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Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
The latest survey by the German Business Panel (GBP) at the University of Mannheim shows: The One-Stop-Shop (OSS) portal not only eases the administrative burden on businesses in Germany when fulfilling their VAT obligations within the EU Single Market, but also generates tangible growth effects. 15.6 percent of active users now supply their products to additional EU member states thanks to the simplified process. 4.4 percent have even increased their sales in other EU countries. At the same time, around 38 percent of exporting firms reported that they were not yet aware of the portal — indicating further growth potential.
For many businesses in Germany, VAT reporting within the EU has so far been a bureaucratic challenge: Companies selling to end customers in multiple member states had to register for VAT and submit returns separately in each country. Different languages and national reporting requirements made the process cumbersome and prone to errors. The One-Stop-Shop (OSS) portal, introduced in 2021, aims to significantly simplify this procedure: Businesses can now report their cross-border B2C sales collectively through the portal, and the corresponding taxes are automatically forwarded to the relevant countries.
Less red tape for businesses
A new GBP survey confirms: The OSS portal achieves effective red tape reduction through digitalization. Around 58 percent of surveyed companies report noticeable relief — especially thanks to harmonized reporting requirements (79 percent) and the central submission of VAT returns in German (37 percent). Moreover, 15.6 percent of companies actively using the portal stated that the simplified process now allows them to supply products to additional EU member states, while 4.4 percent have already increased their EU sales as a result.
“Even if these figures may seem modest at first glance, they demonstrate that simple measures to reduce bureaucracy can generate real growth momentum,” says GBP project leader Professor Philipp Dörrenberg. “In particular, small and medium-sized enterprises stand to benefit from such simplifications, as they are more heavily burdened by the administrative demands of cross-border tax obligations than larger firms.”
Untapped potential: Few businesses aware of OSS portal
Despite its clear advantages, the portal is not yet widely used. Nearly 38 percent of exporting companies are still unaware of it. Others have not yet adopted it because their annual EU sales remain below the EUR 10,000 threshold or because their existing procedures work well. “Our findings suggest that greater awareness and adoption of the OSS portal could help unlock untapped growth potential within the European Single Market,”
Dörrenberg adds.
You can find the full report on business trends in October 2025 here: https://www.accounting-for-transparency.de/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/gbp_monito...
Further information on the GBP monitoring report
The German Business Panel interviews more than 800 companies per month on the economic situation in Germany and collects data on 1) any expected changes in revenue, profit and investments, 2) economic decisions, 3) the expected shutdown rate in the sector, and 4) the satisfaction with the economic policy. Furthermore, GBP reports on particularly relevant questions every three months.
Background information on the German Business Panel
The GBP is the long-term survey panel of the trans-regional Collaborative Research Centre “Accounting for Transparency” (https://www.accounting-for-transparency.de/). The Collaborative Research Center (CRC) “TRR 266 Accounting for Transparency” was established in July 2019. In May 2023, the German Research Foundation (DFG) approved the extension of four additional years. It is the first CRC with a focus on business administration. More than 100 researchers from the following eight universities are involved in the CRC: Paderborn University (host university), Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, University of Mannheim, researchers of Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, Frankfurt School of Finance & Management, University of Cologne and Leibniz University Hannover. The researchers examine how accounting and taxation affect the transparency of companies and how regulation and firm transparency impact our economy and society. The CRC is funded with approx. EUR 18 million.
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Philipp Dörrenberg
University of Mannheim
Phone: 0049 621 181-1719
E-mail: doerrenberg@uni-mannheim.de
Yvonne Kaul
Research communication
University of Mannheim
E-mail: kaul@uni-mannheim.de
Criteria of this press release:
Journalists
Economics / business administration
transregional, national
Research results
English
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