Read more in Reporting your international trade under Report your EU sales exclusive of VAT in two sections in E-tax.

• Services related to property located in another EU country (such as construction services).
• Passenger transport carried out in another EU country.
• Services within culture, art, sports, science, education, entertainment, etc. (such as exhibitions, ballet, theatre, concerts, sports events, fairs, seminars, conferences and courses) that take place in another EU country.
• Restaurant and catering services carried out in another EU country.
• Short-term hiring out of means of transport provided to a customer in another EU country.

As a general rule, you register for VAT in the EU country where you supply the service.

Services subject to special rules on the charging of VAT

Generally, you do not charge Danish VAT when you supply the following services. However, if you sell the services to other businesses, it depends on where the buyer is established. Also, please note that special rules may apply. You can call us if you would like further guidance.

• Long-term hiring out of vessels (for instance boats) that are made available to a customer in another EU country.
• Intermediary services (such as commission to an intermediary) related to transactions taking place in another EU country.
• Transport of goods taking place in another EU country.
• Transport of goods between two EU countries when this transport is started in another country.
• Activities related to transport (such as loading, unloading, handling and packaging) carried out in another EU country.
• Assessment of and other work related to movable tangible property (carried out by, for example, surveyors and appraisers) carried out in another EU country.

As a rule, you have to be registered for VAT in the EU country where the service is carried out.

• Services relating to property located in Denmark, including hotel stays in Denmark.
• Passenger transport taking place in Denmark (coach services).
• Access to events relating to culture, art, sports, science, education, entertainment, etc. (such as fairs, exhibitions, seminars and courses) taking place in Denmark.
• Restaurant and catering services carried out in Denmark.
• Short-term hiring out of means of transport provided to a customer in Denmark.

Where the services concern the buyer’s VAT-registered business, the buyer can apply to have the VAT refunded by the authorities in the buyer’s own EU country. They will forward any applications to the Danish Tax Agency.

When you sell goods to a buyer in another EU country, you should always be able to document that the goods are dispatched or transported to the other EU country. Such documentation is a requirement in order for you to sell the goods without charging Danish VAT. When the seller delivers the goods, he may issue an invoice inclusive of Danish VAT and later repay the VAT to the buyer once the documentation has been received from the buyer.

In order for you to sell goods and services exclusive of Danish VAT, you have to obtain and verify the VAT number of the buyer in the relevant EU country. Additionally, you have to submit the buyer’s VAT number to the Danish Tax Agency. If you fail to do so, or if the information is incorrect, you may be refused to sell your goods or services exclusive of VAT.

Please note that from 2015, more stringent requirements apply to pick-up purchases when full payment takes place before or in connection with the goods being picked up.

From 1 January 2020, new harmonised documentation requirements have been introduced across the EU. You are not obliged to apply these requirements. But if you do not do so, you will have to apply the national rules applicable in the EU country you trade with. If, for example, you sell and dispatch goods from Denmark, the Danish rules will apply.

Verification of buyer’s VAT number

In order for you to sell goods and services exclusive of Danish VAT, you have to obtain and verify the VAT number of the buyer in the relevant EU country. Additionally, you have to submit the buyer’s VAT number to the Danish Tax Agency. If you fail to do so, or if the information is incorrect, you may be refused to sell your goods or services exclusive of VAT.

You need to check the validity of the VAT number provided by the buyer. You should also obtain an electronic verification of the buyer’s name and address. How you confirm the name and address of the buyer depends on the rules of the country of the buyer. VIES, for example, could be used for this.

Remember to keep documentation that you have checked the VAT number of the buyer at the time of sale, for example by taking a screen shop of VIES when you have checked the business.

You are only obliged to verify the name and address of the buyer once the country of origin of the buyer makes the facility accessible to you. For technical reasons, Danish businesses cannot check names and addresses of Spanish and German buyers in VIES.

You can verify business VAT numbers via the links below:

Search VAT numbers in Denmark

Search VAT numbers in the EU (the European Commission’s website)

Why you have to verify the buyer’s VAT number

When a business in one EU country sells goods to another business in another EU country, the buyer should in principle pay VAT to the country from which the goods are dispatched or transported, even if it is considered a sale exempt of VAT. Instead, the VAT-registered buyer should pay a special kind of VAT (acquisition VAT) to the country to which the goods are dispatched or transported. However, acquisition VAT is deductible. As acquisition VAT can be deducted at the same time as it is paid, the buyer can buy the goods without actually paying VAT.

A buyer with no VAT registration number must pay VAT at the time of purchase as the business selling the goods may only do so exclusive of VAT to a buyer in another EU country if this particular buyer is registered for VAT. As a reslut, it is easier for such a buyer to evade tax than if the buyer bought the good inclusive of VAT.

Harmonised documentation requirements from 2020

If you apply the new harmonised European requirements, the authorities will assume that you meet the documentation requirements as the seller. However, the Danish Customs and Tax Administration may decide that you have not met the requirements if it can prove that information in the documents is incorrect.

You are not obliged to apply the harmonised EU documentation requirements. But if you will not do so, you will have to apply the national rules applicable in the EU country you trade with. If, for example, you sell and dispatch goods from Denmark, you have to apply the Danish rules.

The documentation requirements depend on whether you as the seller carry out or organise the transport or if you let the buyer carry out or organise the transport.

Such documentation could be documents related to the transport or dispatch of the goods, for example:

• a signed CMR document (document used for border-crossing road transport) or a consignment note
• a document for loaded goods in which the shipmaster has signed for the goods and taken on the responsibility to deliver the goods to the right recipient (a bill of lading)
• an airbill
• an invoice from the carrier of the goods

Or one of the following types of proof:

• an insurance policy relating to the transport or dispatch of the goods or a bank statement to prove payment of the transport or dispatch of the goods.
• documents issued by public authorities, a notary for example, confirming the arrival of the goods in the buyer’s country.
• a receipt issued by the owner of the warehouse in the EU country where the goods arrive confirming that the goods will be stored in this country.

Documentation when you (the seller) carry out or organise the transport

There are two types of correct documentation:

1. You either need at least two separate documents concerning the transport or dispatch of the goods.
2. Alternatively, you should have one document concerning the transport or dispatch and one of the other documents of proof.

The two documents or the document and the proof may not contradict each other. Additionally, the documentation should be issued by two different parties independent from each other, the seller and the buyer.

Documentation when the buyer carries out or organises the transport

As the seller you need several types of documentation when the buyer carries out or organises the transport. You need a written statement from the buyer stating that the goods have been transported or dispatched by the buyer personally or by third party paid for by the buyer. The buyer should provide the written statement for the seller by no later than the 10^th day of the month after the delivery.

The written statement should include:

• date of issue of the statement
• name of EU destination country
• name and address of the buyer
• quantity and type of goods
• date and place of arrival of the goods
• identification of the person to receive the goods on behalf of the buyer

If the goods are vehicles or other means of transport, the statement should also include the registration number of the means of transport being delivered.

Moreover, you need:

1. Either at least two separate documents concerning the transport and dispatch of the goods confirming the transport or dispatch.
2. Alternatively, you should have one document concerning the transport or dispatch and one of the other documents of proof confirming the transport or dispatch.

The two documents or the document and the proof may not contradict each other. Additionally, the documentation should be issued by two different parties independent from each other, the seller and the buyer.

Danish rules: Documentation of the identity of the buyer

If you do not want to apply the harmonised documentation requirements, please note that you will then have to apply the national rules of the EU country you are trading from. If, for example, you sell and dispatch goods from Denmark, you have to apply the Danish rules.

In Denmark, the person who collects the goods should provide the seller with supplementary information enabling the seller to identify the person collecting the goods at the time of handing over of the goods. This information could be a copy of a driving license or similar documentation. If the documentation includes a readable signature, the person should also sign (with a readable signature) for collecting the goods. 

If you are selling goods or services to private individuals and other individuals not registered for VAT in the EU, you usually have to charge Danish VAT.

If you sell goods or services to private individuals in other EU countries, such sales are generally subject to the rules on distance selling. Please see Distance selling of goods where you do not have to charge Danish VAT further up on this page

Special rules apply for telecommunications and electronic services. Read more below under Special rules for telecommunications and electronic services and in VAT mini One Stop Shop.

Distance selling of goods to private customers in the EU where you do not have to charge Danish VAT

Distance selling is sales of goods to private individuals within the EU where you as the seller are directly or indirectly involved in shipping the goods to the customer, for instance via the Internet.
If you sell goods for more than EUR 100,000 during a calendar year, you must be registered for VAT and pay VAT in the country of your customer. Some EU countries have reduced the registration limit to EUR 35,000.

Registration thresholds for the individual EU countries (European Commission’s website)

You are not to charge Danish VAT if you have to pay VAT on the transaction in another EU country. Instead, you have to be registered for VAT and pay VAT in the other EU country. If the customer collects the goods in Denmark, you have to charge Danish VAT. 

Special rules for sale of telecommunications and electronic services to private customers in the EU

Special VAT rules apply for businesses selling telecommunications, electronic or broadcasting services. VAT must be settled in the country where your customers live or usually reside. You have to document where your customers reside, even if you expect all your customers to be Danish. Read more about the rules under VAT mini One Stop Shop.

VAT on sale of new vehicles to private individuals etc. in other EU countries

If as a registered business you sell new vehicles to non-registered businesses and private individuals in other EU countries, or if you are registered for one-off sales of new vehicles to a buyer in another EU country, you do not have to charge Danish VAT, as an exception to the rule. Furthermore, you have to provide electronic copies of the sales invoices to the Danish Tax Agency.

A motor vehicle is considered new when delivery takes place no later than six months after the first entry into service or before the vehicle has gone 6,000 km.

This is what you do:

1. Log on to E-tax for businesses (TastSelv Erhverv) and click on ‘Kontakt’ (Contact) in the top bar.
2. Click on ‘Send besked’ (Send email to SKAT) in the left menu.
3. Select ‘Moms, lønsum, told og punktafgifter’ (VAT, payroll tax, customs duties and excise duties) .
4. Click ‘Moms’ (VAT).
5. Click ‘Moms og udland’ (VAT and outside Denmark).
6. Select ‘Fakturakopi - Reeksport (nyt køretøj)’(Copy of invoice - reexport (new vehicle)).
7. Select ‘Vedhæft bilag’ (Attach document) under ‘Skriv besked’ (Write email).
8. Click ‘Send’.

You can only attach one document per country. If your business has sold 10 cars to France and two to Germany, you have to repeat the process twice. You can create one file with 10 invoices and one file with two invoices. Remember to write which country the invoices concern.

What does the Tax Agency do with the invoices?

The Tax Agency forwards the invoices to the tax authorities in the EU countries where the private buyers live. The tax authority of the country in question is then able to check if the buyer has paid VAT on the transaction in the home country.

A consignment agreement is established when a potential seller and a potential buyer agree that the ownership of certain goods will be passed to the buyer at a point in time in the future. This means that the goods are intended for sale to this particular buyer. The potential seller owns the goods until the potential buyer assumes ownership by withdrawing the goods from the consignment warehouse where they are stored.

For example, you can use consignment warehouses if you are selling goods to a business in another EU country. However, this requires that you know the identity of the potential buyer when you dispatch the goods. The potential buyer can then buy the goods by, for example, withdrawing these goods from their own stock (in the consignment warehouse) in the specific EU country.

The potential seller pays transport expenses to the consignment warehouse and for the storing of the goods at the warehouse.

From 1 January 2020, new EU regulations apply in this field enabling a joint basis for where and when goods included in consignment agreements are taxed in inter-EU transactions.

Consignment agreement requirements

• Both the potential seller and the potential buyer must be registered for VAT.
• The goods included in the agreement must be dispatched or transported from one EU country by the potential seller or by a third party at the expense of the potential seller to the potential buyer in another EU country. The delivery and thereby the sale take place at a later point in time, and only after arrival of the goods (at the consignment warehouse), after which ownership passes to the buyer.
• The potential seller may not be domiciled or have a fixed establishment in the EU country to which the goods are dispatched or transported.
• The buyer must be registered for VAT in the EU country to which the goods are dispatched or transported.
• The potential seller must know the identity and VAT number of the potential buyer at the time the dispatch or transport of the goods begins.
• Both the potential seller and the potential buyer must keep a register of the goods included in the agreement.
• The potential seller must report the identity and VAT number of the buyer to the tax authorities in the seller’s home country.

VAT liability and consignment warehouses

The buyer pays acquisition VAT when he assumes ownership of the goods; that is, when the buyer withdraws the goods from the consignment warehouse. The advantage is that the potential seller avoids having to register his business for VAT in the EU country to which the goods are dispatched or transported.

Sale to be completed within 12 months

The seller needs to complete the sale within 12 months from the time the goods arrived at the consignment warehouse. If the seller fails to meet this deadline, the goods will be considered transferred to the particular EU country on the day after expiry of the 12-months. This means that the seller will have to register for VAT in the relevant EU country.

Returning goods

If the goods are returned to the EU country from which they were dispatched or transported originally, the seller may, however, avoid having to register for VAT in the other EU country. The return of the goods should be registered in the special register mentioned under Consignment agreement requirements.

Change of buyer

Another option is to find a new buyer before expiry of the deadline. If the seller manages to find another buyer, the rules apply and the seller does not have to register for VAT. The change of buyer should be registered in the special register mentioned under Consignment agreements requirements. However, the 12-month deadline is not extended if the seller finds a new buyer.

The seller should maintain a register with the following information

• the VAT number of the potential buyer (in the potential buyer’s EU country)
• the EU country from which the goods were dispatched or transported and the date of dispatch or transport of the goods
• the EU destination country
• the VAT number of the owner of the consignment warehouse and the actual address of the consignment warehouse and the date of the arrival of the goods at the warehouse
• the value, quantity and description of the goods which have entered the warehouse
• the taxable amount (the value of the goods exclusive of VAT and other taxes), a description of the goods and the quantity of goods delivered, and the date of the delivery of the goods
• the VAT number of the buyer (in the buyer’s EU country)
• if one of the conditions for applying the rules is no longer met, the taxable amount (the value of the goods exclusive of VAT and other taxes), a description of the goods and the quantity of goods delivered, and the date of the delivery of the goods must be noted and the seller will thus have to pay (acquisition) VAT
• the value, quantity and description of any returned goods and the date of the return
• the VAT number of the new potential buyer replacing the original potential buyer within the consignment agreement deadline.

The buyer should maintain a register with the following information

• the VAT number of the potential seller (in the country of origin)
• the quantity and description of the goods destined for the potential buyer
• the date of the arrival of the goods at the warehouse
• the taxable amount (the value of the goods exclusive of VAT and other taxes), a description of the goods and the quantity of goods delivered, and the date of the delivery of the goods
• a description and quantity of the goods and the date they were removed from the warehouse according to orders from the potential seller (return)
• the quantity and description of destroyed or missing goods and the date of destruction, loss or theft of goods in the warehouse or the date when it was discovered that the goods were destroyed or missing.

If the goods are transported or dispatched to somebody other than the potential buyer, a third party owning the consignment warehouse for example, the potential buyer does not have to register:

• the date of the arrival of the goods at the warehouse
• a description and quantity of the goods and the date the goods were removed from the warehouse according to orders from the potential seller
• the quantity and description of destroyed or missing goods, and the date for the destruction, loss or theft of goods in the warehouse, or the date when it was discovered that the goods were destroyed or missing.

Reporting consignment agreements

If you have entered into a consignment agreement according to the above rules, you need to submit information about the agreements. Please note that you can read more about what to report and where to report (in Danish) in the guide Moms ved EU-varehandel (VAT and EU commodity trade).

The Tax Agency is participating in two EU test cases both for the purpose of reducing the risk of double taxation for businesses engaging in cross-border EU transactions.

• VAT Cross Border Rulings (CBR) - a test case for planned transactions.
• VAT Double Taxation - Dialogue between Tax Administrations, which is a test case for transactions that have already been carried out and where two EU countries both claim VAT on the same transaction.

Read more about the two test cases for how to avoid double taxation.