extended and a special scheme for moving your own goods is added. The platform rule for accommodation and passenger transport starts between 1 July 2028 and 1 January 2030, depending on the country.

How often will I report moves of my own goods? Under the directive monthly, by the end of the following month, even for a month without transfers (Article 369xf). The sales return of the OSS is a separate return.

Does the platform rule apply to Amazon and eBay? The new rule from 2028 names short-term accommodation and passenger transport, not the sale of goods.

Do I have to change anything today? For the OSS under the current state, no. Follow the German transposition and talk to your tax adviser if you have warehouses abroad.