On 1st July, the regulations implementing the provisions of the EU Directive 2018/1910 (the so-called quick fixes package) concerning, among others, the sale of goods using the call-of-stock procedure entered into force. The mentioned directive unified the regulations of EU countries, among other things, with regard to the rules of taxation of supply of goods to other EU countries. Thanks to the new regulations, companies moving products from one EU country to another for later sale will avoid the obligation to additionally register as VAT payers in the country of destination of goods.
Facilitation for some businesses
Transactions between EU countries are the basis of operations of many companies. However, sales do not always precede the transport of products between countries. It happens that supplier A (a VAT payer in the EU) moves goods to (known at the time of the move) buyer B in another EU country, but the actual sale takes place later. So far, in this situation, supplier A should, as a rule, register for VAT in the country of destination of the goods, report the intra-Community acquisition of his own goods there and then the domestic sale to buyer B. The new regulations will allow for the use of the call-of-stock procedure, which will significantly simplify the process.
Call-of-stock procedure?
Using the call-of-stock procedure avoids the need to register for VAT in the country of destination. Only when the right to dispose of the goods as owner to purchaser B is transferred, supplier A report an intra-Community supply of goods to purchaser B. In contrast, purchaser B recognises the intra-Community acquisition of goods.
Formal call-of-stock requirements for the supply of goods to Poland
This simplification may be applied if the following conditions are met:
- the goods are moved by a VAT taxpayer from the territory of a Member State other than Poland for supply at a later stage;
- the goods are supplied to another taxpayer who is entitled to acquire ownership of the goods in accordance with the agreement in force between the two taxpayers;
- the supplier sending the goods has no registered office or fixed establishment in Poland;
- the person acquiring the goods is registered for EU VAT and his name (or first name and name) and tax ID (preceded by PL code) are known to the supplier at the time the movement of the goods began;
- the supplier shall record the movement of the goods in a special register kept for the purpose of moving the goods under the call-of-stock procedure and shall report in the information corresponding to the VAT-EU recapitulative statement in the country of dispatch of the goods;
- the transfer of the right to dispose of the goods as the owner will pass on to the purchaser of the goods within 12 months from the date of entry of the goods into the call-of-stock procedure.
Change of purchaser after transporting the goods
The simplified procedure can also be applied in the case of a change of purchaser. The change may take place within 12 months after the goods are moved to Poland. The new purchaser must be registered for EU VAT. The supplier must know the name (or first and last name) and tax ID of the new purchaser at the time of replacement. The supplier must also report the change in the information corresponding to the summary information in the country of shipment of goods and register the change in the special register of movement of goods kept by him under the call-of-stock procedure.
No sale of goods
In practice, it happens that the shipped goods finally will not be sold in the country of destination and will be moved back to the country of dispatch. If the re-dispatch takes place within 12 months of entry into the call-of-stock procedure, there is no intra-Community movement of own goods. However, the supplier shall be obliged to include the return of the goods in his records of movements under the call-of-stock procedure.
Summary
It is clear from the above analysis that companies will be able to benefit from simplifications, but this requires the development of new procedures and documentation. Only the appropriate preparation of internal rules for conducting transactions with the use of call-of-stock procedure will enable effective use of the possibilities offered by Directive 2018/1910. Properly implemented procedures will also avoid potential mistakes.
In connection with the introduced changes, we recommend you to analyse your transaction model and contact our specialists. We will help you to analyse the possibilities of using the above simplifications and prepare appropriate documentation.
Authors:
dr Małgorzata Stępień, MBA, attorney at law (PL)/tax advisor (PL)
Dominika Zbonik, LL.B., attorney at law (PL)/tax advisor (PL)
