TLDR: You may benefit from a VAT exemption when the intra-Community acquisition concerns goods whose supply in France would have been exempt. You must be able to establish that you would have been eligible for this exemption in the context of a transaction carried out on the domestic market. The goods concerned notably include certain medical and biological goods, stamps, and goods intended for maritime and air navigation.
The principle of the exemption
Article 262 ter-II-1° of the CGI exempts from VAT intra-Community acquisitions of goods whose supply in France would be exempt.
The condition to be met
You must be able to establish that you would have been eligible for the exemption if the same transaction had been carried out on the domestic market.
Medical, biological goods and stamps
The exemption covers the following categories:
- dental prostheses supplied by dental prosthetists, in accordance with Article 261-4-1° of the CGI;
- human organs, blood and milk, in accordance with Article 261-4-2° of the CGI;
- stamps, in accordance with Article 261 C-3° of the CGI.
Goods intended for maritime navigation
Acquisitions of goods whose supply would be exempt under points 2° to 6° of II of Article 262 of the CGI are not subject to VAT.
The following are concerned:
- commercial seagoing vessels;
- vessels used for industrial activities on the high seas;
- vessels used for professional maritime fishing;
- rescue and assistance vessels at sea;
- objects intended to be incorporated into these vessels or used for their operation at sea;
- equipment and nets intended for maritime fishing.
Aircraft and their supplies
The exemption also applies to aircraft used by air navigation companies whose services to or from foreign countries or overseas collectivities and departments, excluding metropolitan France, represent at least 80% of the services they operate.
It also covers objects intended to be incorporated into these aircraft or used for their operation in flight, as well as goods intended for the provisioning of the vessels and aircraft concerned.