This guide covers the “Intra-Community Acquisitions and Supplies” section of your VAT return — Step 4 when filing through the Lappa platform.
This section is split into two parts, each containing two transaction types.
Part 1: Intra-Community Acquisitions
Type 1 — Purchases from EU suppliers
This covers goods purchased from suppliers based in other EU member states.
Example: You are filing a German VAT return and purchased goods worth €1,000 from a Belgian supplier. The supplier will issue a reverse charge invoice, meaning VAT is not charged by them but must be self-accounted and paid by you in Germany — the destination country.
All reverse charge invoices that carry your VAT number must be recorded here:
- enter the number of such invoices;
- fill in the supplier’s VAT number;
- enter the value of purchases;
- calculate the VAT amount manually at the applicable rate.
Note that reduced VAT rates may apply to certain goods such as medical equipment or e-books. Once complete, click “Add record” and the invoice will be added to your return.
Type 2 — Movement of your own goods between EU countries
This applies when you transfer stock between your own warehouses in different EU countries.
Example: Goods are moved from your Polish warehouse to your German warehouse. In this case, you invoice yourself from your Polish VAT number to your German VAT number and add the record accordingly.
Part 2: Intra-Community Supplies
Type 1 — Sales to VAT-registered customers in other EU countries
This covers sales made to business customers holding a VAT number in another EU member state.
If you have Amazon integration enabled, Lappa will automatically populate these transactions. For example, sales to an Italian VAT-registered customer for €32 will appear pre-filled. These transactions are not subject to your local VAT — the reverse charge mechanism applies and VAT is accounted for by the customer in their own country. You are still required to report these sales to your tax authority.
Additional transactions can also be entered manually. For example, a sale to an Austrian customer for €500 — simply enter the amount and the customer’s Austrian VAT number. If a customer does not have a VAT number, the transaction is subject to standard VAT and will be included in Step 1 of your return instead.
Type 2 — Movement of goods between your own EU warehouses
This covers stock transfers between warehouses in different EU countries where you hold VAT registrations.
Example: Goods move from your German warehouse to your Spanish warehouse and you hold a Spanish VAT number. Select Spain as the destination country and enter your Spanish VAT number. Note that warehouse movements carried out by Amazon Fulfilment Centres also fall under this category.
To ensure Lappa captures Amazon warehouse movement transactions automatically, you must enable “Amazon VAT Calculation Services” within your Amazon seller account.
Reviewing the impact on your VAT return
Once all intra-community data is entered, you can verify its effect on the return:
- purchases from other EU countries will appear reflected as both a positive and negative figure, effectively neutralising the VAT impact;
- your Sales List Report, if previously requested, will be visible below.