VAT applicable to trade in goods in the European Union

Verified 08 October 2025 - Directorate of Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

Taxation for VAT on commercial transactions of goods between two countries of the European Union (EU) depends on the tax system of the company and the identity of its client (individual or professional). We set out the rules that the company must follow if it buys or sells goods within the EU.

Purchase of goods

An operation is qualified Intra-Community Acquisition Agreement (ICA) where all of the following conditions are met:

  • A professional established in France buys a bodily property
  • The goods must be dispatched or transported to France from another Member State of the EU
  • The seller is established in another EU Member State
  • The seller is a person taxable person for VAT

Intra-Community acquisition is then in principle subject to VAT in the country of destination of the goods and it's the buyer who is indebted. Thus, when a French trader buys goods, the sale is, in general, subject to French VAT.

However, the VAT treatment procedures differ depending on whether the purchasing company in France is subject to a actual VAT regime (it's the general regime) or at scheme of exemption from VAT (derogating regime).

Please note

Purchases made by private individuals cannot be classified as intra-Community acquisitions.

When a company makes an intra-Community acquisition (ICA), the transaction is subject to the French VAT if the property purchased is consumed or used in France.

The rules for invoicing, reporting and paying VAT then vary depending on whether the seller has a French Intra-Community VAT Number.

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Seller with a French VAT number

Invoicing including VAT and collection by the seller

The seller must bill the French VAT to the French company. It collects the tax and remits it to the French tax authorities.

If the French company client benefits from a right to deduct VAT, it can then deduct VAT paid and obtain the refund by the tax authorities. This deduction is made directly on his VAT return.

For more information, you can consult our fact sheet detailing the deduction of VAT on business purchases.

Actual compulsory VAT regime

Where a company from France is subject to simplified real tax regime, the realization of a AIC: titleContent entails the obligation to switch to the normal actual taxation regime.

It must then communicate to the tax authorities its request for a change of regime. This request can be made via the messaging of his professional account on the website impots.gouv.fr:

Who shall I contact
How to complete your VAT return?

The company who made AIC: titleContent shall submit its periodic turnover declarations by completing them as follows:

  • On its monthly or quarterly turnover declaration No. 3310-CA3, the company shall indicate:
    • Base HT: titleContent of the goods concerned in row B2 ‘Intra-Community acquisitions’
    • Basis and amount of VAT on lines 08, 09, 9B or other depending on the particular VAT rates
    • Amount of VAT collected (gross VAT) on AIC: titleContent to line 17
    • The amount of VAT deductible on AICs on line 20.
      A declaration must be filed for each period during which the company has made AIC: titleContent taxable for VAT in France.
  • On its annual declaration No. 3517-AGR CA12, the company shall indicate:
    • VAT base of the goods concerned in row 13 ‘Intra-Community acquisitions’
    • The amount of VAT deductible on AICs on line 20.
Where to file your VAT returns?

Declarations shall be completed and transmitted in a dematerialized (sending paper forms is no longer possible):

  • Either by a manual online entry forms (EFI mode). The company completes them itself, connecting to its professional space impots.gouv.fr :

Online tax account for professionals (EFI mode)

  • Either by going through a software special exchange (EDI mode). In this case, the company or more generally its representative (for example an accountant) enters all the required information and then sends it to the administration by teletransmission.

These two methods of remote reporting are further detailed on the page “How to send business tax returns: EDI or EFI? »

To make its declarations, the company must first make a request for an intra-community VAT number to his SIE via his messaging on this professional space impots.gouv.fr.

Who shall I contact

To learn more about VAT registration, you can visit our “Intra-Community VAT number ».

Seller without a French VAT number

VAT invoicing and VAT self-assessment

The fact that the seller does not have a French VAT number obliges him to bill customer for an amount HT: titleContent. The VAT will therefore not be collected by the seller, but self-liquidated by the client company.

Reverse charge means that the buyer established in France collection French VAT on behalf of the tax authorities and the reverse. If he has a right to deduct, he may deduct when declaring VAT the amount of self-assessed VAT.

For more information, you can consult our fact sheet detailing the deduction of VAT on business purchases.

Actual compulsory VAT regime

Where a company from France is subject to simplified real tax regime, the realization of a AIC: titleContent entails the obligation to switch to the normal actual taxation regime.

It must then communicate to the tax authorities its request for a change of regime. This request can be made via the messaging of his professional account on the website impots.gouv.fr:

Who shall I contact
How to complete your declaration?

The company which has carried out ACIs must submit its periodic turnover declarations by completing them as follows:

  • On its monthly or quarterly turnover declaration No. 3310-CA3, the company shall indicate:
    • Base HT: titleContent goods acquired at the row B2 ‘Intra-Community acquisitions’.
    • Basis and amount of VAT on lines 08, 09, 9B or other depending on special VAT rates.
    • Amount of VAT collected (gross VAT) on AICs on line 17
    • Amount of VAT deductible on AIC: titleContent on line 20.
      A declaration must be filed for each period during which the company has made intra-Community acquisitions taxable for VAT in France.
  • On its annual declaration No. 3517-AGR CA12, the company shall indicate:
    • Base HT: titleContent goods concerned in row 13 ‘Intra-Community acquisitions’.
    • The amount of VAT deductible on AICs on line 20.
Where to file your VAT returns?

Declarations shall be completed and transmitted in a dematerialized (sending paper forms is no longer possible):

  • Either by a manual online entry forms (EFI mode). The company completes them itself, connecting to its professional space impots.gouv.fr :

Online tax account for professionals (EFI mode)

  • Either by going through a software special exchange (EDI mode). In this case, the company or more generally its representative (for example an accountant) enters all the required information and then sends it to the administration by teletransmission.

These two methods of remote reporting are further detailed on the page “How to send business tax returns: EDI or EFI? »

To make its declarations, the company must first make a request for an intra-community VAT number to his SIE via his messaging on this professional space impots.gouv.fr.

Who shall I contact

To learn more about VAT registration, you can visit our “Intra-Community VAT number ».

If the French company benefits from the exemption from VAT, it is taxable person French VAT but it is not in principle not indebted.

She's being treated as an individual and the only VAT it pays is the one invoiced by its supplier. It is then said that it is not subject to VAT.

However, where the total of AIC: titleContent that she realizes exceeds a certain threshold, this company may become indebted of this tax.

It must then comply with the same obligations and formalities as a company subject to a normal VAT regime. This includes, for example, the obligation to collect, declare or pay VAT to the tax authorities.

In this situation, the methods of payment of this VAT vary depending on whether the seller has a French intra-Community VAT number.

The seller has a French VAT number

Based on the total amount of acquisitions of the company on a calendar yearHowever, the VAT rules are different.

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Annual amount excluding tax less than € 10,000

Invoicing including VAT and no right to deduct

Where the amount of AIC: titleContent carried out during a calendar year is less than €10,000 HT: titleContent, then it is the seller who collects the VAT of his country on the occasion of the sale. The client company that pays this VAT therefore receives an invoice TTC: titleContent .

Since the company is subject to the VAT exemption system, it has no right to deduct VAT on purchases. It cannot therefore not get the refund the VAT it paid on its AICs.

Goods not included in this VAT threshold

Certain goods are excluded from the derogating regime and are not counted in this threshold of €10,000. These are the following:

  • New means of transport (i.e. vehicles less than six months old or less than 6000 km)
  • Products subject to excise duty (alcohols, mineral oils, tobacco...)

The intra-Community acquisition of those goods therefore follows the general regime: the transaction is subject to VAT in the country of destination of the goods.

Absence of formalities for the buyer

A company benefiting from the VAT exemption scheme which carries out a AIC: titleContent does not need to have an intra-Community VAT number where the accumulation of its ACIs does not exceed €10,000. In that situation, it is also not required to submit a VAT return.

Possible option for the actual VAT regime

The company subject to the VAT exemption system may, however opt for the actual VAT regime and thus obtain a right to deduct of VAT.

The rules on VAT-exempt traders will no longer apply to the company. These are the rules concerning professionals subject to the actual regime of taxation which will be applicable. These rules consist, for example, in declare periodically the amount of AIC and the amount of VAT due on these acquisitions (monthly or quarterly turnover declaration No. 3310-CA3).

The option for the actual VAT scheme (or general scheme) is valid for the remainder of the year and the following 2 years. For example, an option exercised on May 4, 2025 will continue to take effect until the end of 2027.

It shall take effect on the first day of the month in which it is declared.

The option is renewed tacitly. The company which has opted for this real regime can therefore only renounce it by sending a written to the relevant EIS. That request, known as ‘ denunciation ’ must be carried out by 31 October of the year preceding that of the tacit renewal. For example, in the case of an option taken on May 4, 2025, the request for denunciation must be made in writing by October 31, 2027.

However, if the company has made AIC: titleContent for an amount greater than €10,000 In the year in which the option is denounced, the scheme will remain applicable throughout the following year.

The company must request this option via its messaging on its business account impots.gouv.fr.

Online tax account for professionals (EFI mode)

For more information, you can consult our fact sheet detailing the deduction of VAT on business purchases.

Annual amount excluding tax greater than €10,000

VAT invoicing and VAT self-assessment

The acquisition is subject to French VAT.

As a result of exceeding the threshold of €10,000, the client company loses the benefit of the derogating regime for its AICs which then switch to the general regime : the seller therefore invoices in HT: titleContent (it does not collect VAT) and this VAT is paid directly (self-liquidated) by the client company at the EIS.

Please note

Exceeding the threshold of €10,000 HT in a year leads not only to the application of the general VAT regime to AIC: titleContent until the end of this year but also for all ACIs performed in the following year.

Example :

The AIC carried out by a company in France which is exempt from VAT did not exceed €10,000 in N-1.

During the 1er In the quarter of year N, it makes €8,000 in purchases that have benefited from the derogating scheme (VAT exemption). If she makes a new purchase (AIC) of €2,700 during the 3e In the quarter of the same year, the latter purchase will be fully taxable under the general scheme since it will have led to the accumulation of AICs above the threshold of €10,000.

In this situation, all subsequent ACIs carried out in years N or even N+1 will be subject to the actual VAT regime.

No right to deduct

Despite the passage of its AIC: titleContent under the general VAT system, the company remains subject to the exemption system on the basis of VAT, and it does not therefore enjoy the right of deduction VAT on business purchases. In other words, it cannot obtain a refund of the VAT it has paid on its ACIs.

For more information, you can consult our fact sheet detailing the deduction of VAT on business purchases.

Warning  

The communication of the VAT number to a supplier in the context of an intra-Community acquisition entails the loss of diet of exemption on the basis of VAT.

Possible option for the actual VAT regime

The company subject to the VAT exemption system may, however opt for the actual VAT regime and thus obtain a right to deduct of VAT.

The rules on VAT-exempt traders will no longer apply to the company. These are the rules concerning professionals subject to the actual regime of taxation which will be applicable. These rules consist, for example, in declare periodically the amount of AIC and the amount of VAT due on these acquisitions (monthly or quarterly turnover declaration No. 3310-CA3).

The option for the actual VAT scheme (or general scheme) is valid for the remainder of the year and the following 2 years. For example, an option exercised on May 4, 2025 will continue to take effect until the end of 2027.

It shall take effect on the first day of the month in which it is declared.

The option is renewed tacitly. The company which has opted for this real regime can therefore only renounce it by sending a written to the relevant EIS. That request, known as ‘ denunciation ’ must be carried out by 31 October of the year preceding that of the tacit renewal. For example, in the case of an option taken on May 4, 2025, the request for denunciation must be made in writing by October 31, 2027.

However, if the company has made AIC: titleContent for an amount greater than €10,000 In the year in which the option is denounced, the scheme will remain applicable throughout the following year.

The company must request this option via its messaging on its business account impots.gouv.fr.

Online tax account for professionals (EFI mode)

Obligation to declare VAT

When the AIC: titleContent exceed the threshold of €10,000However, the client company subject to the VAT exemption is still obliged to file a VAT return (monthly or quarterly turnover declaration No. 3310-CA3).

This obligation to declare VAT shall apply from first AIC crossing the thresholdand for all those carried out until the end of the following year.

A declaration must be filed for each period in the course of which the company has carried out AIC: titleContent taxable for VAT in France.

How to complete your declaration?

On its monthly or quarterly turnover declaration No. 3310-CA3, the company must indicate:

  • Duty-free basis (excluding tax) of the goods concerned in the row B2 ‘Intra-Community acquisitions’.
  • Basis and amount of VAT on lines 08, 09, 9B or other depending on the particular VAT rates.
  • Amount of VAT collected (gross VAT) on AICs on line 17
  • The amount of VAT deductible on AICs on line 20.
Where to file your VAT returns?

Declarations shall be completed and transmitted in a dematerialized (sending paper forms is no longer possible):

  • Either by a manual online entry forms (EFI mode). The company completes them itself, connecting to its professional space impots.gouv.fr :

Online tax account for professionals (EFI mode)

  • Either by going through a software special exchange (EDI mode). In this case, the company or more generally its representative (for example an accountant) enters all the required information and then sends it to the administration by teletransmission.

These two methods of remote reporting are further detailed on the page “How to send business tax returns: EDI or EFI? »

To make its declarations, the company must make a request for an intra-community VAT number to his SIE via his messaging on this professional space impots.gouv.fr.

Who shall I contact

At the time of this request, the company must, however, specify that she wishes keep the benefit of the derogating regime for intra-Community acquisitions.

To learn more about VAT registration, you can visit our “Intra-Community VAT number ».

The European seller has a foreigners intra-Community VAT number

If the French company benefits from the exemption from VAT and performs AIC: titleContent from a seller located in a other Member State of theEU: titleContent with an intra-Community VAT number foreigner, then the VAT invoicing rules depend on the total annual amount of these AIC: titleContent.

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Annual amount less than €10,000

Invoicing including VAT and no right to deduct

Where the amount of AIC: titleContent carried out during a calendar year is less than €10,000 HT: titleContent, then it is the seller who collects the VAT of his country on the occasion of the sale. The client company that pays this VAT therefore receives an invoice TTC: titleContent .

Since the company is subject to the VAT exemption system, it has no right to deduct VAT on purchases. It cannot therefore not get the refund the VAT it paid on its AICs.

Goods not included in this VAT threshold

Certain goods are excluded from the derogating regime and are not counted in this threshold of €10,000. These are the following:

  • New means of transport (i.e. vehicles less than 6 months old or less than 6 000 km)
  • Products subject to excise duty (alcohols, mineral oils, tobacco...)

The intra-Community acquisition of those goods therefore follows the general regime: the transaction is subject to VAT in the country of destination of the goods.

Absence of formalities for the buyer

A company benefiting from the VAT exemption scheme which carries out a AIC: titleContent does not need to have an intra-Community VAT number where the accumulation of its ACIs does not exceed €10,000. In this situation, it is also not obliged to submit a VAT return.

Possible option for the actual VAT regime

The company subject to the VAT exemption system may, however opt for the actual VAT regime and thus obtain a right to deduct of VAT.

The rules on VAT-exempt traders will no longer apply to the company. These are the rules concerning professionals subject to the actual regime of taxation which will be applicable. These rules consist, for example, in declare periodically the amount of AIC and the amount of VAT due on these acquisitions (monthly or quarterly turnover declaration No. 3310-CA3).

The option for the actual VAT scheme (or general scheme) is valid for the remainder of the year and the following 2 years. For example, an option exercised on May 4, 2025 will continue to produce its effects until the end of 2027.

It shall take effect on the first day of the month in which it is declared.

The option is renewed tacitly. The company which has opted for this real regime can therefore only renounce it by sending a written to the relevant EIS. That request, known as ‘ denunciation ’ must be carried out by 31 October of the year preceding that of the tacit renewal. For example, in the case of an option taken on May 4, 2025, the request for denunciation must be made in writing by October 31, 2027.

However, if the company has made AIC: titleContent for an amount greater than €10,000 In the year in which the option is denounced, the scheme will remain applicable throughout the following year.

The company must request this option via its messaging on its business account impots.gouv.fr.

Online tax account for professionals (EFI mode)

For more information, you can consult our fact sheet detailing the deduction of VAT on business purchases.

Annual amount above €10,000

VAT invoicing and VAT self-assessment

The acquisition is subject to French VAT.

As a result of exceeding the threshold of €10,000, the client company loses the benefit of the derogating regime for its AICs which then switch to the general VAT arrangements : the seller therefore invoices in HT: titleContent (it does not collect VAT) and this VAT is paid directly (self-liquidated) by the client company at the EIS.

Please note

Exceeding the threshold of €10,000 HT in a given year not only entails the application of the general VAT regime to AICs until the end of that year, but also for all ACIs performed in the following year.

Example :

The AIC carried out by a company in France which is exempt from VAT did not exceed €10,000 in N-1.

During the 1er In the quarter of year N, it makes €8,000 in purchases that have benefited from the derogating scheme (VAT exemption). If she makes a new purchase (AIC) of €2,700 during the 3e In the quarter of the same year, the latter purchase will be fully taxable under the general scheme since it will have led to the accumulation of AICs above the threshold of €10,000.

In this situation, all subsequent ACIs carried out in years N or even N+1 will be subject to the actual VAT regime.

No right to deduct

Despite the transition of its ACIs into the general VAT system, the company remains subject to the exemption system on the basis of VAT, and does not therefore enjoy the right of deduction VAT on business purchases. In other words, it cannot obtain a refund of the VAT it has paid on its ACIs. In order to obtain the right to deduct, it must opting for a real VAT system.

Warning  

The communication of the VAT number to a supplier in the context of an intra-Community acquisition entails the loss of diet of exemption on the basis of VAT.

Possible option for the actual VAT regime

The company subject to the VAT exemption system may, however opt for the actual VAT regime and thus obtain a right to deduct of VAT.

The rules on VAT-exempt traders will no longer apply to the company. These are the rules concerning professionals subject to the actual regime of taxation which will be applicable. These rules consist, for example, in declare periodically the amount of AIC and the amount of VAT due on these acquisitions (monthly or quarterly turnover declaration No. 3310-CA3).

The option for the actual VAT scheme (or general scheme) is valid for the remainder of the year and the following 2 years. For example, an option exercised on May 4, 2025 will continue to produce its effects until the end of 2027.

It shall take effect on the first day of the month in which it is declared.

The option is renewed tacitly. The company which has opted for this real regime can therefore only renounce it by sending a written to the relevant EIS. That request, known as ‘ denunciation ’ must be carried out by 31 October of the year preceding that of the tacit renewal. For example, in the case of an option taken on May 4, 2025, the request for denunciation must be made in writing by October 31, 2027.

However, if the company has made AIC: titleContent for an amount greater than €10,000 In the year in which the option is denounced, the scheme will remain applicable throughout the following year.

The company must request this option via its messaging on its business account impots.gouv.fr.

Online tax account for professionals (EFI mode)

Obligation to declare VAT

When the AIC: titleContent exceed the threshold of €10,000However, the client company subject to the VAT exemption is still obliged to file a VAT return (monthly or quarterly turnover declaration No. 3310-CA3).

This obligation to declare VAT shall apply from first AIC crossing the threshold, and for all those carried out until the end of the following year.

A declaration must be filed for each period in the course of which the company has carried out AIC: titleContent taxable for VAT in France.

How to complete your declaration?

On its monthly or quarterly turnover declaration No. 3310-CA3, the company must indicate:

  • Base HT: titleContent of the goods concerned in row B2 ‘Intra-Community acquisitions’.
  • Basis and amount of VAT on lines 08, 09, 9B or other depending on the particular VAT rates.
  • Amount of VAT collected (gross VAT) on AICs on line 17
  • The amount of VAT deductible on AICs on line 20.
Where to file your VAT returns?

Declarations shall be completed and transmitted in a dematerialized (sending paper forms is no longer possible):

  • Either by a manual online entry forms (EFI mode). The company completes them itself, connecting to its professional space impots.gouv.fr :

Online tax account for professionals (EFI mode)

  • Either by going through a software special exchange (EDI mode). In this case, the company or more generally its representative (for example an accountant) enters all the required information and then sends it to the administration by teletransmission.

These two methods of remote reporting are further detailed on the page “How to send business tax returns: EDI or EFI? »

To make its declarations, the company must make a request for an intra-community VAT number to his SIE via his messaging on this professional space impots.gouv.fr.

Who shall I contact

At the time of this request, the company must, however, specify that she wishes keep the benefit of the derogating regime for intra-Community acquisitions.

To learn more about VAT registration, you can visit our “Intra-Community VAT number ».

Sales of goods

Sales of goods of a Member State of the EU to another Member State may be subject to one of the following two schemes:

  • Intra-Community delivery arrangements
    This scheme shall apply where such exchange is carried out by a taxable person for the benefit of a purchaser indebted VAT (therefore subject to normal real speed or at simplified regime).
  • Regime for intra-Community distance selling
    This regime applies when the purchaser is not liable for VAT (i.e. an individual or a person benefiting from a derogation regime, such as exemption from VAT.), whether or not the seller is subject to VAT.

What is an intra-Community delivery?

An intra-Community delivery means a sale performed by a taxable person to VAT in France, to a person from another Member State of theEU: titleContent not benefiting from a derogation to VAT.

This delivery can be exempt from VAT when certain conditions are met. The VAT exemption has the consequences for the seller of a reduction in the formalities related to the transaction (VAT not invoiced and therefore not collected, no return to the tax administration...)

What are the conditions for exemption of an intra-Community supply?

These sales are exempt VAT if they comply with all of the following conditions:

  • The delivery is made for a fee.
  • The seller is a taxable person VAT and acts as such.
  • The purchaser is a taxable person for VAT purposes or a non-taxable legal person, which does not benefit in its Member State from a derogation (as for example that of the exemption from VAT).
  • The purchaser must have an intra-Community VAT number in a Member State other than the one from which the shipment or transport originated goods and must have communicated it to the seller; the seller must verify the existence and validity of the number communicated. This verification can be performed on the portal LIVES.
  • The seller must have deposited with the customs administration a summary report on intra-Community supplies.
    To learn more about this document, you can visit our page ‘Customs formalities concerning VAT on intra-Community trade in goods and services’
  • The good is shipped or transported outside France (by the seller, by the purchaser or on their behalf) to another Member State of theEU: titleContent; However, the seller must be able to prove the reality of this expedition or transport even if it was not him who took care of it.
    This proof can be provided in various ways, in particular by commercial correspondence, delivery note, invoice of the carrier.

The rules vary depending on the person who made this shipment or transport (either the seller or a third party on his behalf, or the buyer).

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When the goods are dispatched or transported by the seller (or by a third party on his behalf)

The actual exit from the territory to a Member State shall be proved if the seller has two pieces of evidence among those concerning the shipment or transport of goods. For example, these documents may include: CMR consignment note signed, an air cargo invoice, a carrier invoice...

Where the seller has only one of those items of evidence, he may, if necessary, complete by a second document among the following:

  • Insurance policy for the shipment or transport of goods
  • Any bank document proving payment for the shipment or transport of goods
  • Any official document issued by a public authority (e.g. a notary) confirming the arrival of the goods in the destination state
  • Receipt for the storage of goods in the Member State of destination.

Both pieces of evidence must have been issued by different and independent companies or persons to each other and to the parties (seller and buyer). These documents must not be contradictory.

When the goods are transported or dispatched by the purchaser

The actual exit from the territory to a Member State shall be proved if the seller is in possession of two pieces of evidence and a written declaration of the purchaser certifying that he has carried out the transport or dispatch himself on his behalf.

Requirement for a written declaration from the purchaser

This statement must include all of the following:

  • Date of issue
  • Name and address of the purchaser
  • Quantity and nature of goods
  • Date and place of arrival of goods
  • In the case of delivery of means of transport: the identification number of the goods
  • Identification of the person accepting the goods on behalf of the purchaser
Duty to hold two pieces of evidence

The seller must also hold two pieces of evidence among those relating to the dispatch or transport of goods. This may include, for example: CMR consignment note signed, an air cargo invoice, a carrier invoice...

Where the seller has only one of those items of evidence, he may, if necessary, complete by a second document among the following:

  • Insurance policy concerning the shipment or transport of goods,
  • Any bank document proving payment for the shipment or transport of goods,
  • Any official document issued by a public authority (e.g. a notary) confirming the arrival of the goods in the destination state
  • Receipt for the storage of goods in the Member State of destination.

Both pieces of evidence must have been issued by different and independent companies or persons to each other and to the parties (seller and buyer). These documents must not be contradictory.

Please note

Deliveries of certain goods, where they are resold after having been initially purchased from a person not liable for VAT or not authorized to charge it, do not benefit from the exemption.

The goods concerned are as follows:

  • Second-hand goods
  • Artworks
  • Collectibles or antiques

What are the rules for invoicing an exempt delivery?

In the context of an exempt intra-Community supply, the invoice shall be issued HT: titleContent.

Such a delivery must also include, in addition to mandatory particulars the following information shall be included on any invoice:

  • Intra-Community VAT number of the purchaser in his country
  • Seller's intra-Community VAT number
  • The following statement: "VAT exemption, Article 262 ter - I of the General Tax Code. (CGI)’

Please note

A seller who mentions VAT even in error on an invoice (for example when the transaction is exempt) is then indebted.

How to declare intra-Community deliveries?

Tax reporting obligations

Exempt intra-Community supplies must be entered on the seller's VAT return as follows:

  • Seller subject to the normal real regime (Monthly Declaration No. 3310-CA3) row F2
  • Seller subject to the simplified procedure (annual declaration No. 3517-S CA12) row 04
  • Seller subject to the simplified agricultural procedure (Annual Declaration No. 3517-AGR CA12A) row 03

The declarations are made online, on the professional area impots.gouv.fr of the company:

Online tax account for professionals (EFI mode)

Customs formalities

Each time it has sold goods to a Member State of the EU, a salesman taxable person to VAT (indebted (or not) is subject to certain customs formalities:

  • Obligation to prepare a VAT summary report periodically
  • In some cases: obligation to reply periodically to a statistical survey on intra-Community trade (shipments and/or introductions)

For more information, you can consult our page detailing these customs formalities.

What is intra-Community distance selling?

The delivery of goods dispatched by the seller or transported on his behalf to another Member State of the EU, an individual or a professional (natural or legal person) no person liable for VAT is a intra-community distance selling (VAD-IC: titleContent). For example, a person benefiting from the basic deductible is not liable for the VAT.

Conditions for intra-Community distance selling

A sale is classified as an intra-Community distance sale (VAD-IC: titleContent) when it brings all conditions cumulative:

  • It's about tangible movable property.
  • The goods sold must be shipped or physically transported by the seller, or transported on his behalf to the buyer.
  • The purchaser must be a person who is not indebted VAT. This therefore applies both to non-taxable persons (e.g. an individual) and to taxable persons but benefiting from a derogating regime (which is the case of a company subject to exemption from VAT for example)
Goods excluded from the intra-Community distance sales regime

Certain assets are excluded from the VAD-IC: titleContent. This is particularly the case for the following goods:

  • New means of transport
  • Used means of transport
  • Goods delivered after assembly or installation, with or without commissioning test, by or on behalf of the supplier 
  • Second-hand goods, works of art, collectibles or antiques.

With regard to VAT, the system of VAD-IC: titleContent  varies depending on whether the professional seller is subject to the actual VAT regime.

To learn more about the different VAT regimes, you can consult the page “Declare and pay VAT”

Professional seller subject to a real VAT regime

The VAT rules differ according to the amount excluding tax (HT: titleContent) of all intra-Community distance sales (and certain supplies of services, in particular electronic services) made by a trader during a calendar year :

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Annual amount excluding tax less than € 10,000

VAT must be paid and declared in the Member State where the seller is established.

If the seller is established in France, intra-Community distance selling (VAD-IC: titleContent) is therefore subject to the French VAT and paid in France.

How to make your declaration?

The declaration to be made depends on the VAT system of the seller:

  • When subject to normal real VAT regime, he must complete and file a monthly or quarterly turnover declaration 3310-CA3.
  • When subject to simplified VAT regime, he must complete and file a annual declaration No. 3517-AGR CA12,
Where to file your VAT returns?

Declarations shall be completed and transmitted in a dematerialized (sending paper forms is no longer possible):

  • Either by a manual online entry forms (EFI mode). The company completes them itself, connecting to its professional space impots.gouv.fr :

Online tax account for professionals (EFI mode)

  • Either by going through a software special exchange (EDI mode). In this case, the company or more generally its representative (for example an accountant) enters all the required information and then sends it to the administration by teletransmission.

These two methods of remote reporting are further detailed on the page “How to send business tax returns: EDI or EFI? »

Customs formalities

Each time it has sold goods to a Member State of the EU, a salesman taxable person to VAT (indebted (or not) is subject to certain customs formalities:

  • Obligation to prepare a VAT summary report periodically
  • In some cases: obligation to reply periodically to a statistical survey on intra-Community trade (shipments and/or introductions)

To learn more, you can consult our page detailing these customs formalities.

Annual amount excluding tax greater than €10,000

VAT must be paid and declared in the Member State where the purchaser is located. The VAT rate to be taken into account is that in force in that State.

How to declare VAT?

Although this sale is subject to VAT in the country of the buyer, it is the seller who must declare it.

This formality is not carried out by the purchaser because the latter is a person not liable for VAT, and therefore subject to no obligation concerning this tax (declaration, collection, reverse charge...)

The VAT declaration by the seller in the Member State of the purchaser can be made in 2 different ways:

  • The seller (the declarant) may register for VAT in the country of the purchaser by requesting an intra-Community VAT number in that country. He can then invoice the VAT of the State where the purchaser is located (VAT invoice) and remit it directly to the tax administration of that State.
    The request for an intra-community VAT number must be made by the seller to the SIE via his messaging on this professional space impots.gouv.fr.
Who shall I contact
  • The seller can also register at VAT one-stop shop in order to simplify its reporting obligations and the procedure for paying this tax.
    The seller opting for this arrangement is then no longer obliged to register with the tax authorities of each Member State in which he has to pay VAT. It is also not obliged to issue an invoice
    Whenever that seller carries out a transaction requiring him to pay VAT, he will declare it and pay it to the administration of the Member State alone via the one-stop shop.

VAT Single Window

Registration at the VAT one-stop shop is done at the SIE with territorial jurisdiction.

The companies of the EU or registered in the EU access the counter through the site impots.gouv.fr, via their professional area.

Professional area impots.gouv.fr

The application for registration in the scheme must precede the calendar quarter in which you wish to start declaring VAT on eligible transactions. Registration becomes effective on the first day of the quarter following the application for registration of the taxable person.

Customs formalities

Each time it has sold goods to a Member State of the EU, a salesman taxable person to VAT (indebted (or not) is subject to certain customs formalities:

  • Obligation to prepare a VAT summary report periodically
  • In some cases: obligation to reply periodically to a statistical survey on intra-Community trade (shipments and/or introductions)

To learn more, you can consult our page detailing these customs formalities.

Professional seller exempt from VAT or not subject to VAT

When the seller is not indebted The rules on VAT vary depending on whether or not he has applied for a derogation in the State of destination of the goods.

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Professional vendor who benefits from the exemption on a European basis in the State of destination of the goods

A trader wishing to sell goods in a Member State of the European Union may benefit from VAT-based exemption scheme in this state.

However, it must fulfill certain conditions.

Application of the exemption scheme to the tax authorities

The seller must indicate to the French administration his willingness to benefit from the franchise in the State of destination of the goods.

This request is made via a prior notification sent to the SIE via its messaging on the impots.gouv.fr professional area.

Who shall I contact

The application must include the following information:

  • List of Member States in which the seller wishes to benefit from the exemption
  • Name, activity, legal form, postal and e-mail addresses
  • Individual identification numbers in each EU Member State
  • The total amount of services provided in France and in each of the other EU Member States since 1 January of the current year, in the previous calendar year and in the penultimate calendar year.

For more information, you can consult the fact sheet on the exemption from VAT.

Invoicing HT

Where the trader is subject to the VAT exemption in the country in which he sells his services, he shall not not charge VAT to his client. In other words, the bill he sends her is HT: titleContent.

Reporting obligations

Within one month of the end of each calendar quarter, the seller shall communicate to the french administration the following information:

  • Total amount of sales of goods made in France during the calendar quarter. If no sale or service has been made in France it must be indicated 0
  • The total amount of sales of goods made in each EU Member State during the calendar quarter. If no sale or service has been made to one of these States, it must be indicated 0. Sales made in a Member State where the company does not benefit from the VAT exemption must also be indicated.

FYI  

If the taxable trader does not comply with this deadline of one month from the end of the calendar quarter, he must then identify himself for VAT in France and file VAT returns there.

Possible option for the actual VAT regime

The company subject to the VAT exemption system may, however opt for the actual VAT regime. This may, for example, enable it to obtain a right to deduct of VAT.

The option for the actual VAT scheme (or general scheme) is valid for the remainder of the year and the following 2 years. For example, an option exercised on May 4, 2025 will continue to produce its effects until the end of 2027.

It shall take effect on the first day of the month in which it is declared.

The option is renewed tacitly. The company which has opted for this real regime can therefore only renounce it by sending a written to the relevant EIS. That request, known as ‘ denunciation ’ must be carried out by 31 October of the year preceding that of the tacit renewal. For example, in the case of an option taken on May 4, 2025, the request for denunciation must be made in writing by October 31, 2027.

FYI  

When the trader joins the VAT one-stop shop, he is considered to have waived the VAT exemption.

The company must request this option via its messaging on its business account impots.gouv.fr.

Online tax account for professionals (EFI mode)

Customs formalities

As soon as he has made a sale of goods to a Member State of the EU, a salesman taxable person VAT, whether it is indebted or not subject to certain customs formalities:

  • Obligation to prepare a VAT summary report periodically
  • In some cases: obligation to reply periodically to a statistical survey on intra-Community trade (shipments and/or introductions)

Please note

As a non-taxable person, a particular seller does not bear these reporting obligations.

To learn more, you can consult our page detailing these customs formalities.

Professional seller who does not benefit from the exemption on a European basis in the State of destination of the goods

The VAT rules differ according to the amount excluding tax (VAT) of all distance sales (and certain services, in particular electronic services) that a non-trader indebted of VAT incurred during a calendar year :

Annual amount excluding tax less than € 10,000

Persons subject to the VAT exemption system in France are not obliged to declare VAT if their annual turnover HT: titleContent does not exceed €10,000

In this case, the sale is not subject to VAT.

FYI  

Intra-Community supplies of new means of transport or goods delivered after assembly or installation shall not be distance sales.

Annual amount excluding tax greater than €10,000

The sale is subject to VAT of the country in which the customer is located of the french company.

FYI  

Intra-Community supplies of new means of transport or goods delivered after assembly or installation shall not be distance sales.

Application for VAT registration

The company is obliged to register for VAT where the annual amount HT: titleContent of its distance sales exceeds €10,000. She must therefore apply for an intra-Community VAT number via the messaging service of her professional area on the website impots.gouv.fr:

Online tax account for professionals (EFI mode)

To learn more about VAT registration, you can visit our “Intra-Community VAT number ».

How to declare VAT?

To declare VAT, the company has 2 solutions :

  • When it is registered for VAT in the country of the purchaser, it may charge VAT in the State in which the customer is established and remit it directly to that State.
  • When it is taxable person for VAT purposes (for example, in the case of a VAT exemption in France, it may also use the VAT one-stop shop to remit the VAT invoiced directly to the State in which the customer is established. As soon as the company uses the counter once, it is obliged to use it to declare the VAT of all the distance sales that it carries out afterwards.

VAT Single Window

Customs formalities

Each time it has sold goods to a Member State of the EU, the seller taxable person to VAT (indebted (or not) is subject to certain customs formalities:

  • Obligation to prepare a VAT summary report periodically
  • In some cases: obligation to reply periodically to a statistical survey on intra-Community trade (shipments and/or introductions)

To learn more, you can consult our page detailing these customs formalities.

Who can help me?

The public service accompanying companies

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