VAT

According to EU tax laws, SPOD needs to charge VAT in all EU member states, on the goods delivered from the EU to the merchant’s customer in the merchant’s name within the EU.

We calculate VAT as follows: (Product Price + Print Price - Discounts + Shipping Cost) * VAT rate 

All prices refer to the price the merchant pays to SPOD and not the price the customer pays to the merchant.

The merchant needs to check whether they are able or have to charge their customers VAT. More information can be found here.

If you are a registered business within the EU and can submit a valid VAT ID, you might not be obligated to pay VAT. More information can be found here.

VAT will only be charged on orders that are produced in our European factories and shipped to an address of a Member State of the European Union. Please note VAT will not be charged to Special Zones within the EU.

Please see the breakdown below for when VAT will and will not be charged.

• SPOD will charge German VAT on all orders being delivered to Germany.
• If you supply us with a valid German VAT ID – SPOD will charge the required German rate of VAT on all orders being delivered to EU countries. 
• If you supply us with a valid VAT ID from an EU country other than Germany – SPOD will not charge VAT on the orders that are being delivered to EU countries (excluding Germany).
• If you do not supply us with a VAT ID – SPOD will charge VAT on the orders that are being delivered to the EU. To determine the correct VAT rate, SPOD will still need to know if you are a small or regular business.

Please see here for an explanation on small and regular businesses.

We calculate VAT as follows: (Product Price + Print Price - Discounts + Shipping Cost) * VAT rate.

Generally, SPOD will charge the German rate of VAT. We will charge the VAT rate of the shipping country only under the following conditions:

• • You are a small business registered in the same EU country as the order's destination.
  • SPOD is registered for VAT in this country.
  • You have not exceeded your acquisition threshold where your small business is located.

All prices refer to the price the merchant pays to SPOD and not the price the customer pays to the merchant.

VAT charges can apply to the Member States of the European Union. Please note that no VAT is charged for deliveries to special zones within the EU.

For deliveries to addresses outside of the EU, VAT charges will not apply. Customs and import tax charges may apply to deliveries sent outside of the EU.

The VAT applied to an order can be seen on the order page within the SPOD app. Once you open an order you will see the applied VAT rate and amount for the order. Also on your .csv exports and on the invoices that you can download in the documents column on the order page.

If you are a merchant not based in Germany, you do not have a valid VAT ID, under certain conditions you can claim back the VAT from the German authorities on orders that were delivered to you as the merchant.

This can be done with the following process (Input VAT refund procedure):

Procedure for merchants located in the EU

You as the merchant can submit an application for reimbursement via the electronic portal of the Member State where your business is located.

Procedure for merchants located outside the EU

Merchants located outside of the EU can apply for a refund of the German VAT, provided that your business is not registered for VAT in Germany.

If your business is registered for VAT in Germany, you can claim the refund within your German VAT return.

Merchants without German VAT registration should contact the Bundeszentralamt für Steuern.

To add your VAT ID, go to Account Settings > Taxes > VAT Registration.

Your information will be verified by VIES, the VAT number validation service. To validate it, please make sure that all your information in your account matches perfectly the one registered at the European Commission. If you do not remember exactly what information was registered, you can access the VIES to access it.

If you own a business that meets the requirements to become a VAT registered business,  you need to collect VAT from your customer and declare/pay VAT to the tax office depending on the countries you are registered in. Rules may vary for small businesses.

SPOD (Spreadshirt Print On Demand GmbH) is registered for VAT in Germany.

Please note SPOD could register for VAT in more countries in the future.

Small businesses are enterprises with an annual turnover not exceeding a given threshold depending on the country in which your business is registered in.

Please see the list of EU countries below and their definitions on what the threshold is for a small business:

Your VAT ID is automatically verified by the VIES, the VAT ID validation service. We revalidate your information on a daily basis, to make sure all data is up to date.

Unfortunately, it can be rejected for several reasons. The most common ones are: 

You can find most of the necessary information on the European Commission website.