Exploring Additional VAT Reporting Requirements in the EU: Intrastats and ECSLs

Exploring Additional VAT Reporting Requirements in the EU: Intrastats and ECSLs

The world of VAT can appear overwhelming, especially when you discover that there are certain additional VAT reporting obligations which your business may be required to meet. We help you to meet your additional VAT reporting obligations in an efficient and simplified manner and file Intrastats and ECSLs.

In this article, we will explore the EC Sales List (ECSL) and Intrastat requirements which your business may need to meet to ensure your compliance with relevant VAT laws and to avoid unnecessary, and often costly, difficulties with tax authorities.

Where are Intrastats and ECSLs Required?

Intrastats and ECSLs are additional VAT reporting obligations in the EU. The Intrastat is a statistical return while the ECSL is and additional VAT return. If your business trades within the EU, it is possible that you will need to file an ECSL, an Intrastat or both, in addition to your periodic VAT filing in each EU member state in which you trade and are registered for VAT.

Why are These Additional Reporting Obligations Necessary?

The intrastat allows the tax authorities to gather statistical information regarding trade within the EU. In essence, an Intrastat measures the movement of goods, including dispatches and arrivals, across EU member states. EU authorities use the statistics gathered to set trade policies and plan for infrastructure needs. Intrastats are also compared against other returns to eliminate VAT fraud.

Similarly, the ECSL enables tax authorities to ensure that VAT is correctly declared in cross-border sales (and purchases in certain jurisdictions, like Spain or Hungary) in the EU thus eliminating VAT fraud and ensuring that VAT is collected appropriately.

Both an intrastat and an ECSL report intra-community transactions, however, the information submitted will differ.

What is Reported in an Intrastat?

An intrastat is a very detailed declaration which includes the following information for each transaction reported:

The tax office requires all information to be provided when the intrastat declaration is submitted. As this is a statistical declaration, no payment is required on submission of the intrastat.

What is Reported in an ECSL?

An ECSL records sales of goods and services made from a supplier business in an EU country to a customer business in another EU country (an intra-community dispatch). To prepare the declaration, one should gather the names and valid EU VAT numbers of both the supplier and customer, country codes, the value (total amount paid, including taxes) of the transactions reported, the date of the transactions, and the relevant invoice numbers.

VAT is not payable or refundable on the submission of an ECSL.

Some counties, like Spain and Hungary, require the submission of an ECSPL- a Sales and Purchase list. In this declaration, both intra-community dispatches (sales) and intra-community acquisitions (purchases) are reported.

Who has These Additional VAT Reporting Obligations?

Whether your business must file an intrastat is ordinarily determined by country-specific thresholds for arrivals and dispatches, respectively. If your business does not meet a threshold in each EU country, your business will be exempt from submitting an intrastat.

Thresholds are applied to arrivals and dispatches during the calendar year. If you breach the threshold in any month during the calendar year, you will be required to submit intrastat declarations from the month in which you breached the threshold.

Certain EU countries, like the Netherlands and France, do not apply thresholds and rather review your VAT returns and notify you by letter when you become liable to submit intrastat declarations.

To be required to submit an ECSL, you must have made an intra-community dispatch, or a sale from one EU country to another. For example, your business, in Germany, made a sale to a business in France. Thresholds do not apply to ECSLs. If you are making intra-community dispatches, you must file an ECSL.

The thresholds for 2024 are summarised below:[1]

These thresholds were correct at the date of publishing but are subject to change and do not constitute binding advice.

Your business needs to file ECSLs and Intrastats. What do you do now?

Reach out to our Experts for simplified and efficient guidance and assistance with your business’ additional VAT reporting obligations, including your ECSLs and Intrastats.