Intra-Community supply to businesses (B2B) from Germany: conditions and proofs

In short

• Invoice: by the 15th day of the following month, showing your VAT ID and your customer's (§ 14a (3) UStG).
• Reporting: advance return; EC Sales List (ZM) by the 25th day after the period (§ 18a (1) UStG).
• Trap: missing, wrong or incomplete ZM costs this supply its exemption (§ 4 No. 1 letter b UStG).

What is an intra-Community supply?

The conditions at a glance: the goods are transported or shipped to another EU member state, the buyer is a business (or legal person) registered there, its acquisition is subject to VAT there and it uses a valid VAT ID (§ 6a (1) UStG). The invoice shows both VAT IDs and no German VAT; documents for the transport, an entry in your books and the EC Sales List (Zusammenfassende Meldung) filed with the BZSt complete the picture.

A supply is an intra-Community supply if all four conditions of § 6a (1) UStG are met:

A transfer of your own goods from Germany to the rest of the EU for your own disposal also counts as an intra-Community supply, unless it is only for temporary use (§ 6a (2), § 3 (1a) UStG). An example is stock you move to a warehouse in another EU country. That is a topic of its own; more in Amazon FBA and OSS: what applies to warehouses in other EU countries.

Whether you supply private customers or businesses decides the procedure: sales to private individuals are distance sales (Distance sales under § 3c UStG) and go into the OSS return. The dividing line is explained in OSS and B2B: do sales to businesses belong in the OSS return?.

How do I check my customer's VAT ID?

The valid VAT ID of the buyer is a condition of the exemption (§ 6a (1) No. 4 UStG), and it belongs in your books (§ 17d (1) sentence 1 UStDV). The BZSt offers a confirmation of VAT IDs for this, as a simple or a qualified confirmation. The qualified confirmation also checks company name, town, postcode and street. With the online confirmation procedure you provide the proof by keeping the printout or saving the result in a common format or as a screenshot (BZSt).

If your customer misled you, you may still be protected: if the business treated a supply as exempt although the conditions were not met, it still counts as exempt if that rests on incorrect information from the buyer and the business could not have recognised the inaccuracy even with the care of a prudent businessperson. The buyer then owes the lost tax (§ 6a (4) UStG).

What must the invoice for an intra-Community supply show?

You must issue the invoice by the 15th day of the month following the month of the supply. In it you state your VAT ID and your customer's (§ 14a (3) UStG). Because the supply is exempt, you do not charge VAT. Instead the invoice must, in the case of a tax exemption, contain a note that the supply is exempt (§ 14 (4) sentence 1 No. 8 UStG).

Which proof do I need: proof of arrival and proof in the books?

You must prove the conditions (§ 6a (3) UStG), with documents (§§ 17a, 17b UStDV) and in your books (§ 17d UStDV).

You must prove that the goods reached the rest of the EU, clearly and easily verifiable (§ 17b (1) UStDV). There are two routes.

Confirmation of arrival (Gelangensbestätigung). A proof counts as clear and easily verifiable if it consists of a copy of the invoice and a confirmation by the buyer that the goods reached the rest of the EU (§ 17b (2) UStDV). The confirmation contains:

• the buyer's name and address,
• the quantity and the usual commercial description of the goods,
• the place and month in which the goods were received in the rest of the EU,
• the date of issue and
• the signature of the buyer or its authorised representative. For electronic transmission no signature is needed if it is apparent that the transmission began within the buyer's sphere.

It can be issued as a collective confirmation covering up to one quarter.

Other documents and the presumption of arrival. For shipments you can also prove delivery with a shipping document, for example a waybill signed by the recipient (§ 17b (3) UStDV). In addition, arrival in the rest of the EU is presumed: if you state that you or a third party commissioned by you transported or shipped the goods, two consistent transport or shipping documents are enough. They must come from different parties that are independent of each other, of you and of the buyer. Alternatively, one such document together with another document confirming the transport or shipment is enough (§ 17a (1) No. 1 and (2) UStDV). The tax office can rebut the presumption (§ 17a (3) UStDV).

Proof in the books. You must also prove the conditions in your books, including the buyer's foreign VAT ID (§ 17d (1) UStDV). You record, among other things, the buyer's name and address, the quantity and description of the goods, the day of supply, the agreed consideration, the transport or shipment to the rest of the EU and the place of destination (§ 17d (2) UStDV).

Where do I report the supply: advance VAT return and EC Sales List?

Advance VAT return. The ELSTER help says: you enter VAT-exempt intra-Community supplies to customers with a VAT ID in the period in which you issue the invoice, at the latest in the period in which the month following the supply ends (§ 18b UStG). More on the advance return: German advance VAT return: filing online.

EC Sales List. Anyone who has supplied goods to the rest of the EU files a ZM with the BZSt (BZSt). For each buyer it states the VAT ID and the total of the tax bases of the goods supplied to it (§ 18a (7) sentence 1 No. 1 UStG). It is filed electronically through the ELSTER service portal or the BZStOnline portal (BZSt).

Small business owners who apply § 19 (1) UStG do not have to file a ZM (§ 18a (4) UStG; BZSt).

What happens if something is missing?

• ZM missing or wrong: The exemption does not apply if the business has not met its duty to file the ZM, or to the extent that it filed it incorrectly or incompletely for the supply concerned (§ 4 No. 1 letter b UStG). According to the ELSTER help, such supplies are taxable.
• Proof missing: The conditions must be proven by the business (§ 6a (3) UStG).
• Customer without a valid VAT ID: Then there is no intra-Community supply. If your customer is a private individual or a buyer treated like one (§ 3c (1) sentence 3 UStG), it can be a distance sale. Otherwise a supply shipped from Germany is taxable in Germany (§ 3 (6) sentence 1 UStG).

Which mistakes come up most often?

• Not checking the VAT ID. Without the customer's valid number, a condition of the exemption is missing.
• Not collecting documents. Without a confirmation of arrival or other documents, the exemption is at risk.
• Forgetting the ZM. Even an incomplete ZM can cost the exemption.
• Showing VAT on the invoice. For an exempt supply, the note on the tax exemption belongs on the invoice instead.
• Mixing private and business customers. Sales to private individuals are distance sales and belong in the advance return or the OSS return.

How VAT GPT helps

If you write invoices in VAT GPT, the app shows that an intra-Community supply requires your VAT ID rather than your tax number. You can have your customer's VAT ID checked there; VAT GPT shows "Valid per VIES". An exempt intra-Community supply carries the note "VAT-exempt intra-Community supply (§ 4 No. 1b, § 6a UStG)" on the invoice. To the advance return in three steps:

1. Upload: You upload your Amazon or eBay CSV reports and your invoices. The AI reads amounts, countries and tax rates.
2. Check: VAT GPT prepares the advance VAT return. VAT-exempt intra-Community supplies from your invoices appear in a separate line for supplies to customers with a VAT ID, apart from the OSS sales. You check and confirm.
3. Send: With VAT GPT Pro via ELSTER directly to the tax office.

Everything is in one place: advance VAT return, annual VAT return, OSS return, EÜR, trade tax and income tax returns. There is Free (basic features, free of charge), Go (30 days free with all Pro features) and Pro (€49 per month or €444 per year, each including VAT). Try for Free Now

Frequently asked questions

When is a supply to a business in another EU country VAT-exempt? When the four conditions of § 6a (1) UStG are met and you can prove them (§ 6a (3) UStG).

Do I have to check my customer's VAT ID? The valid number is a condition of the exemption. The BZSt offers a confirmation of VAT IDs for this, also as a qualified confirmation.

What must be on the invoice? Your VAT ID and your customer's (§ 14a (3) UStG), and a note on the tax exemption (§ 14 (4) sentence 1 No. 8 UStG). It is to be issued by the 15th day of the following month.

What is a confirmation of arrival? A confirmation from your customer that the goods arrived in the rest of the EU, with details of buyer, goods, place and month of receipt, date and signature (§ 17b (2) UStDV).

By when do I file the EC Sales List? As a rule by the 25th day after the end of the calendar month. With sums up to €50,000, the quarter can be enough as the reporting period (§ 18a (1) UStG).

Does an intra-Community supply belong in the OSS return? No. It goes into the advance return and the EC Sales List. OSS is for sales to private individuals (BZSt).

Further reading

• OSS and B2B: do sales to businesses belong in the OSS return?
• Distance sales under § 3c UStG
• OSS return for online sellers: process and deadlines
• German advance VAT return (UStVA): filing online, deadlines and permanent extension
• Amazon FBA and OSS: what applies to warehouses in other EU countries

Not tax advice: the content does not replace individual advice.

Sources

• § 6a UStG (in German)
• § 4 UStG (in German)
• § 3 UStG (in German)
• § 3c UStG (in German)
• § 14 UStG (in German)
• § 14a UStG (in German)
• § 18a UStG (in German)
• § 17a UStDV (in German)
• § 17b UStDV (in German)
• § 17d UStDV (in German)
• BZSt: EC Sales List, filing duty (in German)
• BZSt: confirmation of VAT IDs (in German)
• ELSTER: help on the advance VAT return (in German)