Intra-Community supplies (ICS)

Overview

The intra-Community supply and acquisition of goods occurs where goods are dispatched or transported between businesses in different Member States of the European Union (EU). For Value-Added Tax (VAT) purposes, two transactions are deemed to occur:

This section covers the VAT treatment of the ICS of goods. An ICS refers to the supply of goods by a business in one Member State to a business in another Member State of the EU. In these transactions, the purchaser is required to self-account for VAT. The purchaser self-accounts for the VAT as if he or she had made the supply themselves.

This section explains:

  • the VAT treatment of ICS of goods in the EU
  • what evidence you need to retain when making an ICS
  • what triangulation is in respect of supplies of goods within the EU
  • the VAT treatment of supplies of new means of transport to a person in another Member State
  • and
  • the VAT obligations when supplying excisable goods to another Member State.

Next: Zero rate of VAT on ICS of goods