First of all, you need a travel agent licence, unless you resell travel packages, then you have to pay a security deposit to the Ministry of Finance. The amount of the deposit changes according to the services you offer:
- A minimum of € 32,000 or 7% of estimated annual sales (EAS) if you offer charter flights and tours outside Estonia;
- A minimum of € 32,000 or 3% EAS if you offer scheduled flights and tours outside Estonia;
- A minimum of € 13,000 or 7% EAS if you offer tours outside Estonia with no flights;
- A minimum of € 32,000 or 7% EAS if you act as a mediator with another travel agent outside the EU;
- A minimum of € 13,000 or 3% EAS if you act as a mediator with another travel agent inside the EU.
If you only resell travel packages, you can either apply for the standard VAT scheme or the travel agent’s margin scheme. In the former case, you must register for VAT in any EU country you have business with; in the latter, you can just pay the standard Estonian VAT rate of 20% in Estonia on your margin instead of the whole sale price.
Obviously, if your income is based on commission fees and you earn them abroad, you should charge 0% VAT.
