EU, abroad & reverse charge · 5.10
Selling via App Store and Marketplaces: Who Pays the VAT?
Short answer
If your GmbH sells digital products via a platform like the App Store or Google Play, the law generally treats the platform as the seller to the end customer. It remits the VAT (Umsatzsteuer) to the customer's tax authority. Your GmbH renders its service to the platform—meaning to another business.
Key points
- App stores: The platform sells in its own name to the end customer and handles their VAT. Your GmbH receives a payout net of commission.
- If the platform is based in another EU country, such as Ireland, your service to it is a cross-border EU B2B transaction: reverse charge mechanism, recapitulative statement (Zusammenfassende Meldung).
- The settlement statements from the platform (payout reports) are your accounting receipts. Retain them completely.
- Physical goods marketplaces: Here, you usually sell directly to the customer yourself. In that case, you are responsible for the VAT, possibly via the OSS procedure for EU customers. Marketplaces are also liable for unpaid taxes of their merchants and therefore verify your tax data.
- How exactly a platform settles transactions is stated in its terms of service. Check this individually for each platform.
Legal basis
§ 3 Abs. 11a UStG§ 3a Abs. 2 UStG§ 25e UStG
Continue
- Next video: Managing Director Abroad: What Does This Mean for the GmbH?
- Related: What is the OSS procedure?
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