Not very helpful I know but yesterday I was speaking to the operations manager of a UK courier company about the situation in the EU and he referred to it as carnage. Overflowing warehouses and mountains of paperwork. One factor that was pointed out to me was that even if I had completed the paperwork correctly there were countless others who had not done so and that was causing immense problems. Personally, while I might be prepared to take the chance of the odd package the idea of 300+ packages to the EU at this time would be a nightmare I wouldn’t even want to contemplate!
Topic summary
Feature request to allow UK merchants to integrate Taxamo Assure at checkout to collect EU VAT via IOSS post‑Brexit. Goal: charge VAT at checkout and remit via an intermediary to avoid delivery‑time charges and returns.
Shopify status and guidance:
- Checkout API (needed for Taxamo) is limited to Shopify Plus; no timeline to change. No built‑in IOSS intermediary integration. Third parties must build apps.
- “Registration‑based taxes” can be enabled to calculate local EU VAT and accept an IOSS ID (IOSS = for non‑EU sellers; OSS = for EU sellers).
Workarounds and apps:
- Taxamo: no Shopify plugin (focused on Magento). Custom API possible but complex; one merchant reports non‑Plus implementation via developer.
- Crossborderit (CBIT): IOSS via Sweden; pricing evolved from ~€19.99/mo + €1/order to app ($24/mo) and later reports of €99/mo + 3% on VAT. Early CSV uploads were painful; the Shopify app later smoothed reporting. Mixed reports of customers still being charged VAT; many issues traced to Royal Mail Click & Drop and label/IOSS handling, later improved with IOSS‑marked services.
- Alternatives: Avalara (costly full service), VAT Digital, Zonos (adds % fee), Eurora, EAS EU Compliance (no monthly fee; €1.25/txn + €6 invoice fee >€30). Several merchants plan to switch to EAS.
Operational notes:
- IOSS applies to consignments ≤ €150 and covers VAT only (not duty). Keep IOSS ID off labels; ensure RM Click & Drop uses IOSS services. Germany also requires VerpackG/LUCID packaging registration.
Outcome: No native Shopify–Taxamo integration; viable paths are registration‑based taxes + third‑party IOSS services. Discussion remains open (e.g., EAS support for sole traders).