VAT on products and services from other EU countries

Do you have a business or a permanent site in the Netherlands? And do you purchase goods or services from another EU country? You usually need to pay Value Added Tax, VAT (btw or omzetbelasting) in the Netherlands on these purchases.

VAT on goods from other EU countries

Did you purchase goods in another EU country? And are they delivered to an address in the Netherlands, for example, you import goods from another EN country? You will normally receive an invoice with 0% VAT from the supplier. You must then pay the VAT in the Netherlands. You must calculate the VAT yourself and specify it in your VAT return. Do you use the goods or services for business activities that are taxed with VAT? Then you can deduct the VAT as input tax (in Dutch).

Intra-Community acquisition tool

Do you buy goods from a trader in another EU country and have them delivered to the Netherlands? This is referred to as intra-Community acquisition. In many cases, you must declare and pay VAT in the Netherlands. If the goods are delivered to another EU country, you only need to pay VAT in the Netherlands if:

• you have used your VAT identification number (btw-id) when making the purchase, and
• you cannot prove that the VAT is paid in the EU country where the goods have arrived

You can consult the Intra-Community acquisition tool from the Netherlands Tax Administration to check what applies in your situation (in Dutch). At the bottom of the page, you answer a few short questions about your purchase. The result will show you whether you need to pay VAT. Or you can check the How to deal with VAT on services to another country-tool (in Dutch).

Exporting from the Netherlands

If you export goods from the Netherlands to another EU country, the VAT will have to be paid in the other country. This is called intra-Community supply and is in fact an intra-Community acquisition in the destination country. These supplies are taxed at 0%.

VAT on services from other EU countries

If you purchase services from other EU countries, you will normally receive an invoice that states 'VAT reverse-charged' ('btw verlegd'). This means that you should pay the VAT in the Netherlands. This, however, does not apply to the following services:

• services that are related to immovable property
• some services related to giving access to events in the area of culture, the arts, sports, the sciences, leisure, or education
• short-term rental of a vehicle
• passenger transport
• restaurant and/or catering services

These services are taxed in the country of the supplier of the service. They will charge VAT. If you use the services for business activities that are VAT taxed, you can request for a VAT refund in the Netherlands.

To be certain whether you must pay VAT in the Netherlands for foreign services, consult the Dutch-language Services in and from abroad tool from the Tax Administration.