Intra-Community supply of new vehicles - New reporting obligations from 1 July 2003

The Federal Ministry of Finance has issued a regulation regarding the reporting requirement for intra-community deliveries of new vehicles. The following is intended to illustrate the different treatment between seller and buyer: The intra-community delivery of new vehicles is always tax-free regardless of the status of the seller and buyer. The private individual is treated in this context as an entrepreneur when they sell the new vehicle to a customer in the EU zone. This also covers occasional deliveries of new vehicles. The "occasional vehicle supplier" is entitled to a tax credit (= the tax that is deducted from the purchase price of the new vehicle).

:: Vehicle supplier is entitled to a VAT deduction
No further input tax deduction is possible for any additional incidental costs. The input tax deduction is limited to the amount that would be incurred if the vehicle were not tax-exempt. If the sales price is less than the acquisition cost, only the sales tax of the sales price can be claimed as input tax. The input tax deduction is only possible from the time of the onward delivery of the new vehicle. An invoice must be issued for the intra-community delivery of the new vehicle, which must contain all the information necessary to identify the vehicle as new.

:: The acquisition of a new vehicle from another member state is taxable in the country of destination

The intra-community purchase of a new vehicle is taxable in the country of destination – whether the person is a private individual or an entrepreneur. The tax liability arises on the day of purchase and must be calculated separately for each individual purchase.

Example: An Austrian holidaymaker buys a car in Denmark; in Denmark no value-added tax is charged; in Austria, however, the purchase must be reported to the tax authorities and the resulting value-added tax and NOVA must be paid.

The regulation details the information and deadlines regarding the reporting obligation. Report by means of Form U 17 or. U 17a must include the following information (for waterborne and airborne vehicles, other information applies; this information can be found in the regulation):
- Billing date
- Name and address of the seller (for entrepreneurs whose UID number)
- Member State of destination
- Name and address of the buyer
- Payment for the delivered vehicle including accessories
- Date of first commissioning (if this is before the accounting period)
- Mileage
- Chassis number

:: Reporting deadlines

The notification is in accordance with § 3 of the Ordinance
1. from entrepreneurs (§ 2 UStG 1994) until the end of the calendar month following each calendar quarter in which the intra-community deliveries of motor vehicles were made; 2. from vehicle suppliers (Art. 2 UStG 1994) at the time of claiming the input tax credit (Art. 12(3) UStG 1994), but no later than the end of the month following the calendar quarter in which the intra-community delivery of the motor vehicle was made.

PRAXIS TIP: It may be financially interesting to purchase new cars in other EU member states. The respective national pricing structure is influenced by the value-added tax (VAT) in addition to any additional registration or consumption taxes. In order for a new car to be sold at all in countries with high tax burdens, the providers operate there with a pricing structure that is appropriate to the market. This results in lower net prices. Generally, favorable countries for purchasing a car are Denmark, the Netherlands, Greece, Portugal, Finland, and possibly Belgium or France. Please consult your car club (ARBÖ, ÖAMTC). However, please note that your dealer in Austria is always there to help you, not only in the purchasing decision, but also in any problems that may arise after the purchase.

:: Links:
Buying a new vehicle in the EU:
http://www.adac.de/Recht_und_Rat/fahrzeugkauf_leasing/
Regulation in detail:
http://www.bmf.gv.at/steuern/Aktuelles/
Form U 17:
http://formulare.bmf.gv.at/service/formulare/BMF/Umsatzsteuererklaerung/2003/U17.pdf

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