April 6, 2022 | 50,00 EUR | answered by Steuerberater Bernd Thomas
Dear questioner,
I am happy to answer your inquiry based on the information provided in the context of an initial consultation on frag-einen.com. The response is based on the factual information you have provided. Missing or incorrect information can affect the legal outcome. I assume that we are not dealing with vehicles, that the initial assumptions are subject to regular VAT, and that there is no VAT group. The case will be assessed from the perspective of a German GmbH.
The delivery from Italy to Germany is to be recorded as an intra-community acquisition (goods are moving from Italy to Germany, both parties are entrepreneurs). The Italian supplier has a tax-exempt intra-community delivery and therefore invoices without VAT. Whether this is invoiced in an invoice from the Italian supplier or in a credit note from the German recipient is irrelevant.
The intra-community acquisition is to be recorded in the VAT return and the VAT is to be reported and paid, and it is also necessary to include it in the Recapitulative Statement.
Deliveries from Germany to Italy are tax-exempt intra-community deliveries. An invoice should be issued in which no VAT is shown.
The VAT identification numbers (and other mandatory information) must be provided in the invoices or credit notes.
The outgoing invoices are to be recorded as receivables, and the incoming invoices as payables. For the Italian partner, both a receivables account and a payables account should be created.
The clearing of positions can be done via offsetting. If the accounting program does not allow for a direct offset between receivables and payables, use an intermediary account that is regularly reconciled, e.g. #1361. In the financial statements, the disclosure of receivables and payables as such to a related company must be made, which requires both the creditor and debtor to be reclassified for the financial statements, and the intermediary account must not have a balance in the financial statements.
Whether the transactions are recorded in one document or in separate documents is up to you. The documents must meet the requirements of a proper invoice, with the positions shown separately.
It is clearer if separate invoices or credit notes are issued for deliveries from Italy and to Italy.
The additional documents (delivery notes, other commercial letters, etc.) must be kept properly.
Best regards,
Bernd Thomas
Tax consultant
Information according to DL-InfoV: Tax consultant Dipl.-Kaufmann (FH) Bernd Thomas, Tax Consultant, Franklinstraße 15, 30177 Hannover, Member of the Chamber of Tax Consultants Lower Saxony, Membership number 146580, Professional liability insurance with R+V Allgemeine Versicherung AG, Mittlerer Pfad 24, 70499 Stuttgart, Insurance sum: 250,000 euros per individual claim; Annual maximum benefit: 1,000,000 euros (for all damages in an insurance year); The relevant professional regulations apply, in particular the Tax Consultancy Act (StBerG), Implementing Regulations to the Tax Consultancy Act (DVStB), Professional Code (BOStB), Tax Consultant Remuneration Regulation (StBVV) (Regulations can be viewed at: https://www.berufsrecht-handbuch.de/, http://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/stberg, www.gesetze-im-internet.de/stbvv/), the professional title of tax consultant was awarded in the Federal Republic of Germany.
