Mail-order sales are a type of intra-Community transaction where the seller of goods is a VAT taxpayer from one EU member state, and the buyer is an entity from another EU member state that is not obliged to account for intra-Community acquisitions of goods.
The Value Added Tax Act provides specific rules for taxing mail-order sales, whereby the delivery of goods from the country is considered as made in the territory of the Member State of destination for the shipped or transported goods. This means that the place of taxation for mail-order sales is the territory of the country to which the goods are delivered.
The taxation of mail-order sales from the country’s territory depends on the turnover that the seller has achieved in a given year from such deliveries to recipients in that country. In accordance with the regulations contained in Article 34(2) of the EU VAT Directive, individual countries are obliged to establish thresholds for mail-order sales, which cannot be lower than 35,000 euros and higher than 100,000 euros.
In the case of mail-order sales from the country’s territory, the delivery of goods is considered made in the country if the total value of goods shipped or transported to the same EU Member State under mail-order sales from the country’s territory, reduced by the amount of tax, is less than or equal to the amount expressed in local currency, corresponding to the limit set by the destination Member State for the shipped or transported goods in that year. The condition is not to exceed the limit in the previous year.
The amounts of the thresholds in individual countries
| Country | Limit |
| Austria | 35.000 euro |
| Belgium | 35.000 euro |
| Bulgaria | 70.000 BGN = 35.791 euro |
| Croatia | 270.000 HRK = 36.291 euro |
| Cyprus | 35.000 euro |
| Czech Republic | 1.140.000 CZK = 44.873 euro |
| Denmark | 280.000 DKK = 37.595 euro |
| Estonia | 35.000 euro |
| Finland | 35.000 euro |
| France | 35.000 euro |
| Greece | 35.000 euro |
| Spain | 35.000 euro |
| Netherlands | 100.000 euro |
| Ireland | 35.000 euro |
| Lithuania | 35.000 euro |
| Luxembourg | 100.000 euro |
| Latvia | 35.000 euro |
| Malta | 35.000 euro |
| Germany | 100.000 euro |
| Portugal | 35.000 euro |
| Romania | 118.000 RON = 25.305 euro |
| Slovakia | 35.000 euro |
| Slovenia | 35.000 euro |
| Sweden | 320.000 SEK = 31.390 euro |
| Hungary | 35.000 euro |
| United Kingdom | 70.000 GBP = 80.197 euro |
| Italy | 35.000 euro |
* for suppliers from the EU sending to Poland
Source: http://ec.europa.eu
Exceeding the limit in the case of distance selling from the country of dispatch and to the country of destination results in the place of supply being determined on general principles. In other words, distance selling is considered to be made in the territory of the destination country for the goods being dispatched or transported. This means that a taxpayer who engages in distance selling to the territory of one of the EU member states is obligated to register in that country as a VAT taxpayer and account for VAT on distance sales in that country.
In the event of exceeding the limit amount, the place of taxation in the territory of the member state of destination for the goods being dispatched or transported applies, starting from the delivery that exceeds this amount.
Taxpayers may tax distance sales on general principles, provided they notify the head of the tax office in writing of their choice, specifying the name of the member state or member states for which this notification applies. The notification must be submitted at least 30 days before the delivery date, from which the taxpayer intends to apply the taxation on general principles.