The finance law for 2020 has transposed the so-called “quick fixes” measures provided for by Directive 2018/1910/EU of December 4, 2018 concerning intra-Community traffic in goods between taxable persons (B2B), with effect as of January 1, 2020.

The purpose of these measures is to strengthen the conditions for exemption from intra-Community supplies of goods, to simplify the system of chain sales when an intermediary operator is responsible for intra-Community transport, and to simplify the system of consignments of goods under deposit contract from one member State to another.

On the other hand, a European regulation (2018/1912/UE of December 4, 2018) now provides a list of documents admissible under the proof of shipment of goods to which the exemption applicable to intra-Community deliveries is subject.

Reinforcement of the conditions for exemption from intra-Community deliveries

The exemption from intra-Community deliveries is now subject to the fact that the supplier knows, at the time of delivery, the VAT number under which his client declares his intra-Community acquisitions, and that he indicates this number on his intra-community sales listing (“Déclaration d’Echanges de Biens” in France).

“Chain sales”

The purpose of the measure is to simplify the treatment of successive sales between different operators (ABC) when the goods are dispatched from one Member State of the Union to another, directly from the initial seller (A) to the final buyer (C ) by the intermediary seller (B). In summary, it will in principle be presumed that intra-Community transport relates to the first sale, which may therefore be exempt from VAT, at least if B communicates to A a VAT number which has been allocated to it by another Member State than that of the departure of the transport.

Stocks under deposit contract

Harmonized rules for simplifying the system of stocks under contract for the storage of goods dispatched from one Member State to another without transfer of ownership now make it possible to exempt the supplier from identifying himself for VAT in the Member State of destination goods and to fulfill declarative and payment formalities for VAT due on its intra-Community acquisitions and subsequent domestic deliveries to the depositary.

Proof of shipment of goods for intra-Community deliveries

The supplier who intends to exempt an intra-Community supply must prove that the goods have left the Member State of departure of the transport. While, up to now, proof of intra-Community transport is provided by any legal means, there is now the possibility of benefiting from a presumption of shipment, under certain conditions, when the supplier is able to provide two elements non-contradictory evidence from independent third parties, and an acknowledgment of receipt from the customer when intra-Community transport is carried out by the latter.

• What can we do for you ? We can assist you in validating the advisability of implementing these measures in the various Member States of the European Union in order to simplify the declarative processing and secure your VAT compliance.