VAT registered businesses that supply goods and services to VAT registered customers in other EU countries must complete an EC Sales List (ESL). The ESL provides details of sales or transfers of goods and services to other VAT registered companies in other EU countries. The ESL submissions are used by tax authorities across the EU to check that VAT is properly accounted for on all cross-border transactions.

The ESL shows details of EU customers, the sterling value of supplies made to them and the customer’s country code. A simplified ESL is available for businesses that make low level supplies of goods by request provided certain conditions are met.

The following are some of the main features of ESLs:

• ESLs for goods may also be submitted calendar quarterly where supplies did not exceed £35,000 in any of the four preceding quarters.
• ESLs for goods must be submitted monthly where these conditions are not met.
• ESLs for services may be submitted calendar quarterly but can be submitted monthly if this is easier for the business in question.
• The time limit for submitting ESLs is 14 days for paper returns and 21 days for electronic submissions.

There are penalties for late submission of an ESL. Since April 2019, VAT registered businesses with a turnover exceeding the VAT threshold (£85,000) need to submit their VAT Returns by using a Making Tax Digital VAT product.

Source: New feed