German VAT for Foreign E-Commerce Sellers 2026: USt-ID Registration, OSS, IOSS & Compliance Guide

The 2026 German VAT Landscape for Foreigners at a Glance

Six pillars define German VAT compliance for an EU-foreign or non-EU e-commerce seller. Keep this map in mind as you read each deep-dive section — they are not independent obligations, they are tightly coupled.

1. German VAT Basics — USt 19% / 7% / 0%

The Three German VAT Rates

Germany's value-added tax — Umsatzsteuer (USt), colloquially "Mehrwertsteuer" — is governed by the Umsatzsteuergesetz (UStG). Three rates apply in 2026:

• 19% standard rate (§12 (1) UStG) — the default rate. Applies to virtually all consumer electronics, fashion, beauty, toys, furniture, hardware, software, services and almost every Amazon FBA category.
• 7% reduced rate (§12 (2) UStG) — applies to a closed list in Anlage 2 UStG: food (with some exclusions), books, e-books (since 2019), newspapers, magazines, public transport, hotel accommodation, agricultural products, medical devices for the disabled, cultural events, restaurant food (the temporary 7% rate for restaurants applies in 2026 to served food, not to drinks).
• 0% rate — applies to intra-EU supplies to VAT-registered B2B customers (with valid USt-ID confirmation), exports outside the EU, and a narrow band of services such as international transport. These are zero-rated, not exempt: input VAT remains fully recoverable.

Who Charges, Who Collects, Who Pays

Under §13 UStG the seller is the taxable person (Steuerschuldner): they include 19% / 7% in the gross price, collect it from the consumer, and pay it to the Finanzamt monthly via the Umsatzsteuer-Voranmeldung. Input VAT paid to German suppliers (Vorsteuer) is fully recoverable on the same return — the net payment to the state is output VAT minus input VAT. For B2B reverse-charge supplies the obligation flips to the buyer; we cover that in section 5.

Bundeszentralamt für Steuern (BZSt)

The Bundeszentralamt für Steuern (BZSt), headquartered in Saarlouis (Saarland) with offices across Germany, is the federal authority that issues the Umsatzsteuer-Identifikationsnummer (USt-ID), validates EU counterparty USt-IDs via the official confirmation procedure under §18e UStG, and operates the German nodes of the EU's OSS and IOSS portals. While the Finanzamt (local tax office) administers your day-to-day VAT filings, the BZSt is the gatekeeper for cross-border e-commerce structures.

Foreign Sellers — Three Common Scenarios in 2026

• Scenario A — EU seller, no German stock: sells B2C from Italy / Poland / Netherlands into Germany. Above €10,000 EU-wide turnover, uses OSS in home country. No German USt-ID required.
• Scenario B — EU or non-EU seller, German stock: uses Amazon FBA Germany, an external 3PL or any warehouse on German soil. Requires German USt-ID from euro one, plus monthly Voranmeldung. Cross-border B2C from that German stock still routed via OSS.
• Scenario C — Non-EU seller, direct dropshipping: ships parcels under €150 from China / Turkey / US / UK direct to German consumers. Uses IOSS to collect German 19% / 7% at checkout. Parcels clear customs without VAT collection by carrier.

2. USt-ID Registration for Foreigners — §27a UStG

Steuernummer vs USt-ID — Two Different Numbers

Foreign sellers frequently confuse the two German tax identifiers:

• Steuernummer (Tax Number) — assigned by the locally competent Finanzamt. Format: NN/NNN/NNNNN (varies by state). Used on every domestic German invoice and on the Voranmeldung.
• USt-ID (Umsatzsteuer-Identifikationsnummer) — issued by the BZSt under §27a UStG. Format: DE + 9 digits (e.g. DE 312 845 902). Used for EU cross-border supplies, reverse charge B2B invoicing and OSS/IOSS registration.

You must apply for the Steuernummer first; the USt-ID is requested in parallel or immediately after, free of charge.

Which Finanzamt Handles Your Country

For sellers without a German establishment, the competent Finanzamt is fixed by the Umsatzsteuer-Zuständigkeitsverordnung (UStZustV). The 2026 allocation includes:

Seller Country	Competent Finanzamt	City
Turkey	Finanzamt Dortmund-Unna	Dortmund (NRW)
United States	Finanzamt Bonn-Innenstadt	Bonn (NRW)
United Kingdom	Finanzamt Hannover-Nord	Hannover (Lower Saxony)
China (PRC)	Finanzamt Berlin-Neukölln	Berlin
Italy	Finanzamt München (Abteilung Außensteuer)	Munich
Netherlands	Finanzamt Kleve	Kleve (NRW)
Poland	Finanzamt Hameln	Hameln (Lower Saxony)
Spain	Finanzamt Kassel-Hofgeismar	Kassel (Hesse)

All other countries are mapped in §1 UStZustV — the BZSt publishes a current table. Sending the application to the wrong Finanzamt is one of the top three reasons for the 4–6 week registration timeline stretching to 12+ weeks.

Application Process Step by Step

1. Prepare documentation — passport / national ID of the legal representative, certificate of incorporation (apostilled and translated to German), articles of association, business activity proof, proof of address, fiscal representative power of attorney if required.
2. File the Fragebogen zur steuerlichen Erfassung — the standardised tax registration questionnaire. Since 2021 it must be filed electronically via the ELSTER portal (Vordruck FsE).
3. Wait for the Steuernummer — typical 2026 lead times: 4–6 weeks for prepared applications, 8–12 weeks if documentation requires clarification.
4. Apply for the USt-ID — via the BZSt online form. Once the Finanzamt has registered you, the USt-ID is typically issued within 1–2 weeks.
5. Register an ELSTER certificate — required to file the Voranmeldung. The certificate file (.pfx) is the de-facto login for every future filing.
6. Activate Amazon VCS or your invoicing platform — plug the new USt-ID into Seller Central, OSS portal and your invoicing software (Zunapro syncs all three).

The Fiscal Representative Question

Sellers established in a country without a mutual administrative assistance treaty with Germany may be required to appoint a Fiskalvertreter (fiscal representative) jointly liable for the VAT debt. The classic case has been Chinese sellers, although the practical landscape shifts year to year. EU and Turkish sellers usually do not require a fiscal representative but virtually always work with a German Steuerberater to handle ELSTER filings.

3. OSS — One-Stop Shop for B2C EU Cross-Border

What OSS Replaced

Before 1 July 2021, every cross-border B2C distance seller in the EU had to monitor 27 country-specific Lieferschwellen (distance-selling thresholds). The German one was €100,000 per year; the French €35,000; the Italian €35,000. Above each country's threshold, the seller was required to register for local VAT, file local returns, and frequently appoint a local fiscal representative. The administrative drag was so heavy that many small sellers either over-paid German VAT on Polish sales or simply broke the law silently.

The 2021 e-commerce VAT package abolished all 27 country thresholds in one stroke and replaced them with a single EU-wide €10,000 micro-threshold: below that volume of cross-border B2C, the seller continues to charge their home-country VAT. Above it, every euro of cross-border B2C is destination-taxed — and the One-Stop Shop (OSS) regime lets the seller declare and pay it via one return in one country.

How OSS Works in Practice

1. Register for OSS with the BZSt online portal (for German-established sellers) or with the equivalent portal in any other EU member state.
2. Charge destination-country VAT at checkout — German consumers see 19% / 7%, French consumers see 20% / 5.5%, Italian consumers see 22% / 10%, and so on.
3. File one quarterly OSS return by the end of the month following the quarter, listing taxable supplies per destination country.
4. Pay one EUR amount to the BZSt (or your registration country). The BZSt then redistributes VAT to the destination countries.

What OSS Does and Does Not Cover

Type of Supply	OSS Eligible?	Notes
B2C distance sales of goods within the EU	Yes	Core use case
B2C digital services across EU	Yes	Replaces the older MOSS scheme
B2C goods stored in destination country	No	Requires local VAT registration
B2B sales (intra-EU)	No	Use reverse charge §13b UStG
Goods imported from outside the EU ≤ €150	No — use IOSS	See section 4
Goods imported from outside the EU > €150	No	Standard import VAT applies

OSS + Amazon FBA Germany — the Tricky Combination

OSS does NOT eliminate the need for a local USt-ID in countries where you store stock. If your Pan-EU FBA stock is distributed by Amazon to Polish, Czech, French, Italian and Spanish fulfilment centres, you owe local VAT registrations in each of those countries on top of OSS. OSS only covers cross-border B2C movements between your stock-storage countries and other EU consumers. Amazon's Amazon Inventory Placement Service (IPS) and the FBA reports tell you exactly which warehouse holds your stock; the Zunapro VAT module maps each fulfilment centre to its country code and flags missing registrations.

4. IOSS — Import One-Stop Shop for ≤ €150 Imports

What Changed on 1 July 2021 for Non-EU Sellers

The same 2021 EU e-commerce VAT package that introduced OSS also abolished the previous €22 low-value consignment relief. Before that date, parcels from China, Turkey, the UK and the US worth less than €22 cleared into the EU VAT-free. Now every parcel — even a €5 phone case — is subject to import VAT. The administrative pain that followed (carrier handling fees of €5–€15 charged to consumers at the door, refused parcels, conversion collapse for cheap categories) was solved by the parallel introduction of IOSS — the Import One-Stop Shop.

How IOSS Works

1. The non-EU seller (or marketplace) registers for IOSS in one EU member state and obtains an IOSS identification number.
2. At checkout, the seller collects the destination-country VAT (e.g. German 19% on a phone case shipped to Berlin) as part of the price.
3. The IOSS number is attached to the customs declaration of every parcel — the parcel clears EU customs without the consumer paying VAT or handling fees at the door.
4. The seller files one monthly IOSS return declaring all supplies per destination country and pays the EUR amount to the registration country's tax authority.

IOSS Eligibility Limits

• Intrinsic value ≤ €150 per parcel — the value of the goods excluding shipping, insurance and any taxes already collected. A €145 watch with €10 shipping is eligible; a €151 watch is not.
• Goods shipped from outside the EU to a B2C consumer in the EU — direct-to-consumer dropshipping, fulfilment-by-merchant from non-EU warehouses, etc.
• Not subject to excise duty — alcohol, tobacco, certain fuels are excluded.

IOSS + Non-EU Fiscal Representative

Sellers established outside the EU must usually appoint an EU-resident intermediary jointly liable for the IOSS VAT debt — analogous to the fiscal representative concept. The intermediary registers the seller for IOSS and submits the monthly returns on the seller's behalf. UK sellers benefit from the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement framework but the intermediary requirement still applies in practice for IOSS. Turkish, US and Chinese sellers always need an EU intermediary.

Why IOSS Matters for Conversion

Pre-IOSS, a German consumer ordering a €30 product from a Chinese seller via marketplaces would often receive a postal notice requiring them to pay €5.70 VAT plus a €6–€10 carrier handling fee before pickup — a 50% surcharge on a €30 product. Conversion rates on parcels delivered this way collapsed to roughly 30–40% (the rest were refused at the door). IOSS removes the friction entirely: VAT is built into the checkout price, the consumer pays nothing extra, and conversion rates return to normal e-commerce levels of 85–95%.

5. Reverse Charge §13b UStG for B2B

What Reverse Charge Means

For many cross-border B2B supplies inside the EU, the VAT liability shifts from the seller to the buyer. This mechanism, known as reverse charge and codified in §13b UStG, eliminates the need for the seller to register for VAT in every EU country where they have business customers. The seller issues an invoice without VAT, marks it with the required reverse-charge legend, and lists both parties' valid USt-IDs. The buyer then self-accounts both the output and input VAT on their own VAT return — a wash on the cash flow, but mandatory paperwork.

Mandatory Invoice Content

• Both seller's and buyer's USt-IDs, confirmed via the BZSt §18e procedure
• Invoice net of VAT — no German 19% / 7% line item
• Required legend: "Steuerschuldnerschaft des Leistungsempfängers" (DE) or "Reverse charge" (EN). EU customers accept either; the EU VAT Directive mandates a legend in at least one of the parties' languages.
• Reference to the legal basis (Art. 196 of Council Directive 2006/112/EC or §13b UStG)

When Reverse Charge Applies

Supply Type	Reverse Charge?	Notes
B2B goods, intra-EU, both USt-IDs valid	Yes	Classic intra-Community supply
B2B services to EU business customer	Yes	Place-of-supply rule §3a UStG
B2C sale to EU consumer	No	OSS applies
B2B domestic supply within Germany	No	Standard 19% / 7% with one exception: §13b construction services
B2B supply where buyer USt-ID invalid	No	Charge German VAT — invalid ID strips the regime

Lieferschwelle — Officially Abolished Since 2021

Foreign sellers who learnt VAT before 2021 often still ask about the €100,000 German Lieferschwelle. It is gone. Distance-selling thresholds were abolished EU-wide on 1 July 2021 and replaced by the €10,000 EU-wide micro-threshold (see section 3). For B2B reverse-charge supplies thresholds were never relevant — the regime applies from the first euro provided both USt-IDs are valid.

USt-ID Confirmation Procedure §18e UStG

Before issuing a reverse-charge invoice you are legally required to confirm the buyer's USt-ID — not just check the format. The BZSt provides two procedures:

• Simple confirmation — confirms the USt-ID is valid right now. Suitable for one-off transactions.
• Qualified confirmation — confirms the USt-ID plus name and address match the BZSt records. Required for recurring business relationships; produces a written confirmation you must keep for audit.

The Zunapro invoicing module performs qualified BZSt confirmations automatically before every reverse-charge invoice and stores the confirmation evidence alongside the invoice for the standard 10-year retention period.

6. Amazon FBA Germany VAT — VCS & Pan-EU FBA

Amazon Fulfilment Centres in Germany

Amazon operates a dense network of fulfilment centres across Germany. The major sites — Bad Hersfeld (HAJ1), Werne (DTM1, DTM2), Rheinberg (DUS2), Pforzheim (STR1), Koblenz (CGN1), Brieselang (LEJ1), Graben (MUC3), Winsen (HAM2), Mönchengladbach (DUS3, DUS5), Bochum (DTM5) and many more — each have a distinct VAT footprint. From a foreign seller's perspective, the key fact is simple: if any Amazon FBA centre on German soil holds your inventory at any point, you have a German VAT registration obligation. The fact that you may have never set foot in Germany is irrelevant.

Pan-EU FBA — Six (or More) VAT Registrations

Amazon's Pan-EU FBA programme automatically distributes your stock across fulfilment centres in Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland and Czechia (the original "Pan-EU 6"). Each of those countries triggers an independent local VAT registration. Amazon recommends activating Pan-EU FBA for cost savings, but they leave the multi-country VAT compliance to you. The classic 2026 Pan-EU FBA stack therefore consists of: 6 local VAT registrations + 1 OSS registration (covering all cross-border B2C flows between the 6 stock countries and the other 21 EU consumers).

VCS — VAT Calculation Services

Amazon VCS (VAT Calculation Services) is Amazon's built-in module that:

• Automatically calculates the correct destination-country VAT on every order
• Generates a fully compliant invoice in the buyer's language (German, French, Italian, Spanish, Polish, Czech, English)
• Publishes the invoice in the buyer's Amazon account ("Your Orders → Get invoice")
• Provides downloadable consolidated reports for monthly VAT filing

VCS is free for Professional Sellers but requires you to upload your valid USt-IDs for every Pan-EU country. It does NOT register you — it consumes your existing registrations. The very common rookie mistake is to assume VCS replaces registration; it does not. Activate VCS only AFTER your USt-IDs are live in every storage country.

The 2026 Pan-EU FBA VAT Cost Snapshot

7. Monthly VAT Returns — Umsatzsteuer-Voranmeldung via ELSTER

Filing Cadence — §18 UStG

Germany uses a layered Voranmeldung cadence:

• Monthly — mandatory in the first two calendar years of any new German VAT registration. After year two, monthly continues only if prior-year VAT liability exceeded €9,000.
• Quarterly — applies from year three when annual VAT liability is between €2,000 and €9,000.
• Annual only — applies if annual VAT liability is below €2,000 (rare for active e-commerce sellers).

Filing Deadlines

The Voranmeldung must be filed and paid by the 10th day of the following month. A Dauerfristverlängerung (permanent filing extension) moves every deadline back by exactly one month — to the 10th of the second-following month — in exchange for a one-off security deposit (Sondervorauszahlung) of 1/11 of the previous year's VAT liability. Almost every active e-commerce seller files for the Dauerfristverlängerung; the deposit is refunded annually and the breathing room is significant.

ELSTER — The Filing Gateway

All Voranmeldungen, the annual Umsatzsteuererklärung, and most other German tax filings flow through ELSTER (Elektronische Steuererklärung), the Bundesministerium der Finanzen's authenticated e-filing portal. ELSTER requires a personal certificate file (ELSTER-Zertifikat, .pfx) generated during initial registration — the certificate is the de-facto login and authorisation token. Lose it and you must restart the certificate registration process, which currently takes 2–3 weeks.

Annual Return — Umsatzsteuererklärung

On top of monthly / quarterly Voranmeldungen, every registered business files one annual Umsatzsteuererklärung. The 2026 statutory deadlines are:

• 31 July of the following year — when filed independently (e.g. for FY 2026 → 31 July 2027)
• End of February of the second following year — when filed by a registered German Steuerberater (e.g. for FY 2026 → 28/29 February 2028)

The annual return reconciles all monthly Voranmeldungen, recovers any over-payment, and is the trigger for most Finanzamt audits.

8. XRechnung & ZUGFeRD — The 2026 e-Invoice Compliance Layer

The Wachstumschancengesetz Timeline

The Wachstumschancengesetz (Growth Opportunities Act), passed in 2024, mandates structured B2B e-invoicing in Germany on a phased timeline:

• 1 January 2026 — every German VAT-registered business must be able to receive a structured electronic invoice (XRechnung or ZUGFeRD ≥ 2.0.1 compliant with EN 16931). PDFs and paper are no longer accepted as a primary format if the sender chooses to send XML.
• 1 January 2027 — issuance becomes mandatory for B2B invoices issued by businesses with prior-year turnover above €800,000.
• 1 January 2028 — issuance becomes mandatory for all B2B issuers regardless of turnover.

XRechnung vs ZUGFeRD vs PDF

Format	Structure	2026 B2B Status
XRechnung	Pure structured XML	Mandatory to receive · Recommended to issue
ZUGFeRD ≥ 2.0.1	PDF/A-3 with embedded XML	Mandatory to receive · Equivalent to XRechnung for compliance
Plain PDF	Image only, no structured data	Permitted in 2026 transition · Not compliant from 2027 above €800K
Paper	Print	Permitted in 2026 transition · Disappears from B2B in 2027–2028

Foreign Sellers — Why XRechnung Matters Now

The Wachstumschancengesetz applies to invoices issued by German VAT-registered businesses — which includes any foreign seller registered for German VAT under §27a UStG. Even though full issuance mandate kicks in 2027, German business customers in 2026 are already asking suppliers for XRechnung or ZUGFeRD invoices as the default. The Zunapro invoicing module issues both XRechnung XML and ZUGFeRD PDF/A-3 by default; the customer receives whichever they configured as their preference.

9. Common VAT Errors & 2026 Penalty Stack

The Top Five Foreign-Seller Mistakes

• Sending FBA stock to Germany before USt-ID is live — triggers Finanzamt estimation, Amazon listing suspension and potential customs seizure.
• Treating OSS as a substitute for local registration — OSS covers cross-border B2C only, not local-stock B2C. Many Pan-EU FBA sellers wrongly assume one OSS registration is enough.
• Issuing reverse-charge invoices without §18e USt-ID confirmation — exposes the seller to back-charged 19% VAT on every invoice if the buyer ID turns out to be invalid.
• Forgetting the Dauerfristverlängerung security deposit — the 1/11 deposit must be paid each year; missing it cancels the extension and resets every monthly deadline to the 10th of the next month.
• Mixing 19% and 7% rates incorrectly — books and food are the classic 7% categories, but exceptions abound (e.g. children's books vs adult colouring books treated differently in 2026 Anlage 2).

The Penalty Stack — Two Surcharges + Worst Cases

Penalty	Rate	Cap / Notes
Verspätungszuschlag (late filing)	Up to 10% of assessed VAT	Capped at €25,000 per return · §152 AO
Säumniszuschlag (late payment)	1% per month of delay	Accrues automatically on rounded-down VAT · §240 AO
Zinsen nach §233a AO	0.15% per month (1.8% p.a.)	Interest on late assessments · post-2022 rate
Schätzung der Besteuerungsgrundlagen	Estimated by Finanzamt	Almost always higher than actual · §162 AO
Steuerhinterziehung §370 AO	Fines + up to 5 years imprisonment	Criminal proceedings · 10 years for aggravated cases
Selbstanzeige §371 AO	Voluntary disclosure	Suspends criminal proceedings if fully complete

Schätzung — The Estimated Assessment

If a Voranmeldung is not filed by the deadline (plus a typical grace period of 10 days), the Finanzamt issues a Schätzungsbescheid — an estimated assessment. Because the Finanzamt has no actual data, the estimate is typically 1.5× to 3× the actual liability. The estimate becomes legally binding 30 days after issuance unless you file an objection (Einspruch). Repeated Schätzung is a leading reason foreign Amazon FBA sellers receive Amazon-side account suspensions: Amazon's compliance team monitors German tax notices and freezes the listing.

10. Country-Specific Tips — Turkish, US & Chinese Sellers

Turkish Sellers (TR → DE)

Turkey is not in the EU but is in the EU-Turkey Customs Union for industrial goods, which simplifies certain customs procedures but does NOT confer EU VAT status. Turkish e-commerce sellers shipping into Germany face two main paths:

• Amazon FBA Germany — requires a German USt-ID from euro one. Competent Finanzamt is Dortmund-Unna. A German Steuerberater handles ELSTER filings; in practice a fiscal representative is not mandatory but is recommended.
• Direct-to-consumer dropshipping ≤ €150 — register for IOSS via an EU intermediary (typically a Dutch, Cypriot or Maltese tax adviser). Conversion gains versus pre-IOSS shipping are dramatic — easily 30–50 percentage points on cheap categories.

The dominant Turkish e-commerce categories shipping to Germany in 2026 are textiles & fashion, jewellery, home decor, cosmetics (REACH-compliant) and Turkish food specialties (which often qualify for the 7% reduced rate).

US Sellers (US → DE)

US sellers historically built EU operations through the UK; post-Brexit, the German VAT registration has become the EU access route of choice. Competent Finanzamt is Bonn-Innenstadt. Key 2026 considerations:

• US sellers do not need a fiscal representative thanks to the US-Germany tax treaty framework, but practically every US seller uses a German Steuerberater for ELSTER filings.
• Pan-EU FBA from a German base is the textbook structure: one German USt-ID + five additional registrations (FR, IT, ES, PL, CZ) + one OSS = full EU coverage.
• Income-tax / permanent-establishment exposure should be cleared with a tax adviser BEFORE registering. A bare VAT registration does not create a permanent establishment under Art. 5 of the US-Germany double-tax treaty, but warehousing + decision-making personnel in Germany can.

Chinese Sellers (CN → DE)

Chinese sellers face the most operationally complex path. Competent Finanzamt is Berlin-Neukölln. Key 2026 realities:

• Fiscal representative is required in practice for many Chinese sellers; pick one with strong German Amazon Seller Central experience.
• IOSS via an EU intermediary is non-negotiable for direct-to-consumer shipping; without IOSS your conversion on €5–€50 SKUs collapses to ~30%.
• Amazon's marketplace VAT collection rules for Chinese sellers have hardened — Amazon withholds and remits German VAT directly under §22f / §25e UStG joint liability for marketplaces. Your USt-ID is uploaded to Amazon as proof of compliance; without it Amazon suspends the listing.
• Product-safety compliance (CE, REACH, EPR / Verpackungsgesetz) is enforced alongside VAT — the LUCID register for packaging waste is mandatory and is one of the most common 2026 compliance gaps for Chinese sellers.

UK Sellers (UK → DE) — The Post-Brexit Reality

UK sellers lost intra-EU status on 1 January 2021. Competent Finanzamt is Hannover-Nord. UK sellers now register exactly like other non-EU sellers and can use IOSS (≤ €150) and local German VAT registration in parallel. A German Steuerberater + UK VAT compliance team is the standard 2026 stack.

How to Start — German VAT Compliance Checklist 2026

1. Map Your Footprint Before Registering

• Do you store stock in Germany? Amazon FBA Germany, Pan-EU FBA, 3PL, own warehouse — answer "yes" means you need a German USt-ID from euro one.
• Do you sell B2C cross-border into Germany without storing stock? Above €10,000 EU-wide, register for OSS in your home country.
• Do you dropship ≤ €150 parcels from outside the EU? Register for IOSS via an EU intermediary.
• Do you sell B2B intra-EU? Apply reverse charge §13b UStG, confirm buyer's USt-ID via §18e.

2. Apply for USt-ID — Sequence Matters

1. File Fragebogen zur steuerlichen Erfassung (FsE) via ELSTER to the competent Finanzamt.
2. Receive Steuernummer in 4–6 weeks.
3. Apply for USt-ID via BZSt online portal — 1–2 weeks.
4. Generate ELSTER-Zertifikat (.pfx) for future filings.

3. Activate OSS and / or IOSS

• OSS — register in your home country's portal (for German-established sellers, the BZSt). One-off setup, then quarterly filings.
• IOSS — register via an EU intermediary. Receive your IOSS number; configure your e-commerce platform and carrier integration to attach the IOSS number to every commercial invoice and customs declaration.

4. Plug into Amazon VCS / FBA Reports

Upload every active USt-ID to Amazon Seller Central. Enable VCS. Configure inventory placement rules — Pan-EU FBA on, with country-by-country opt-outs only if you accept the conversion impact.

5. Stand Up Voranmeldung & XRechnung

1. File for Dauerfristverlängerung immediately — pay the 1/11 Sondervorauszahlung.
2. Configure Voranmeldung automation — Zunapro drafts the monthly return from your marketplace and own-shop sales, ready for ELSTER submission.
3. Switch invoicing to XRechnung / ZUGFeRD — B2B customers in 2026 already prefer it, and 2027 makes it mandatory above €800K.

6. Connect Zunapro (10-Minute Integration)

1. Sign in to Zunapro and open the Germany Accounting module.
2. Paste your USt-ID, ELSTER certificate and BZSt OSS / IOSS credentials.
3. Connect Amazon FBA Germany and any other channels — Kaufland, OTTO, eBay DE, your Shopify / Shopware shop.
4. Enable monthly Voranmeldung drafting + XRechnung issuance with a single toggle each.
5. Go live — Zunapro auto-classifies every transaction at 19% / 7% / 0% / reverse charge / OSS / IOSS and exports an ELSTER-ready file.

German VAT FAQ 2026 — Foreign Sellers