I know that many in Europe has this problem.
I have received a notice that my ability to sell to other EU member states has
been blocked due to the distance selling threshold.
However, this rule should not apply to my store, as I operate exclusively under
the EU VAT Margin Scheme for second-hand goods (VMB, VinstMarginalBeskattning
in swedish).
Under this scheme, I purchase goods from private individuals without deductible
VAT and sell them including VAT based only on my profit margin. Therefore, the
OSS (One Stop Shop) and distance selling rules are not applicable to my business
model.
Please review my account and remove the EU sales block accordingly, as the distance
selling registration requirement does not apply in this case.
Thank you for your understanding and assistance.
Does anyone happen to have a solution for me? (I’m starting to get a bit desperate.)
Second - something isn't right - the threshold are 10 000 EURO EU sales
per calendar year and we are only 1,5 months in - and you don't seem to have
had that many sales?
As for a solution - BrickLink has one but it's very complicated you will
need to start a second account and open another store - and only after reaching
out to help desk and been approved to do this.
For myself - I don't care too much. The business model of BrickLink gives
you orders anyway as all comes down to "hitrate" on buyers wanted lists.
Let's say you have 30 % of your orders to EU, but after EU sales close your
total sells will drop only maybe 10-15 %.
Second - something isn't right - the threshold are 10 000 EURO EU sales
per calendar year and we are only 1,5 months in - and you don't seem to have
had that many sales?
No, it's not 10000 for the current calendar year: it's calculated monthly
on your last 12 months, so this can happily be reached in January or February
because those are ones of the highest of the season:
Our system checks the €10,000 threshold monthly. Sellers who reach the threshold
are notified by email. Those sellers have 30 days to register and enable One-Stop-Shop
(OSS) or VAT IDs.
Note also, it should be 10000 Net, without taxes, shipping etc - AFAIK and IIRC.
Second - something isn't right - the threshold are 10 000 EURO EU sales
per calendar year and we are only 1,5 months in - and you don't seem to have
had that many sales?
No, it's not 10000 for the current calendar year: it's calculated monthly
on your last 12 months, so this can happily be reached in January or February
because those are ones of the highest of the season:
Our system checks the €10,000 threshold monthly. Sellers who reach the threshold
are notified by email. Those sellers have 30 days to register and enable One-Stop-Shop
(OSS) or VAT IDs.
Note also, it should be 10000 Net, without taxes, shipping etc - AFAIK and IIRC.
Correct
It's 100.000 the previous year. Leo I got the message in the beginning of
January.
Would be great with some help from Bricklink here.
Second - something isn't right - the threshold are 10 000 EURO EU sales
per calendar year and we are only 1,5 months in - and you don't seem to have
had that many sales?
No, it's not 10000 for the current calendar year: it's calculated monthly
on your last 12 months, so this can happily be reached in January or February
because those are ones of the highest of the season:
Our system checks the €10,000 threshold monthly. Sellers who reach the threshold
are notified by email. Those sellers have 30 days to register and enable One-Stop-Shop
(OSS) or VAT IDs.
Note also, it should be 10000 Net, without taxes, shipping etc - AFAIK and IIRC.
Correct
It's 100.000 the previous year. Leo I got the message in the beginning of
January.
Would be great with some help from Bricklink here.
Whatever, the problem is BrickLink doesn't (at least fully) support EU VAT
Margin Scheme. People are talking about this for years.
I'm not sure if there is a solution.
Maybe try to kindly contact a few sellers in your Country or around, who show
EU VAT Margin Scheme in their Terms and ask them how they manage this?
Note also, it should be 10000 Net, without taxes, shipping etc - AFAIK and IIRC.
Also AFAIK, IIRC and IANAL but it's including shipping cost and any
other form of income IOW everything you make.
It’s exclusive of VAT.
Page 39 of the explanatory notes (https://vat-one-stop-shop.ec.europa.eu/guides_en#other-guides-and-explanatory-notes
). See pic.
Directive https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2017/2455/oj/eng Article 59c, point
1, subpoint c:
“the total value, exclusive of VAT, of the supplies referred to in point (b)
does not in the current calendar year exceed EUR 10 000, or the equivalent in
national currency, nor did it do so in the course of the preceding calendar year.”
Note also, it should be 10000 Net, without taxes, shipping etc - AFAIK and IIRC.
Also AFAIK, IIRC and IANAL but it's including shipping cost and any
other form of income IOW everything you make.
It’s exclusive of VAT.
Page 39 of the explanatory notes (https://vat-one-stop-shop.ec.europa.eu/guides_en#other-guides-and-explanatory-notes
). See pic.
Directive https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2017/2455/oj/eng Article 59c, point
1, subpoint c:
“the total value, exclusive of VAT, of the supplies referred to in point (b)
does not in the current calendar year exceed EUR 10 000, or the equivalent in
national currency, nor did it do so in the course of the preceding calendar year.”
Yep I confirm, it's based on everything invoiced, but yes Net, prices not
including VAT.
Note also, it should be 10000 Net, without taxes, shipping etc - AFAIK and IIRC.
Also AFAIK, IIRC and IANAL but it's including shipping cost and any
other form of income IOW everything you make.
It’s exclusive of VAT.
Page 39 of the explanatory notes (https://vat-one-stop-shop.ec.europa.eu/guides_en#other-guides-and-explanatory-notes
). See pic.
Directive https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2017/2455/oj/eng Article 59c, point
1, subpoint c:
“the total value, exclusive of VAT, of the supplies referred to in point (b)
does not in the current calendar year exceed EUR 10 000, or the equivalent in
national currency, nor did it do so in the course of the preceding calendar year.”
Yep I confirm, it's based on everything invoiced, but yes Net, prices not
including VAT.
Do forum admins or Bricklink staff help in these cases? I have written to them
but no respons.
Note also, it should be 10000 Net, without taxes, shipping etc - AFAIK and IIRC.
Also AFAIK, IIRC and IANAL but it's including shipping cost and any
other form of income IOW everything you make.
It’s exclusive of VAT.
Page 39 of the explanatory notes (https://vat-one-stop-shop.ec.europa.eu/guides_en#other-guides-and-explanatory-notes
). See pic.
Directive https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2017/2455/oj/eng Article 59c, point
1, subpoint c:
“the total value, exclusive of VAT, of the supplies referred to in point (b)
does not in the current calendar year exceed EUR 10 000, or the equivalent in
national currency, nor did it do so in the course of the preceding calendar year.”
Yep I confirm, it's based on everything invoiced, but yes Net, prices not
including VAT.
Do forum admins or Bricklink staff help in these cases? I have written to them
but no respons.
Note also, it should be 10000 Net, without taxes, shipping etc - AFAIK and
IIRC.
See below, source BrickLink, file:
EU+Distace+Selling+Questions+-+Final.pdf
Dated 08 JUL 2022
But I was wrong about this it's based on Y-1 calendar year, see below also.
BL might calculate it based on the item price only but the tax authority doesn't,
that's why I mentioned shipping and other fees must be included IOW it's
calculated based on everyhing you make. At least it's what I was told by
my tax advisor back then, IIRC. So my point wasn't about if it's net
or gross, it was about the total amount of income, not the item total
only. Well discussed
Note also, it should be 10000 Net, without taxes, shipping etc - AFAIK and
IIRC.
See below, source BrickLink, file:
EU+Distace+Selling+Questions+-+Final.pdf
Dated 08 JUL 2022
But I was wrong about this it's based on Y-1 calendar year, see below also.
BL might calculate it based on the item price only but the tax authority doesn't,
that's why I mentioned shipping and other fees must be included IOW it's
calculated based on everyhing you make. At least it's what I was told by
my tax advisor back then, IIRC. So my point wasn't about if it's net
or gross, it was about the total amount of income, not the item total
only. Well discussed
Yes but no.
1) BrickLink/LEGO have a ton of specialists, accountants and lawyers, if they
do it this way, ne sure it means they can.
2) My idea about this is that they invoice their fees on the Total (items) Order
price only. Not on Shipping, Insurance, Charges...
So they're responsable of this part only, and the threshold value is this
one they manage and charge.
Simple:
— either you’re using BL’s VAT mechanism and BL knows your VAT,
— or you aren’t and BL doesn’t remove VAT.
Yes correct - but as they are explaining in HELP-page how they calculates the
threshold - that they are not including VAT - that shows that they don't
know what they are talking about.
It could of curse be wrong information given in the help information - or it
is proof that BrickLink doesn't understand what Margin Scheme is.
Simple:
— either you’re using BL’s VAT mechanism and BL knows your VAT,
— or you aren’t and BL doesn’t remove VAT.
Yes correct - but as they are explaining in HELP-page how they calculates the
threshold - that they are not including VAT - that shows that they don't
know what they are talking about.
It could of curse be wrong information given in the help information - or it
is proof that BrickLink doesn't understand what Margin Scheme is.
Well, considering people (you and others) have been continuously talking about
it for 5 years now, I would hope they would know by now
More seriously, I think BL took advice from LEGO’s lawyers for OSS… but the website
has never been made to handle margin VAT.
Actually, the VAT mechanism is already just a kludge (the PG is wrong; some illegal
things, like not applying VAT on fees, are possible; etc.). My guess (I wasn’t
there) is that it was only implemented as a quick help the sellers and somehow
follow the EU laws, but Dan(?) never really looked into all the complicated options.
Sellers could handle VAT on their own at the time, like Canadian sellers still
have to today, using one of the fee/additional fields.
In any case, what I mean is that BL knows about margin VAT but doesn’t/can’t
care.
That should be surprising for a second-hand marketplace to not care about THE
VAT scheme for second-hand sellers, but, eh, it’s BrickLink!
Maybe the “replatforming” will bring surprises¹?
———
¹ It’ll have bugs. But that won’t be a surprise
For Margin Scheme it said in 2022 you have to contact BrickLink and they could
manage something for you, on a case by case basis, so if (and when) they accept
to.
And I'm not sure it's still possible in 2026.
For Margin Scheme it said in 2022 you have to contact BrickLink and they could
manage something for you, on a case by case basis, so if (and when) they accept
to.
And I'm not sure it's still possible in 2026.
Yes it is - I have got the offer from BrickLink this year to circumvent the block.
But maybe that is because I have a fairly large store...
As I understood it you will need a second store and register that one to the
OSS system - you don't need to use that store at all. I have so far dropped
the ball feels just like a lot of work and possible some serious explaining to
be done with TAX authorities.
I did ask if the solution was "a secret" and was told it is not.
For Margin Scheme it said in 2022 you have to contact BrickLink and they could
manage something for you, on a case by case basis, so if (and when) they accept
to.
And I'm not sure it's still possible in 2026.
Yes it is - I have got the offer from BrickLink this year to circumvent the block.
But maybe that is because I have a fairly large store...
As I understood it you will need a second store and register that one to the
OSS system - you don't need to use that store at all. I have so far dropped
the ball feels just like a lot of work and possible some serious explaining to
be done with TAX authorities.
I did ask if the solution was "a secret" and was told it is not.
Any tip on how to get BL to actually answer your emails?
Any tip on how to get BL to actually answer your emails?
It may take months... or never.
Another thing to help you out next time - as you reached the threshold fairly
late in the calendar year:
Keep track of your EU sales and turn of shipping to EU countries before reaching
the threshold. Like close on December 1st - wait until new year - open again.
This way you will only be off EU market 1 month/year instead of now the ban will
be enforced most of 2026 and all of 2027.
Sweden, Stockholm
France, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Austria, Wien
)
)
