Intra-Community spending

If a business moves goods from one Member State to another, registration for VAT in the other Member State may be required.

An intra-Community supply is also deemed to take place when a company transfers goods to the rest of the Community territory for its own use. Items that are only intended for temporary use in another EU Member State, such as tools for a construction site, are excluded. In principle, intra-Community spending is not liable for tax within Austria; acquisition tax is, however, payable in the other EU Member State. The assessment basis is the purchase price or cost price. The transfer must be included in a recapitulative statement and, due to the acquisition taxation, generally triggers registration in the Member State where the transport or dispatch ends.

When moving goods from one Member State to another, under certain conditions the consignment stock regulations can be applied. Where these regulations are applied, the transfer of goods to a consignment stock in another EU Member State is not subject to acquisition tax and the delivering entrepreneur does not need to be registered in the destination country. The subsequent delivery from the consignment stock to the purchaser is tax-free in the country of origin of the goods as an intra-Community delivery and the purchaser must pay tax on the intra-Community acquisition in the destination country.

Legal bases

Consignment stock regulations: article 1a of the Anhang (Binnenmarkt) zum Umsatzsteuergesetz (UStG)