When does the core of ViDA actually take effect?
Yes, but not all at once. The main single-VAT-registration measures under ViDA start applying from 1 July 2028. ViDA is short for "VAT in the Digital Age," the EU's reform package for how businesses register and report VAT across borders. From that date, the OSS (One Stop Shop, the online portal that lets a business report VAT for several EU countries through one return in its home country) widens in scope, and mandatory reverse charge kicks in for non-resident sellers. Before that, it is 1 January 2027, only a small change lands, mostly affecting OSS supplies of gas, electricity and heating. Call-off stock is an arrangement that lets goods sit in a warehouse in another EU country without an immediate VAT registration there, until a known buyer takes them. It disappears for good 30 June 2029, since no new stock movements under this regime may start after 30 June 2028.
What does "single VAT registration" actually mean?
The name oversells it. ViDA does not create one new pan-European VAT number that replaces your national one. According to the European Commission's own explanation, only the scope of the OSS gets wider, so you'll simply need a separate VAT registration in fewer destination countries than before. Your Estonian, Latvian or Lithuanian VAT number stays exactly where it is. What changes is what you're allowed to declare under it.
Which three changes cut down the need for foreign VAT numbers?
- A wider OSS: from 1 July 2028, the Union OSS can also be used to declare certain local B2C supplies of goods made in a country where your business has no establishment.
- Transfer of own goods: moving stock from your own warehouse to another member state can be reported under a new special scheme using only the VAT number of your home registration, as long as the destination country grants full input VAT deduction.
- Mandatory reverse charge: if the seller isn't VAT-registered in the destination country but the buyer is a VAT payer there, the tax liability shifts to the buyer under the Article 194.
What does this look like for a day-to-day business in the Baltics?
- An Estonian online shop sells to a Lithuanian consumer straight from its Estonian warehouse. This already runs through the OSS today, since it clears the €10,000 distance-selling threshold.
- An Estonian wholesaler moves stock from a Tallinn warehouse to a Polish warehouse for resale. From 1 July 2028, this transfer can be declared through the own-goods transfer scheme, so no Polish VAT number is needed.
- An Estonian service company installs equipment in Germany for a German VAT-registered client. From the same date, VAT shifts to the buyer under reverse charge, and the seller never has to register in Germany at all.
Which thresholds and obligations stay exactly as they are?
ViDA doesn't touch two limits businesses already know well. The €10,000 EU-wide distance-selling threshold and Estonia's own €40,000 VAT registration threshold remain unchanged. These sit outside ViDA entirely, as separate rules. If you use the own-goods transfer scheme, you'll still need to file a monthly return even in months with zero movements, and keep records for 10 years after the end of the year the transfer happened. Reverse charge also does not cover sales to end consumers. For B2C sales, OSS or a local registration is still the only route.
What should you actually do before 2028?
Map out where you currently hold foreign VAT numbers and warehouses, and split your sales into B2C and B2B flows. That split tells you which of the three measures actually applies to your business. Keep an eye on changes to your national VAT act. Under the implementing rules, these have to be adopted and published no later than 30 June 2028. And don't touch your current registrations yet: as of August 6, 2026, the Estonian Tax and Customs Board had not published concrete guidance on how to apply any of this in practice.
FAQ
When does the core of ViDA actually take effect, and what changes?
The main ViDA measures start applying from 1 July 2028. From that date, the OSS widens in scope, and mandatory reverse charge kicks in for non-resident sellers in B2B sales.
Does ViDA create a single pan-European VAT registration number?
No. ViDA doesn’t create a new pan-European VAT number. Your Estonian VAT number stays exactly where it is, but what you’re allowed to declare under it changes in some situations, thanks to the wider OSS.
What are the key dates around 1 January 2027 and 30 June 2029?
On 1 January 2027, a small change lands, mostly affecting OSS supplies of gas, electricity and heating. On 30 June 2029, the call-off stock arrangement disappears for good.
Does ViDA remove the EU’s €10,000 distance-selling threshold or Estonia’s registration threshold?
No. ViDA doesn’t touch either threshold: the €10,000 EU-wide distance-selling threshold and Estonia’s €40,000 VAT registration threshold both remain unchanged.