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VAT - Buying and selling goods and services within the EU

Alex Millar FMAAT CTA AIIT Director- AM VAT Limited 1 May 2014

VAT - Buying and selling goods and services within the EU

• An overview of:
• VAT on intra-EU supplies of goods and services.
• The distance selling rules.
• New rules for broadcasting, telecommunications and

e-services sold to consumers from 1 January 2015.

Seminar content

• The UK is one of the 28 Member States of the EU -

Croatia became a Member State on 1 July 2013.

• The VAT law in each Member State should reflect the
• bjectives of the EU Principal VAT Directive.
• Rules determine which Member State’s VAT applies

to intra-EU supplies of goods and services.

VAT in the EU

• For business to business (B2B) sales VAT is due in

the Member State where the customer belongs.

• For business to consumer (B2C) sales VAT is due in

the Member State where the supplier belongs.

• There are exceptions to the general rule.

The general rule for intra-EU supplies

• Ann, a VAT registered accountant based in the UK,

needs new office equipment for her business.

• Ann orders the goods from a supplier in Poland.
• What is the VAT treatment of the goods?

Example 1 – Goods bought

• A. The supplier in Poland should zero-rate the sale.
• B. The UK customer (Ann) should account for the UK

VAT.

• C. Both A and B.
• D. The supplier in Poland should charge UK VAT.

Example 1 - What is the VAT treatment

• f the goods?

• For B2B sales VAT is due in the Member State (the

UK) where the customer (Ann) belongs. If the supplier in Poland registered for VAT in the UK it could charge UK VAT (D). However, instead of this…

• The supplier in Poland can zero-rate the sale and

show Ann’s UK VAT number on the invoice (A)

• Ann should include the UK VAT due on the computer

in box 2 of her VAT return (B)

• Answer C – both A and B.

Example 1 - What is the VAT treatment

• f the goods?

• The UK VAT due on goods acquired by a UK business

from a supplier in another EU Member State should be included in box 2.

• The appropriate amount of input tax is claimed in box

4.

• The VAT exclusive value of the goods acquired, and

related costs such as delivery charges included on the same invoice as the goods, should be included in boxes 7 and 9.

Goods bought - What are the UK VAT return entries?

• Ben, a VAT registered wholesaler based in the UK,

sells desks to VAT registered businesses throughout the EU (B2B)

• Ben receives an order from a customer in Italy
• What is the VAT treatment of the goods?

Example 2 – Goods sold

• A. Ben should zero-rate the sale
• B. The Italian customer should account for the Italian

VAT

• C. Both A and B
• D. Ben should charge Italian VAT

Example 2 - What is the VAT treatment

• f the goods?

• For B2B sales VAT is due in the Member State where

the customer belongs. If Ben registered for VAT in the Italy he could charge Italian (D) However, instead of this …

• Ben can zero-rate the sale and show the Italian

customer’s VAT number on the invoice (A).

• The Italian customer should account for the Italian

VAT (B).

• Answer C – both A and B.

Example 2 - What is the VAT treatment

• f the goods?

• Triangulation is the term used to describe a chain of

intra-EU supplies of goods involving three parties in different Member States.

• The goods are delivered directly from the first party to

the last party in the chain.

Goods - Triangulation

• A German company orders goods from a UK

company and the goods are delivered from a French company to the German company.

Example 3 - Triangulation

• The UK company is the French company’s customer

and will receive an invoice from the French company.

• The French supplier can zero-rate the sale and show

the UK company’s VAT number on the invoice.

• The UK company is both acquiring and supplying the

goods in Germany so would normally be required to register for VAT in Germany unless a simplified VAT procedure is used.

Example 3 - Triangulation

• The simplified procedure avoids the need for the UK

company having to register for VAT in Germany.

• The simplified procedure means that the UK company

can zero-rate the sale and show the German company’s VAT number on the invoice.

• The simplified procedure can only be used when all

three parties are registered for VAT.

Example 3 - Triangulation

• Kim uses a Spanish business to provide her UK

business with IT support services.

• What is the VAT treatment of the services?

Example 4 – Services bought

• A. The Spanish supplier should charge Spanish VAT
• B. Kim should charge herself UK VAT
• C. The Spanish supplier should charge UK VAT

Example 4 - What is the VAT treatment

• f the services?

• For B2B sales VAT is due in the Member State where

the customer belongs

• For B2C sales VAT is due in the Member State where

the supplier belongs

• The services are provided to Kim’s business (B2B) so

Kim can charge herself UK VAT via the reverse charge (B)

Example 4 - What is the VAT treatment

• f the services?

• For business to business (B2B) sales the general rule

is that VAT is due in the Member State where the customer belongs

• The reverse charge applies to most B2B supplies of

services, except services that are exempt from VAT or are zero-rated

• The reverse charge occurs when the customer

accounts for VAT as if the customer was the supplier

What is the reverse charge?

• The UK VAT due on the services is included in box 1

(reverse charged as if the customer was the supplier)

• The appropriate amount of input tax is claimed in box

4 (as normal)

• The value of the supply is included in box 6 (as if the

customer was the supplier)

• The value of the supply is included in box 7 (as

normal)

What are the UK VAT return entries?

• Dan is a VAT registered accountant based in the UK.
• Most of Dan’s clients are based in the UK but some

are based in Belgium.

• He prepares accounts for businesses (B2B) and

personal tax returns for individuals (B2C).

• When should Dan charge UK VAT?

Example 5 – Services sold

• A. On all invoices.
• B. Only on the invoices issued to UK clients.
• C. On the invoices issued to UK clients and to

businesses in Belgium.

• D. On the invoices issued to UK clients and to

consumers in Belgium.

Example 5 - When should Dan charge UK VAT?

• Remember the general rule:
• For B2B sales VAT is due in the Member State where

the customer belongs.

• For B2C sales VAT is due in the Member State where

the supplier belongs.

• The correct answer is D - on the invoices issued to

UK clients and to consumers in Belgium.

Example 5 - When should Dan charge UK VAT?

• An EC Sales List (ESL) should be submitted showing

details of goods and services sold to VAT registered customers in other Member States

• An Intrastat Supplementary Declaration should be

submitted if the value of arrivals (goods bought from)

• r dispatches (goods sold to) VAT registered

businesses in other Member States exceeds certain thresholds.

Intra-EU transactions - Other reporting requirements

• From 1 January 2014 the Intrastat Supplementary

Declaration threshold for:

• Arrivals is £1,200,000
• Dispatches is £250,000

Intrastat Supplementary Declaration thresholds

• For business to business (B2B) sales VAT is due in

the Member State where the customer belongs.

• For business to consumer (B2C) sales VAT is due in

the Member State where the supplier belongs.

• There are exceptions to the general rule.

The general rule for intra-EU supplies

• For details of exceptions to the general rule see:
• HMRC Notice 725 (The single market).
• HMRC Notice 741A (Place of supply of services).
• An example of an exception to the general rule is B2C

sales of goods that exceed the distance selling thresholds.

Exceptions to the general rule

• The general rule for B2C sales is that VAT is due in

the Member State where the supplier belongs.

• Distance selling is the term used to describe sales of

goods to customers in other Member States where the customer is not registered for VAT and the supplier is responsible for delivery of the goods.

• Examples of businesses involved in distance selling

are mail order companies and online retailers.

Distance selling

• When distance sales exceed certain thresholds VAT is

due in the Member State where the customer belongs instead of the Member State where the supplier belongs.

• Each Member State has a threshold.
• The threshold for distance sales to customers in the

UK is £70,000 for a calendar year.

• There is no threshold for distance sales of excise

goods – VAT is due in the Member State where the customer belongs regardless of the value involved.

Distance selling

• A company based in Luxembourg sells millions of

pens over the internet to private individuals in Luxembourg, the UK and Croatia.

• The selling price for each pen is £1.00 (or the local

currency equivalent).

• VAT rate in Luxembourg 15%
• VAT rate in the UK 20%
• VAT rate in Croatia 25%

Example 6 - Distance selling

• If the distance selling rules did not exist the company

could account for VAT of £0.13 (or the local currency equivalent) for each pen sold.

• VAT rate in Luxembourg 15%
• £1.00 x 15/115 = £0.13
• The general rule for B2C sales is that VAT is due in

the Member State where the supplier belongs, in this case the supplier belongs in Luxembourg.

Example 6 - Distance selling

• The distance selling rules do exist. The company

should account for VAT in the UK of £0.167 for each pen sold in the UK.

• VAT rate in the UK 20%
• £1.00 x 20/120 = £0.167
• The company should account for VAT in Croatia

equivalent to £0.20 for each pen sold in Croatia.

• VAT rate in Croatia 25%
• £1.00 x 25/125 = £0.20

Example 6 - Distance selling

• The distance selling rules are intended to combat

distortion of trade and unfair competition

• If the distance selling rules did not exist the variations

in VAT rates between Member States may encourage mail order companies and online retailers to locate their businesses in Member States with relatively low rates of VAT

Distance selling explanation

• New rules for broadcasting, telecommunications and

e-services (BTE) sold to consumers

• For B2C sales of BTE services VAT is due in the

Member State where the supplier is located until 31 December 2014

• From 1 January 2015 VAT is due in the Member

State where the consumer is located

• How will suppliers know where consumers are

located?

New rules for BTE services from 1 January 2015

• Examples:
• Broadcasting services supplied via a decoder - the

address where the decoder is sent or installed

• Services supplied via a phone landline - the location
• f the landline
• Services supplied via a mobile phone - the country

code of the SIM card

• Services provided via an internet café or a wi-fi hot

spot - the location where the services are provided

BTE services - consumer location

• An electronically supplied service (e-service) is

supplied via the internet, or a similar electronic network, and involves minimal human intervention.

• Examples include:
• Software and software upgrades
• Website supply and hosting
• Online music, films and games

What is an e-service?

• Suppliers of BTE services to consumers can register

for VAT where their customers are located.

• Alternatively suppliers can register to use the Mini

One Stop Shop (MOSS).

• The MOSS is to be available from 1 January 2015.
• HMRC have said business can register to use the

MOSS from October 2014.

How to account for VAT on e-services from 1 January 2015

• The MOSS (Mini One Stop Shop) is an online service

that is intended to allow suppliers of BTE services to consumers the option of accounting for the VAT due in all the other Member States by submitting a single return to HMRC.

• The alternative is for suppliers of BTE services to

consumers to register for VAT where the consumers are located.

What is the MOSS?

• ???

Any questions

• The Association of Accounting Technicians, Alex

Millar, and AM VAT Limited cannot accept responsibility for any loss occasioned by any person attending the webinar or using the webinar notes.

Disclaimer

• I hope you enjoyed the webinar.

Thank you

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VAT - Buying and selling goods and services within the EU