What are Intrastat declarations? When to submit?

Intrastat reporting fills the gap left by the withdrawal in 1993 of customs reporting on the movement of goods within the European Union. It enables governments and the EU track trade between countries for statistical purposes. Increasingly, it is also being used as a check on potential VAT fraud.

Like EC Sales Lists, it is separate from the EU VAT returns and reporting process, although based on the same data.

What goes into Intrastat Declarations?

Intrastat filings require details of all dispatches (sales) of goods to other EU countries, plus the arrivals (purchases). Details required of each transaction include:

Description of the goods
Commodity code of the goods
Quantity and value of the goods
Delivery terms
Country of departure and arrival (using country codes)
Any shipping costs

When to submit Intrastat reporting?

There are annual reporting threshold for each EU country, see our Intrastat Filing Threshold briefing. The can also be different for dispatches from a country (sales) vs. arrivals (purchases) within the same country. These thresholds are much higher that the VAT registration thresholds.

Intrastat reporting is almost always monthly across the EU. Filings are generally undertaken at the same time as the VAT return, and are sent the appropriate statistical office for the country concerned.

Click for free intrastat declarations info

Ready to see what Avalara can do?

Schedule a demo to see our solution.

Request a demo