Obtaining a foreign VAT number is only the first step in a long series of other obligations. Once the VAT number is active, your business will have to comply with the following legal requirements:
- Keep VAT accounting records
- File a periodic VAT return
- Submit an annual recapitulative return
- Pay local VAT
- Submit a statement of your intra-EU transactions
- Filling in an Intrastat declaration
- Is the filing of declarations and statements done in paper or electronic format?
- When should the data be sent to the tax authorities?
All these practical questions relate to the VAT obligations and formalities that your company must comply with. The general rules on this subject are set out in Articles 193 to 280 of the VAT Directive, while the practical details (model of return, frequency of submission, format, etc.) are unfortunately left to the discretion of each Member State.
Above all, do not underestimate the extent of the VAT information you will have to send to the local tax authorities, nor the form of the documents and the deadlines you will have to meet. For, at each stage, financial penalties are incurred.
Source vatdesk.eu
