Despite all efforts to harmonize the European VAT system, there are many situations which require the registration of a local VAT number in the country where you have a business. Depending on the level and scope of your business in another European country, it may be appropriate or even mandatory to register, to fullfill or take advantage of tax benefits and tax refund claims.

We will professionally and comprehensively provide you with your European and non-European VAT obligations, so that you can be sure that you will use all the benefits for possible deductions, and at the same time your business will comply with all necessary regulations and laws.

Not sure when you need a VAT number or what you need to apply for a tax number? We are here for you.

International passenger transport

Místo plnění při poskytnutí přepravy osob je tam, kde se příslušný úsek přepravy uskutečňuje. Pokud je příjemcem této služby osoba nepovinná k dani, tak se přepravce bude muset registrovat k DPH. V České republice i na Slovensku je mezinárodní přeprava osob osvobozena od daně, takže zde nehrozí pro zahraniční přepravce žádná registrace.

VAT registration in Austria

The basic question is who is the orderer of the transport, ie the recevier of the service. Based on the answer to this question, we can determine whether a Czech bus carrier will be obliged to register for VAT in Austria. In case of recevier of the service is an entrepreneur, the tax debt is transferred to the recipient of the performance (also foreign). In the event that the recipient of the service is an entrepreneur, the tax debt is transferred to the reciever of the performance (also foreign). If a foreign entrepreneur (eg a Czech carrier) has made only such turnovers and no tax debt has been transferred to him from the performance of another entrepreneur, then his registration obligation ceases and his eventual right to deduct tax can be apply in VAT refund proceedings.

Otherwise, eg if the transport performance was performed for a private person, the assessment tax procedure is initiated. The executing foreign entrepreneur must register with the Graz-Stadt tax office and make tax returns in which all turnovers must be declared and a tax deduction can be claimed in accordance with the Sales Tax Act.

In the case of passenger transport, 10% of Austrian turnover tax is subject to only a proportion of the remuneration, ie the amount attributable to the Austrian part of the transport route. If the remuneration is set as the total price for the total transport, then the tax must be calculated by taking into account the number of kilometers traveled in Austria in relation to the total route traveled.

When is the obligation to file a preliminary return for sales tax on turnover in Austria?

  • If the turnover in the previous calendar year exceeded 30,000 EUR, then the obligation to file a quarterly preliminary tax is reported for sales tax, always by the 15th day after the end of the quarter (15 May, 15th of August, 15th of November and 15th of February).
  • If turnovers in the previous calendar year exceeded EUR 100,000, then the obligation to file a monthly preliminary tax return is always required by the fifteenth day of the second following calendar month (eg for January turnovers by 15th of March).
  • For lower turnovers, up to an annual tax return can be submitted by June 30 of the following year via the FinanzOnline systém.

VAT registration in Germany

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VAT registration in Poland

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Services related to real estate

Place of provided services related to real estate including the services of an expert appraiser, architect, construction supervision or real estate agents, is the place where the property is located.

When do I have to register for VAT abroad?

Several situations can arise for a Czech payer:

  • The Czech payer provides a service related to real estate in the Czech Republic, with the proviso that the recipient of this service can be anyone. The service is subject of Czech tax.
  • The Czech payer provides a service related to real estate in SK, then the place of performance is abroad and must already distinguish to whom the service is provided. At the same time, they must look at the foreign (Slovak) VAT law and examine what principle of VAT is applied. If company provides a service to a Slovak non-taxable person, ie a citizen, so the VAT registration will not miss him.
  • On the contrary, If the recipient of the service is a Slovak VAT payer, then there may be a transfer of tax liability to him, but it depends on whether the Slovak VAT law allows it.
  • A similar case would be solved in the Czech Republic by transferring the tax liability to the CZ entrepreneur as the recipient of the service, and therefore the registration obligation would be waived for the provider.
  • The Czech payer provides a service related to real estate in SK to the Czech payer. The place of observance is still in SK, but since the recipient of the service does not have a registered office or establishment in SK and therefore a VAT registration, there is no one who would declare the tax. Therefore, in this case, the service provider - Czech payer – has to register for VAT in Slovakia.

Short-term rental of vehicles

Place of performance upon provision of short-term rental of a vehicle is the place, where this means of transport is actually handed over to the customer for use. In the context of the VAT law, a short-term lease is understood as a lease not exceeding 30 days for a means of transport and 90 days for ships.

Sending goods to EU citizens

The dispatch of goods means the supply of goods to persons not registered for VAT in another Member State, if the goods have been dispatched from a Member State other than the Member State by completion of the shipment. The transport or dispatch of the goods is provided by the supplier - VAT payer or a third party authorized by him. If the total value of goods supplied to non-registered persons for VAT exceeds the amount in one calendar year set by the Member State (here you will find the relevant limits), to which the goods are delivered, the place of performance for such delivery of goods changes. We will be happy to provide you with specific advice and consultation bespoke to your requirements and needs.

Conditions for sending goods

The principles of the shipping regime are defined in § 8 of the VAT law

  1. The place of performance upon sending is the place, where its dispatch or transport begins, if the dispatched goods are not subject to excise duty, the total value of goods sent to another Member State (without tax), after the end of the dispatch and transport, in the relevant or immediately preceding calendar year, does not exceed the amount fixed by that Member State (see table of limits below).
  2. Payer - the supplier who sends the goods may decide (under the above conditions § 8 paragraph 2 of the VAT law), that the place of performance in the dispatch of the goods is the place where the goods are located after the end of their dispatch and transport (another Member State). In this case, the payer is obliged to proceed in accordance with to their choice by the end of the calendar year after the immediately following calendar year in which They made such a decision (§8 paragraph 3 of the VAT law).
  3. If the VAT payer - supplier exceeds the limit set by the state to which he supplies the goods when delivering goods to persons not registered for VAT, he is obliged to register for value added tax in this Member State. By registering for the dispatch of goods, that person does not become a payer in that country, but is only required to duly declare and pay in that Member State the tax on subsequent supplies by consignment.

Exceptions to the dispatch of goods are the supply of new means of transport and the supply of goods with assembly or installation, second-hand goods, works of art, collectors' items or antiques the supply of which is the subject of another special scheme.

Each Member State sets its own threshold at which it considers the supply of goods to non-taxable persons in its territory to be a supply of goods - linked to the place of supply.

In the Czech Republic, according to the new VAT Act, the limit for mail order sales is the total value of deliveries of goods to the Czech Republic higher than 1,140,000 CZK (46,570 €)

Limits for sending goods

The limits in individual member and candidate countries for mail order sales representing the total values of delivered goods in one calendar year are given in the following table:

Czech Republic 1 140 000 CZK 
Germany100 000 EUR
Denmark280.000 DKK 
Netherlands 100 000 EUR
Estonia35.151 EUR 
Poland160 000 PLN
Finland35 000 EUR 
Portugal 35 000 EUR
France100.000 EUR 
Austria 35 000 EUR
Croatia 270 000 HRK 
Romania 118 000 RON
Italy 35 000 EUR 
Greece  35 000 EUR
Ireland 35 000 EUR 
Slovakia35 000 EUR
Cyprus 35 000 EUR 
Slovenia  35 000 EUR
Lithuania125.000 LTL 
Spain 35 000 EUR
Latvia24.000 LVL 
Sweden 320 000 SEK
Luxembourg100 000 EUR
United Kingdom70 000 GBP