Intra-EU VAT: How to Buy and Sell Across the EU Without Nasty Surprises

Selling to a customer in Germany or buying goods from a Portuguese supplier seems simple until it’s time to file your returns. Intra-EU VAT has its own rules, and mistakes tend to be costly: penalties for missing informative returns, or VAT you end up overpaying. This guide covers the essentials for trading within the European Union in an orderly way.

Step one: registering in the ROI

The ROI (Registro de Operadores Intracomunitarios, Spain’s register of intra-EU operators) is a census register kept by the Spanish Tax Agency. Being registered is what gives you a valid VAT number for trading with other EU countries. Without it, your European customer or supplier won’t be able to validate your number, and the transaction may be treated incorrectly for tax purposes.

Registration is requested through the census declaration (Form 036, or Form 037 if you meet the requirements to use it), ticking the box for intra-EU operators. It is a free and quick procedure, but it should be done before your first transaction, not after.

Once registered, always check your counterparty’s VAT number in the European Commission’s VIES system. Supplying goods without VAT to someone whose number is not valid can lead the tax authorities to claim the VAT you failed to charge.

Buying from the EU: reverse charge and self-assessment

When you buy goods or receive services from a business in another Member State, the supplier issues the invoice without VAT. That doesn’t mean the transaction comes free: you declare the VAT in Spain. This is known as the reverse charge, or self-assessment.

In practice, you record the same invoice twice in your VAT books: once as output VAT and once as input VAT, at the applicable Spanish rate. If you are entitled to full deduction, the net effect on Form 303 is zero; you neither pay nor recover anything, but the transaction must be recorded. An example with round numbers: you buy materials worth €10,000 from a French supplier. Standard Spanish rate: 21%. You charge €2,100 in output VAT and claim €2,100 in input VAT in the same period.

If the VAT is not fully or partially deductible (for example, because of pro rata or an exempt activity), there will be a real cost, which is why recording it correctly matters.

Selling to the EU and Form 349

The supply of goods to a business in another EU country, with a valid VAT number and with actual transport out of Spain, is generally exempt from VAT. Your invoice goes out without VAT, with a reference to the exemption, and the transaction is reported on Form 303 as exempt. Important: the exemption depends on being able to prove the goods left the country (transport documents, CMR, signed delivery notes), so keep that documentation.

Form 349 is the summary statement of intra-EU transactions. For each operator, it lists the amount of supplies, acquisitions and certain services, identified by their transaction key. It is filed at a frequency that depends on the volume and nature of your transactions (monthly, quarterly or annually, depending on the case), so check the current regulations to see which applies to you.

The most common mistakes among SMEs that are starting to export are:

1. Invoicing without VAT a customer who has no valid VAT number or whose number hasn’t been checked in VIES.
2. Forgetting Form 349 because “the 303 was filed correctly”: they are separate obligations, and failing to file is penalised separately.
3. Not applying the reverse charge to purchases from European suppliers, leaving the VAT books incomplete.
4. Mixing up goods and services: the place-of-supply rules and the 349 key differ.
5. Not keeping proof of transport, which is what supports the exemption in an audit.
6. Applying the same rules to sales to European consumers as to businesses: different rules apply there, such as the One-Stop Shop (OSS) scheme.

How we help at Zythos Business

Trading with the EU requires coordinating your census registration, invoicing, VAT books and informative returns, and a mistake in one link drags down the others. At Zythos Business we register you in the ROI, check that every intra-EU invoice is treated correctly, record the reverse charge and file your 303 and 349 on time, so you can grow abroad without worrying about the tax side.