An intermediary is a person that has a business establishment or a fixed establishment in the EU and represents a taxable person for the purpose of the IOSS. If a person has no establishment in the EU, they cannot act as an intermediary.

The role of the intermediary is to fulfill the obligations of the IOSS on behalf of the supplier. The intermediary will be responsible for the declaration and payment of the VAT due on the importation of goods with an intrinsic value not exceeding €150. Although the VAT liability remains the liability of the supplier represented by the intermediary, the intermediary is responsible for payment of the VAT due.

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An intermediary registered for the IOSS in Ireland is expected to engage in standard risk management practices, such as customer due diligence, and where an intermediary has concerns about a taxable person that they represent, they should inform the Revenue Commissioners of those concerns.

Where the Revenue Commissioners deem it necessary for the protection of the revenue, they may hold the intermediary jointly and severally liable with the supplier they represent under section 91J(10) of the VAT Consolidation Act. In such cases, a notice will be issued to both parties from the Revenue Commissioners to notify them that joint and several liabilities apply. This will apply on a prospective basis.

Joint and several liabilities are not a condition of registration as an intermediary and it will not apply automatically. It is intended that this provision will be used in exceptional cases where compliance issues have been identified.

To act as an intermediary, that person will first need to register as an intermediary for the purposes of the IOSS. The Member State of registration will be the Member State where the intermediary is established.

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If the intermediary has not established their business in the EU but has multiple fixed establishments in the EU, the Member State of registration will be the Member State with a fixed establishment where the intermediary indicates that they will make use of the IOSS. The intermediary will be bound by this decision for the calendar year concerned and the two calendar years following.

A person who wishes to be registered in Ireland as an intermediary under the IOSS must provide the following information:

a) Name

b) Address

c) Electronic address and websites

d) VAT number.

On registration, the person will be issued a unique identification number that demonstrates their registration as an intermediary for the purposes of the IOSS. This is not a VAT number nor a number that can be used to declare sales under the IOSS. The intermediary will also be issued with an IOSS identification number in respect of each taxable person that they represent which is to be used in respect of sales made by that taxable person alone.

A taxable person cannot appoint more than one intermediary at the same time. However, an intermediary can represent more than one taxable person simultaneously.

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