Synopsis

Does your company trade in goods within the European Union? This raises the question of the VAT treatment of your intra-EU sales:

All these practical questions relate to the VAT rules for supplies of goods. As soon as you trade within the European market, the VAT rules for goods apply to you. This is known as an intra-Community supply of goods and its counterpart, the intra-Community acquisition of goods. These rules are set out in Articles 31 to 39 of the VAT Directive and determine the country in which VAT will be due. There are two general rules and a series of derogatory rules. In short, the place of taxation will depend on the nature of the goods themselves and the status of the recipient (business or private individual).