How to prepare an Amazon OSS VAT return

What goes into an Amazon OSS VAT return?

An Amazon OSS VAT return includes B2C distance sales of goods shipped from one EU Member State to private customers in another EU Member State. VAT is due in the country of consumption, meaning the customer's delivery country, not necessarily the country where your stock is held or the Amazon marketplace where the order was placed.

For an Amazon FBA seller, this is the typical OSS flow:

• stock leaves France and is delivered to a private customer in Belgium;
• stock leaves Germany and is delivered to a private customer in Austria;
• stock leaves Spain and is delivered to a private customer in France.

Each line in the Union OSS return must be split by departure country, arrival country and VAT rate. A sale from France to Italy at 22% and another sale from France to Italy at 4% are two different OSS lines.

What must stay out of OSS?

OSS is useful, but narrow. It does not replace your local VAT compliance for Amazon FBA.

The most common mistake is to treat all Amazon cross-border activity as OSS. Do not do that. The OSS return follows the legal VAT flow, not the marketplace label.

Amazon FBA, Pan-European FBA and the EUR 10,000 threshold

The EU-wide €10,000 threshold matters for small cross-border B2C sellers established in one Member State, but Amazon FBA can quickly change your tax analysis.

If Amazon stores your goods in several EU countries—through Pan-European FBA or another multi-country stock model—you will typically face:

• Local VAT obligations in the countries where your stock is stored.
• A requirement to analyze your sales flow by flow.
• In practice, multi-country FBA stock often makes the OSS (One-Stop Shop) operationally necessary for eligible B2C distance sales from your very first relevant cross-border order.

However, keep in mind that OSS does not cover everything. It is simply one part of your VAT setup, which also includes:

• The OSS return for your B2C distance sales.
• Local VAT returns for the countries where Amazon stores your inventory.

Working with an Amazon tax representative ensures that each flow is correctly assigned.

When do you file the Union OSS return?

The Union OSS return is quarterly. You file and pay by the end of the month following the quarter.

You must submit a return for each period after registration. If there were no eligible OSS sales during the quarter, submit a nil return.

For a French-established company, the Union OSS registration and filing are made in France through the EU VAT one-stop shop service on impots.gouv.fr. The French portal then redistributes the VAT to the Member States of consumption.

Which Amazon report should you use?

Use the Amazon VAT Transactions Report from Seller Central. Menu labels vary by marketplace and account interface, but the usual path is Seller Central > Reports > Fulfilment by Amazon > Tax or the equivalent tax reporting area.

Keep the raw export unchanged, then work from a copy. Your objective is to isolate eligible UNION-OSS sales and build the exact breakdown required by the OSS return.

Key Amazon columns for OSS

Step-by-step: prepare the Amazon OSS VAT return

1. Export the report for the quarter

Download the Amazon VAT Transactions Report for the exact OSS quarter. If you work monthly, combine the three monthly exports into one controlled file and keep each original CSV available for audit support.

2. Filter eligible OSS transactions

Filter CP - TAX REPORTING SCHEME on UNION-OSS. This should remove domestic sales, B2B transactions, exports and other non-OSS flows from your OSS working file. Still review exceptions: Amazon provides data, but the seller remains responsible for the VAT return.

3. Group by departure country

Use BP - SALE DEPART COUNTRY to separate sales by the country where the goods left Amazon stock. OSS requires this departure-country view for goods.

4. Group by arrival country

Within each departure country, use BQ - SALE ARRIVAL COUNTRY to identify the customer's delivery country. This is the country of consumption where VAT is due.

5. Split by VAT rate

Use AE - PRICE ITEMS VAT RATE PERCENT to split each departure/arrival pair by VAT rate. Product categories matter. For example, France-to-Italy sales may include 22% VAT for decorative products and 4% VAT for books.

6. Sum the taxable base and check currency

Use AD - TOTAL ACTIVITY VALUE AMT VAT EXCL to calculate the VAT-exclusive taxable amount for each line. Check BB - TRANSACTION CURRENCY CODE and convert amounts into the filing currency when necessary.

7. Treat refunds and credit notes consistently

Refunds, returns and credit notes must follow the original transaction logic: same departure country, same arrival country and same VAT rate. Do not net all refunds globally. A refund linked to a local sale is not an OSS correction.

8. Enter the OSS lines and submit

Enter the grouped lines in the Union OSS portal: departure country, Member State of consumption, VAT rate, taxable amount and VAT due. Submit the return and pay before the deadline. If the quarter has no OSS activity, submit the nil return.

Control checklist before filing

Before submitting the Amazon OSS VAT return, run these checks:

• UNION-OSS filter applied in CP - TAX REPORTING SCHEME;
• only intra-EU B2C distance sales included;
• domestic sales excluded;
• B2B intra-EU supplies excluded and reviewed for EC Sales List/Intrastat/local VAT treatment;
• exports outside the EU excluded;
• FBA stock transfers excluded;
• refunds tied back to the original transaction flow;
• totals grouped by BP, BQ and AE;
• taxable amounts taken from AD;
• currencies checked in BB;
• deadline confirmed for the right quarter;
• nil return prepared if no OSS sales exist.

This is where most Amazon OSS errors are caught. The filing itself is usually simple; the risk sits in the classification file behind it. See our guide on Amazon VAT Transaction Report Also see the full Amazon VAT guide Europe.

See also: why use an Amazon tax representative · EU stock transfers France VAT rules