Intra-EU supply of goods stored at the client’s warehouse. Time of the transmission from a VAT perspective
Binding tax ruling V3482-15 issued by the Spanish General Tax Directorate on November 12, 2015.
The scenario analysed by this binding tax ruling is a supply of goods made by a German company not established in the Spanish VAT Territory, transported from Germany to the warehouse of the customer (a Spanish company) located in the Spanish VAT Territory.
However, the client, even if it acquires possession of goods from receipt assuming the risks of these (making insurance on goods stored in the warehouse against damages, damages and losses in incidental cases), does not acquire ownership of the goods until the client withdraws goods from the warehouse for use, moment in which the purchase contract is completed.
At this point, the Spanish General Tax Directorate endorses the interpretation that the European Court of Justice for similar cases to understand that the put of disposal of goods can take place, although failure to transmit the ownership of property in the legal sense, provided that attributed to the recipient authority on goods almost as large as the owner.
For this reason, the Spanish General Tax Directorate understands that, in this case, the supplies of goods transported from Germany to the final client’s store (Spain), taking the client the risk on the stored product and having the goods for industrial or commercial use without having its power of disposal over the goods essential limitations, constitute an intra-EU supply of goods carried out in Germany by the German Company and a subsequent intra-EU acquisition of goods carried out in Spain by the Spanish Company, notwithstanding that the legal transmission of the property could be done in a further moment.
Then, the German company wold not carry out a deemed intra-EU acquisition of goods in the Spanish VAT Territory and, therefore, it is not obliged, by this operation, to submit the Intra-EU Sales & Acquisition of goods (349 form) in Spain.
Click here if you want more information about our VAT services or you can contact us at info@diligens.es
