Reverse charge, demystified — intra-EU B2B in one page

The reverse charge is one of those VAT rules that sounds complicated and is actually a single idea: on many cross-border EU B2B transactions, the seller doesn't charge VAT — the buyer accounts for it in their own country. You invoice at 0%, write a short note, and the buyer self-assesses. That's it. The rest is just knowing when it applies and what to write.

When it applies

The classic case is a B2B sale to a VAT-registered business in another EU member state:

• Services to an EU business customer are generally taxed where the

customer is (the "B2B general rule"), so you don't charge your local VAT — the customer reverse-charges it.

• Goods dispatched to a VAT-registered business in another member

state are an intra-community supply: zero-rated for you, acquisition VAT for them.

It does not apply to consumers (B2C) — there you usually charge VAT, and once you cross the EU-wide €10,000 threshold you handle it through OSS. It also doesn't apply to purely domestic sales.

What your invoice must show

A reverse-charge invoice has a few non-negotiable elements:

• Your VAT number and the customer's valid EU VAT number.
• VAT at 0% (not "exempt" — the mechanism is different).
• An explicit note, e.g. *"Reverse charge — VAT to be accounted for by the

recipient, Art. 196 VAT Directive 2006/112/EC"* (for services).

Get the wording wrong and a tax inspector can deny the treatment, leaving you on the hook for the VAT you never collected.

The one check that matters: VIES

Reverse charge hinges on the customer's VAT number being valid. A number that's wrong, mistyped, or no longer active means the conditions aren't met — and the liability can bounce back to you.

That's why VIES validation isn't optional housekeeping; it's the load-bearing check. Validate at the moment you invoice, and keep the proof. Eurobillr runs the VIES lookup on your EU B2B customers when you send, flags a bad number before it goes out, and stores the result so you can show you checked.

The reporting side

Reverse-charge and intra-community supplies don't just vanish from your paperwork — they go on the recapitulative statement (EC Sales List / the recap listing in your country) and in the right boxes of your VAT return. Because Eurobillr derives your return from the actual invoices — VAT mode and all — those entries line up automatically instead of being a quarter-end reconstruction.

The 30-second checklist

1. Is the customer a business in another EU country? → reverse

charge is likely in play.

1. Is their VIES number valid today? → validate, don't assume.
2. Does the invoice show 0% + the legal note + both VAT numbers?
3. Will it land on the recap listing and the VAT return? → let it

flow from the document, don't re-key it.

Background: reverse charge, intra-community supply, VIES. In the app: send your first PEPPOL invoice and file a VAT return.