New developments in VAT on intra-community transactions.
The transposition into Spanish law of the so-called «Quick Fixes» comes into force. Changes in tax matters for intra-Community supplies of goods.
In an effort to prevent fraud in intra-Community transactions and to simplify the administrative procedures required in some countries of the Union, new measures or rules were created in Council Directive (EU) 2018/1910 of 4 December 2018, Council Directive (EU) 2019/475 of 18 February 2019 and Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/1912 of 4 December 2018, known as Quick Fixes.
This February, by means of RD-Law 3/2020, which introduces certain amendments to Law 37/1992, of 28 December, on Value Added Tax (LIVA) and RD 1624/1992, of 29 December, which approves the Value Added Tax (RIVA) Regulations, the various European Union directives are incorporated into Spanish law.
The measures refer to 4 basic points in intra-community trade:
- Consignment agreements
They are defined as agreements in which the supplier maintains a stock in the customer’s country so that the customer can dispose of the goods according to his needs, thus guaranteeing an agile and efficient supply.
Until now, the supplier had to transfer goods to the country where his customer keeps the consignment stock. This required the supplier to be identified in the country of destination of the goods and to perform / declare an intra-community delivery of goods in the State of departure and a transaction assimilated to the intra-community acquisition of goods in the State of arrival. Subsequently, when their client disposes of the goods, they had to declare an internal sales transaction, with a reverse charge, as it was a domestic transaction between a non-resident supplier and a resident client.
From 1 March next, it will be stipulated that supplies of goods under an agreement for the sale of goods on consignment will give rise to a single transaction: an exempt intra-Community supply of goods in the Member State of departure and an intra-Community acquisition of goods in the Member State of arrival which takes place when the customer removes the goods from the consignment or warehouse.
The conditions laid down for the application of this simplified system are as follows:
– The vendor may not have the place of business or a fixed establishment in the State of arrival
– The entrepreneur who receives the goods to have a VAT-ID in the State of arrival
– The seller must have knowledge of the purchaser’s identification data (company name and VAT number) before the start of the transport
– The seller must include the shipment of the goods in his register of certain intra-Community transactions and on the corresponding Form 349.
– Within 12 months of dispatch, the goods must be acquired by the entrepreneur indicated in the consignment agreement or by an entrepreneur who replaces him (who also has a VAT number in the State of arrival) and the vendor must include this circumstance (that of the replacement) in the Register of Certain Intra-Community Transactions and on form 349; or the goods must be returned and these returns must therefore be declared in the Register of Certain Intra-Community Transactions.
A transfer of assets shall be deemed to have taken place if any of the following situations arise within the 12-month period:
– The goods are not purchased by the client entrepreneur and have not been returned
– The goods are transported to a destination other than the State specified in the consignment agreement
– There is loss, destruction or theft of the goods
- Intra-Community chain sales
They are defined as sales where there are successive deliveries with a single transport of the goods from one EU country to another from the first supplier to the final purchaser in the chain.
To date, an exempt intra-Community delivery is considered to be one to which the transport of the goods is linked, but this has led to a multitude of interpretative disparities that make it difficult to declare.
From 1 March, when the intermediate operator takes over the transport and communicates to the initial supplier a VAT-ID number from a country other than the country of origin of the goods, the supply between the two will be understood as an intra-Community supply of goods.
On the other hand, if the intermediary provides the supplier with a VAT-ID of the same country of origin of the goods, this delivery will be an internal operation in the country of origin and the delivery made by the intermediary to his client will be an intra-Community delivery.
- The conditions for applying the exemption to intra-Community supplies of goods
Until now, the transport of goods outside the Member State of origin to another EU country was required, in addition to a VAT number issued by another Member State, which was a formal requirement.
As of March 1, these requirements are maintained, although as a novelty the NIF is predefined as a material requirement and another material requirement is added for the application of the exemption which consists of the supplier having declared the transaction in the corresponding recapitulative declaration of intra-community transactions.
- Proof of transport for intra-Community supplies of goods
There is a presumption that transport has taken place when the vendor has at least two non-contradictory proofs, issued by different and independent parties:
– Signed CMR letter or document
– Bill of lading
– Air Freight Invoice
– Invoice from the carrier of the goods
Or if you have one of the non-contradictory pieces of evidence and at least one of the following pieces of evidence:
– Transport insurance policy or bank document proving payment
– Official document certifying the arrival of the goods in the Member State of destination issued by a public authority
– Receipt issued by a warehousekeeper in the Member State of destination confirming storage in that Member State
Where the transport is carried out by the buyer, he must send the seller a specific declaration certifying that the goods have been transported by him or by a third party on his behalf and that he is in possession of the evidence referred to above for the exemption to apply.
If you need our help to obtain more information or have any questions about this, please contact us by email, ambit@ambitassessor.com or at our offices.
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Diplomada en Ciencias Empresariales por la Universidad de Barcelona, ha ampliado su formación en el ámbito tributario y contable asistiendo a cursos y seminarios impartidos por la Escuela de Negocios EAE, el Colegio de Economistas, el Colegio de Abogados y la Cámara de Comercio de Terrassa.
Compaginó sus estudios trabajando en la empresa familiar y realizando suplencias del departamento de auditoría de producción de Bimbo SA.
Su carrera profesional la ha desarrollado en Àmbit Assessor, donde se incorporó en 1991 para dar soporte al departamento contable-fiscal, convirtiéndose en consultora unos años más tarde.
Desde el año 2000 es socio-gerente de la empresa.
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