Reporting EU Sales to HMRC

Newsletter issue - February 2012.

If your business is registered for VAT in the UK and you sell to VAT registered customers in other EU countries you are required to submit an EC sales list (known as ECSL or form VAT 101), to HMRC. If you move your own goods to a branch or subsidiary of your business in another EU country, you may also have to complete an ECSL for that period.

The ECSL is generally submitted quarterly, but businesses that export goods totalling more than £35,000 (excluding VAT) per quarter must complete an ECSL every month. If your business only sells services to other EU countries you can continue to submit a quarterly ECSL, but you can opt to submit monthly ECSL forms.

When you complete box 8 on your VAT return, the Tax Office will automatically send you an ECSL form to complete. The paper ECSL form must be submitted within 14 days of the end of the reporting period. You can complete the ECSL online, in which case you have 21 days from the end of the period to submit the form. Note that this deadline is well before the deadline for your regular quarterly VAT return.

We can help you submit ECSL forms, either on paper or online. Talk to us about the work involved.