YOU SELL SERVICES TO INDIVIDUALS

WHAT IS AN ELECTRONIC SERVICE ?

Generally speaking, these are highly automated services that are designed to deliver content via the Internet or other electronic networks such as those used to provide digital content. For information purposes, they notably aim the following services:

• Supply and web-hosting, distance maintenance of programs and equipment,
• Supply of software and updating thereof,
• Supply of images, text and information and making available databases,
• Supply of music, films and games, including games of chance or gambling and political broadcasts, cultural, artistic, sporting, scientific and entertainment,
• Provision of e-learning services.

Supplies must be only dematerialized and occur no material shipment. Be careful, when a supplier and its customer communicate via email, it does not mean that the service performed is an electronic service.

SHOULD YOU CHARGE VAT TO YOUR CUSTOMERS ?

Sales to individuals of electronic and audiovisual services, broadcasting and telecommunications should be charged with the VAT of customers’ country of residence.

SHOULD YOU REGISTER FOR VAT ? IN WHICH COUNTRY ?

Your company, whether established within or outside the EU, have the option to declare and pay the VAT collected on sales according to two procedures:

• either register for VAT in each country where they perform sales and file VAT returns in each of these countries,
• or use the One Stop Shop scheme in a EU member State, which allows businesses that supply e-services to consumers in Member States in which they do not have an establishment to account for the VAT due on those supplies via a web-portal in one Member State. This scheme allows them to make only one quarterly filing and payment in the EU member State where they are registered for the One Stop Shop of the VAT due in all EU member States where they make sales.

Companies established in the EU or having an establishment must register at the One Stop Shop in the EU Member State where they have their head office or an establishment.  If they have establishments in several EU member States, they can register for the One Stop Shop of a country where they have an establishment.

Companies established outside the European Union can register for the One Stop Shop in the country of their choice if they do not have an establishment in the territory of the European Union.

A French company or having an establishment in France will have to use the French One Stop Shop, while a business based outside the European Union may wish to use the French One Stop Shop.