TLDR: The VAT exemption for intra-Community supplies of goods in France is subject to six cumulative conditions. If any one of them is not met, the seller must charge French VAT. The conditions relate to the onerous nature of the supply, the seller's status, the dispatch or transport of the goods outside France to another Member State, the status and identification of the buyer, and the submission of the recapitulative statement (DEB).
General conditions for exemption
The exemption applies only if all the following conditions are met:
- The supply is made for consideration.
- The seller is a taxable person acting as such.
- The goods are dispatched or transported out of France by the seller, the buyer, or a third party on their behalf, to another EU Member State.
- The buyer is a taxable person or a non-taxable legal entity, identified for VAT purposes in a Member State other than France, and does not benefit, in that State, from a special scheme allowing them not to subject their intra-Community acquisitions to VAT.
- The buyer has provided their VAT identification number to the seller, and this number has been verified by the latter. If the number is issued by France or is not provided, the exemption does not apply.
- The seller has submitted the recapitulative statement (DEB) referred to in Article 289 B of the French Tax Code (CGI), containing the required information, unless there is justification for a failure to do so.
Merely stating the buyer's VAT number on the invoice is not sufficient to prove compliance with the conditions.
Exclusions and special cases
The exemption does not apply to:
- supplies of second-hand goods, works of art, collectors' items, or antiques carried out by taxable dealers applying the provisions of Article 297 A of the CGI (margin scheme).
- cases where the supplier knew or could not have been unaware that the presumed recipient of the dispatch or transport had no real business activity.
In the case of successive supplies of the same goods with a single intra-Community transport (chain transactions), the exemption applies to the supply made to the intermediate operator in the chain.
Intra-Community supplies of new means of transport are exempt if the general conditions are met.
Declarative obligations
The seller must provide evidence by any means of the actual dispatch or transport of the goods out of France. Proof may be direct (transport document, carrier's invoice, insurance contract) or indirect (commercial correspondence, purchase order, written confirmation of receipt).
The exemption is challenged if the supplier has not submitted the recapitulative statement (DEB) or if it is incomplete, unless justified to the tax authorities.
Penalties and consequences
If any single condition is not met, the seller must charge French VAT on the supply. The tax authorities may require payment of VAT, penalties, and late payment interest.