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If you supply goods to a business in another Member State of the European Union and the goods are dispatched or transported there in connection with that supply, this constitutes an intra-Community supply. In that case, you may apply the 0% VAT rate to the supply. Your customer must pay VAT on the intra-Community acquisition.<\/p>\n
The successful entrepreneur must be able to prove that the 0% rate has been correctly applied. In the Netherlands, this currently entails:<\/p>\n
In an effort to curb the widespread VAT fraud surrounding the application of the 0% rate and to provide greater certainty for both the tax authorities and businesses, the European Union is issuing new rules. These take the form of a regulation<\/a>. As a result, the rules apply directly in all Member States. A bill<\/a> submitted for consultation, incorporating the amendments (quick fixes) to Dutch legislation.<\/p>\n The new rules come into force on 1 January 2020<\/strong>. In addition to the current rules regarding proof that the 0% rate has been correctly applied, a rebuttable presumption is being introduced. A trader who is in possession of the appropriate supporting documents is deemed to have made an intra-Community supply (the suspicion<\/em>). However, the tax authorities may try to prove that this is not the case (the refute<\/em>).<\/p>\n Businesses that supply goods within the EU would be well advised to check (or have someone check) whether they can adapt their administrative processes in such a way as to minimise their VAT risks by applying the new rules.<\/p>\n The Dutch tax authorities already require businesses to check their customers\u2019 VAT registration numbers. From 1 January 2020, it will be a substantive requirement for the supplier to have the customer\u2019s VAT registration number. Naturally, that number must be checked in VIES.<\/p>\n Most Dutch businesses will already have the process of requesting and verifying VAT registration numbers incorporated into their procedures in the context of intra-Community supplies. This aspect of the process will become even more important from 2020 onwards.<\/p>\n The rules governing proof of transport vary between Member States. From 2020, a rebuttable presumption that a supply is intra-Community applies in each Member State if proof of transport is provided:<\/p>\n The following options are available for supporting documents:<\/p>\nVAT registration number<\/h4>\n
Transport<\/h4>\n
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ABC<\/h4>\n