Supplies of goods by Finnish businesses to EU businesses

Supplies of goods by Finnish businesses to EU businesses

General

Finland-based suppliers that make supplies of goods to VAT registered businesses in other EU member states must abide by the VAT regulations governing intra-EU trade. Under normal circumstances such supplies are not subject to Finnish VAT provided that:

1.  

   •     the customer is registered for VAT in another EU member state;

2.  

   •     the supplier records the customer's VAT number in its business records and on its invoice; and

3.  

   •     the supplier obtains and retains proof of dispatch of the goods to another EU member state.

Suppliers are expected to take reasonable steps to ensure that all of these conditions are fulfilled.

Triangulation

The term 'triangulation' is used to describe the situation where a business in EU member state A wishes to buy goods from a supplier in EU member state B and sell them to a business customer in EU member state C.

If the goods were to move directly from EU member state B to EU member state C, the business in EU member state A could be regarded as required to register for VAT in either EU member