VAT — Intra-Community acquisitions & reverse charge

Intra-EU reverse charge:
2026 rules and reporting

For intra-Community acquisitions of goods (French Tax Code art. 256 bis) and cross-border B2B supplies of services (French Tax Code art. 283, 2 + 269), French VAT is reverse charged by the customer who is a taxable person established in France. The mechanism is cash-flow neutral where the customer has a deduction coefficient of 1, but it is a source of recurring errors: EMEBI and recapitulative statement of customers (which replaced the DEB on 1 January 2022) or DES not filed — these two statements concerning only your outbound flows —, incorrectly completed CA3 lines, interaction with triangular transactions, taxation of the first acquisition in a chain of supplies.

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— In brief
Acquisitions of goods
French Tax Code art. 256 bis — reverse charge by the taxable customer
B2B services
French Tax Code art. 283, 2 + Directive 2008/8/EC (place = customer)
Chargeability
French Tax Code art. 269, 2-d — the 15th of the month following the chargeable event, or the invoice date where it is earlier and the invoice is not a payment-on-account invoice
Related returns
CA3 for the reverse-charged tax — the recapitulative statement of customers and the DES concern only your outbound flows
Penalties
French Tax Code 1788 A (5%) + 1727 (interest) + 1728/1729 (surcharges)
— 01

The number-one trap: coordinating CA3 / EMEBI / recapitulative statement / DES

The intra-Community reverse charge has been part of the European single market since 1993: between taxable persons in two different Member States, VAT is due in the country of destination by the customer, who collects and deducts it simultaneously. The mechanism is conceptually simple, but it requires strict consistency between the CA3 (lines dedicated to intra-Community transactions) and the parallel returns: for goods, the EMEBI (monthly statistical survey on intra-EU trade in goods) kept by the DGDDI, and the recapitulative statement of customers for intra-Community supplies. Since 1 January 2022, these two documents have replaced the former DEB; for services, the DES (European declaration of services).

Our view: the discrepancy between the CA3 and the parallel returns is today the number-one trigger of VAT audits for industrial and commercial groups. The tax authorities automatically cross-check flows through the European VIES database (VAT Information Exchange System): any inconsistency between the French return and the symmetrical returns on the EU supplier's side is detected within a few weeks.

Specific traps to watch for: (1) triangular transactions (3 Member States involved, simplification measure under article 141 of Directive 2006/112/EC of 28 November 2006, transposed into domestic law by French Tax Code art. 258 D, whose II covers the case of the intermediary operator identified in France), (2) chain supplies with the 2020 allocation rules (EU 2018/1910 quick fixes: the supply to which transport is ascribed being the only exempt supply in the chain), (3) invalid intra-Community VAT numbers on the counterparty's side (the VIES check serves first and foremost to establish the validity of the number given to you by your customer, a condition for the exemption of your outbound supplies under French Tax Code art. 262 ter, I-1°; on the purchase side it remains a useful precaution, but it is not a legal condition of the reverse charge), (4) electronically supplied services with specific territoriality rules.

— 03

Case study handled by the firm

Industrial distributor — CA3 / VIES data discrepancy of €4.2m regularised

Distributor of industrial parts, turnover €12m, suppliers in Germany and Italy. An internal audit revealed a cumulative discrepancy of €4.2m between the intra-Community acquisition lines of the CA3 and the supplies declared as made to it by its European suppliers in the VIES database, over 24 months, due to an ERP configuration flaw on certain flows. Theoretical exposure: a fine of 5% of the omitted deductible VAT (French Tax Code art. 1788 A, 4), that is approximately €42k on a VAT base of €840k. Our strategy: (1) organised regularisation through the filing of corrective returns together with an explanatory letter to the SIE, (2) demonstration of the economic neutrality (the customer has a deduction coefficient of 1, so collected VAT equals deductible VAT), (3) voluntary filing before any action by the tax authorities, which rules out the 5% fine; since no duty is recovered where the substantive conditions for deduction are met, there is no base on which late-payment interest could run. Outcome: reassessment avoided, compliance restored.

— 02

The mechanism in 4 practical cases

1. Intra-Community acquisition of goods (French Tax Code 256 bis)

A French company buys goods from a German, Italian or Spanish supplier. The supplier invoices without VAT (intra-Community supply exempt on the EU source side); the French customer reverse charges French VAT at the applicable rate (20%, 10%, 5.5% depending on the nature of the goods) on its CA3 (line dedicated to intra-Community acquisitions of goods), and deducts it simultaneously. On the statistical-flow side: the EMEBI is due only where your business is part of the sample selected by the customs authorities and has received beforehand the notice letter informing it of that obligation. The recapitulative statement of customers, which covers your outbound supplies only (French Tax Code art. 289 B, I), does not have to be completed in respect of an acquisition. These two documents replaced the DEB on 1 January 2022.

2. Intra-Community B2B supply of services

A French company receives a supply of services from an EU taxable provider (consulting, IT, marketing, royalties). Place of taxation = customer (Directive 2008/8/EC, French Tax Code art. 259-1°). The provider invoices without VAT; the French customer reverse charges on the CA3 (line dedicated to intra-Community services) and deducts it. The French customer files no DES in that respect: it reports the tax on its CA3. The DES is due from the French provider where it supplies the service to a taxable customer in another Member State (French Tax Code art. 289 B, I and III), with no threshold: every transaction must be reported.

3. Triangular transactions (art. 141 of Directive 2006/112/EC)

Scheme: a French company (A) orders from a German supplier (B) who delivers directly to an Italian customer (C). Without simplification, there is double taxation. The triangular simplification allows A not to register in Germany or in Italy: invoicing A→C with the mandatory statement "Application of Article 141 of Council Directive 2006/112/EC of 28 November 2006", B delivering directly to C, who reverse charges Italian VAT. Strict conditions apply (3 Member States, A and B identified for VAT in their respective States, mandatory statement). French Tax Code art. 258 D transposes this measure into domestic law, its II governing the case of the intermediary operator identified in France.

4. Chain supplies (2020 quick fixes)

Since 1 January 2020 (Directive EU 2018/1910), harmonised rules apply to chain supplies involving a single intra-EU transport: the exempt supply is in principle the supply made to the intermediary operator, that is, to the taxable person in the chain, other than the first seller, who carries out or arranges the transport (French Tax Code art. 262 ter, I-1° bis). By way of derogation, where that operator gives its supplier the identification number allocated to it in the State of departure, it is the supply made by it that is exempt, the upstream supply then becoming a domestic supply taxed in the State of departure. This is a complex interaction to be analysed on a case-by-case basis.

— Frequently asked questions

What replaced the DEB from 2022?

Since 1 January 2022, the DEB (declaration of trade in goods) has been replaced by two separate documents: (1) the EMEBI (monthly statistical survey on intra-EU trade in goods), kept by the DGDDI for purely statistical purposes; (2) the recapitulative statement of customers, which remains a tax obligation for intra-Community supplies (tracking of exempt flows). The DES (European declaration of services) remains applicable to intra-Community B2B supplies of services, with no threshold: every transaction must be reported monthly. These returns are obligations distinct from the CA3: their omission is penalised separately (customs/statistical fines for the EMEBI, French Tax Code penalties for the recapitulative statement and the DES).

How can a supplier's intra-Community VAT number be verified?

Through the European VIES database (VAT Information Exchange System), publicly accessible at ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/vies. It matters first of all for your outbound supplies: their exemption presupposes that the customer has given you its identification number and that you have filed the recapitulative statement (French Tax Code art. 262 ter, I-1°), a VIES search being the usual way of establishing the validity of that number and of keeping evidence of it. On the purchase side, it remains a useful precaution, but it is not a legal condition of the reverse charge. An invalid or inactive number on the supplier's side exposes that supplier to losing its exemption, and exposes you to being charged foreign VAT; your acquisition, however, remains taxable in France as soon as the goods arrive there, subject to the derogating regimes and the applicable exemptions (French Tax Code art. 256 bis and 258 C, I). Keeping evidence of the check (dated screenshots) is essential for the defence in the event of an audit.

What happens if there is a discrepancy between the CA3 and the recapitulative statement of customers?

The tax authorities systematically cross-check the two. A discrepancy triggers: (a) a request for information issued under the authorities' general power of control (Book of Tax Procedures, art. L. 10), to which no binding statutory deadline attaches, (b) in the absence of justification, a reassessment proposal. Voluntary regularisation, before any action by the tax authorities, rules out the 5% fine (BOI-CF-INF-20-20). Where the substantive conditions of the right to deduct are met, reverse-charged tax that was not reported is not recovered: absent an unpaid debt, there is no base on which late-payment interest could run (French Tax Code art. 1727, I). Only the fraction of the tax that is not deductible remains due, and then bears late-payment interest and, where applicable, surcharges. Documentation of the ERP flows and traceability of the gaps make for a robust defence.

Does the reverse charge apply to B2C electronic services?

No: for B2C electronic services (sales to EU private individuals), the applicable regime is the OSS one-stop shop (One-Stop Shop, since 1 July 2021), either the EU scheme (French Tax Code art. 298 sexdecies G) or the non-EU scheme (French Tax Code art. 298 sexdecies F); the IOSS (French Tax Code art. 298 sexdecies H), for its part, covers only distance sales of goods imported from third territories or third countries. The provider collects VAT at the rate of the country of consumption and remits it through a single return. This is a mechanism distinct from the B2B reverse charge. On the threshold and territoriality, see BOI-TVA-CHAMP-20-50-40-20; on the one-stop-shop schemes, BOI-TVA-DECLA-20-20-60-10.

Cité par

Intra-Community flows to review?

A confidential first exchange: consistency audit of CA3 / EMEBI / recapitulative statement / DES, organised regularisation if there are gaps, defence in the event of an audit.

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© BENSAID Avocats — The information on this site does not constitute legal advice and cannot replace a personalised tax analysis.