8

8
E
ur
opean
VA
T
-
Business
and T
ax
at
ion G
uide
2.0 Cross border supply of
goods
2.1 Introduction
When supplying and transporting goods from one EU Member State
to another EU
Member St
ate
, these supplies are known as intra-
Community supplies
, not
export of
goods. The term exports is reserved for supplies of goods to a country that
is
outside
of
the EU.
2.2 Supplying goods to companies
The supply
of goods by a company from
one
EU Mem
ber State
to a company
established in another EU Member State
is, in principle
, subject to zero per cent
VAT in
the
EU Member State
where the goods are dispatched (
known as the
EU Member State
of origin). The subsequent acquisition is subject to VAT in the
EU Member State
where
the goods are destined
. Currently
, the definition of acquisition refers to
the acquisition
of the title to a good as the owner
. These cross border
supplies between EU Member
States are called intra-
Community supplies
.
In order t
o apply the VAT zero
-rate, a supplier must present written
proof
at the
request of the local t
ax
authorit
y that the goods have been transported to a company
established
or registered in another EU Member State. In order to prove to the
tax
authorities
that the goods have actually been removed, the following evidence is
deemed important
and should therefore be retained, stored and archived by the
supplier:

Freight notes

Customer orders

Correspondence with customers

Sales invoices

Packing lists

Bank stat
ements.
A combination of the abovementioned documents provides stronger
evidence than a
single document.
In addition
, the supplier should
, whe
never possible
, acquire a valid VAT identification
number from its client. This VAT identification number must b
e stated on the sales
invoice.