Storing Goods in the EU? You May Need Another VAT Registration

Key Moments

• 00:00 – Why a Bulgarian VAT number may not be enough
• 00:26 – Moving your own goods to another EU country
• 00:44 – Intra-Community transfers and local VAT registration
• 01:04 – VAT obligations may arise before the first sale
• 01:25 – Local sales, German VAT and the Union OSS scheme
• 01:42 – Why OSS does not replace every local VAT registration
• 01:58 – Amazon FBA, fulfilment providers and stock movements
• 02:17 – Call-off stock simplification explained
• 02:37 – Exceptions and why VAT planning should happen in advance
• 02:56 – VAT registrations, OSS and cross-border accounting support
• 03:13 – Final considerations

Short Summary

Storing goods in another EU country can create a local VAT registration obligation even when your company is already VAT registered in Bulgaria. The key issue is not only where your business is established, but also where your goods are physically located and how they move between EU Member States.

For example, when a Bulgarian company transfers its own stock to a warehouse in Germany, the movement may be treated as an intra-Community supply in Bulgaria and a corresponding intra-Community acquisition in Germany. This means that a German VAT registration may be required before the goods are sold to the first customer.

The VAT treatment then depends on what happens next. Goods sold from a German warehouse to a German customer may create a domestic German transaction. Goods shipped from Germany to private customers in other EU countries may qualify for reporting through the Union OSS scheme.

However, using OSS does not automatically remove a VAT registration obligation created by storing or transferring your own stock into another EU country. Businesses using Amazon FBA and other fulfilment networks should therefore pay particular attention to where their stock is stored and whether the platform moves goods between different Member States.