Frequently asked questions on the EC Sales List

A separate list next to your VAT return. In it you show per customer what you supplied to or did for businesses in other EU countries. You state your customer's VAT number and the amount. The Dutch tax authorities share that data with the other EU countries. They then check whether your customer declared the purchase there.

When you supply goods to businesses in other EU countries, and when you provide services to businesses in other EU countries where the VAT is reverse charged to them. In both cases you must file the list, even for small amounts. The list normally covers the same period as your VAT return.

Box 3b of your VAT return shows your supplies to other EU countries. The total of your EC Sales List must match it. The tax authorities compare the two. If they do not match, you get a question. Usually such a difference means a supply is in the wrong box. There is one known exception: if your customer falls under the small business scheme in their own country and has no VAT number because of it, you cannot put that service on the list. A difference then cannot be avoided.

Then the zero rate is at risk. For a zero-rated supply you need a valid VAT number from your customer, and the list must be filed correctly. If that is missing, the tax authorities can refuse the zero rate and charge you the VAT. So check the number for every new customer in the European VIES system, and keep the proof of that check with the date. Also keep your proof of transport.

If you do not file the list, file it late, incomplete or wrong, you can get a penalty. The tax authorities can also refuse the zero rate for those supplies, and that usually costs the most. You fix a mistake by correcting the list. Do it on your own initiative: a difference you report yourself is viewed differently from one the tax authorities find.

Maybe. Next to the list for the tax authorities there is a return for CBS, for statistics. You must file it if you buy more than € 1,000,000 a year from other EU countries, or supply more than € 1,200,000 a year to other EU countries. The two limits apply separately. So you may only have to file for your purchases. Note: this is a different return to a different body, with its own rules.