The Summary Notification (SN) is a return under § 18a of the German VAT Act (UStG) by which businesses report certain intra-Community transactions to the Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt). These include, in particular, certain intra-Community supplies of goods and certain cross-border services provided within the European Union.
What is a recapitulative statement?
The recapitulative statement is used for the exchange of tax information relating to certain cross-border transactions within the European Union.
The details regarding the respective turnover and business partners required under Section 18a of the Value Added Tax Act (UStG) are reported. An important piece of information here is the VAT identification number of the business partner.
Which sales must be included in an EC sales list?
A recapitulative statement may be required in particular for:
- certain intra-Community supplies of goods,
- certain other services supplied to businesses in other EU member states, where the recipient of the services established there is liable for the tax, and
- certain supplies within the context of intra-Community triangular transactions.
Which specific sales are subject to reporting depends on the requirements of Section 18a of the German Turnover Tax Act (UStG).
What role does the reverse charge mechanism play?
For certain cross-border other services under § 3a (2) of the German VAT Act (UStG), the recipient of the services established in another EU member state owes the VAT.
Such services may therefore be provided in connection with the Reverse charge procedure as well as with the recapitulative statement.
However, not every reverse charge transaction automatically belongs in an EC sales list. The decisive factors are the special prerequisites for intra-Community services pursuant to Section 18a of the German VAT Act (UStG).
Is the EC sales list submitted monthly or quarterly?
The reporting period depends in particular on the type and amount of the reportable sales.
For intra-Community supplies of goods, the calendar month is generally decisive. Under the statutory conditions, a quarterly return may be possible instead.
For certain other intra-Community supplies, the calendar quarter is generally the prescribed reporting period. Special rules apply where monthly Zusammenfassende Meldung returns are already being submitted.
recapitulative statement and advance VAT return – what is the difference?
The VAT Return is a tax return in which the VAT is calculated for a preliminary return period and declared to the tax authorities.
By contrast, the recapitulative statement is a special return for certain intra-Community supplies submitted to the Federal Central Tax Office.
In short: The VAT return is used for Umsatzsteuer calculation - the EC sales list reports certain intra-Community supplies and business partners to the Federal Central Tax Office.
