Companies selling within the Community (single sales, triangular sales, successive sales) often have doubts that sales invoices may be made without tax.

For some time now erroneous information has been circulating that tax-free billing is conditioned by the sales incoterm used according to the « logic » From the moment the goods are transported by the buyer, the sales invoices must be VAT included... Wrong!

In some Community countries, private consultancy firms even confirm this approach, although it is the result of a misinterpretation of the new definition of the notion of exporter in the Union Customs Code (cf. International atmosphere of January 2018). 

It is very difficult for traders to verify this type of information, especially since there is not yet aTax harmonization within the European Union...

However, reference can be made toCommunity VAT Directiveissued by the European Council in 2006*, which simplifies inter alia the VAT scheme in the case of triangular sales concerning three economic operators located and tax registered each in a different country:

A sells to B who sells to C, but B asks A to deliver directly C.

In this scheme, B does not have to pay VAT in his country and can directly sell HT to C.

This directive also recalls a fundamental principle concerning the supply of goods within the Community: the place of taxation in respect of VAT corresponds to the place where the party acquiring the goods takes delivery of the goods, namely the country of delivery to C.

This explains why the trigger element of Declarations on Trade in Goods (DEB) is the Community transport of goods, not the issue of the sales invoice.

After investigation of our service dInternational customs and tax engineeringWe have received confirmation from the tax authorities of several Community countries that Invoices issued for sales of goods within the territory of the European Union must be systematically made without taxes, whatever theIncoterm® used.

* Directive 2006/112/EC of 28/11/2006 available to our subscribers on request.