VAT and Invoicing

Article 196 Reverse Charge: How to Invoice B2B Services in the EU

Updated: 6 October 2026 Holdwise editorial team VAT Reverse charge Invoicing

When you sell a service to a business customer in another EU country, the customer reports the VAT in their own return. This is called the reverse charge, based on Article 196 of the EU VAT Directive. Your invoice has a fixed format. At Holdwise, we keep this answer up to date and change it when the rules change.

How the reverse charge works

The seller leaves the VAT off the invoice. The business buyer reports the VAT in their own return, at the rate of their own country. Most buyers report the VAT and deduct it in the same return, so the net amount is zero. The seller sends the invoice at 0% with a fixed reference.

What goes on the invoice

Your own VAT identification number and the customer's VAT number, verified through the VIES check.
The line "VAT reverse charged" (btw verlegd), with the legal basis: Article 196 of Directive 2006/112/EC.
An amount at 0% Dutch VAT.

What follows after the invoice

You report the sale in your Dutch VAT return under intra-EU services, and in the EU sales list (ICP) with the customer's VAT number. The two declarations must match, and the tax authorities compare them.

For goods, the rules and the paperwork are different. If you sell goods from outside the EU, see fiscal representation for non-EU importers.

The bookkeeping can be handed over while you live abroad. On bookkeeping in the Netherlands you can read what you send, what is filed for you and what you get back.

The scope

Article 196 contains the general rule for B2B services. Goods have their own rules, with the intra-EU supply at 0% and proof of transport. For consumers, the B2C rules apply. You can read more about cross-border VAT in VAT across borders.

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Frequently asked questions

Which sentence goes on a reverse-charge invoice? +

"VAT reverse charged, Article 196 Directive 2006/112/EC", together with both VAT numbers. The Dutch wording "btw verlegd" has the same legal weight.

Does the reverse charge apply to consumers? +

The reverse charge applies only to B2B sales. For most services to consumers, you charge Dutch VAT. For goods sent to consumers in other EU countries, and for digital services, telecom and broadcasting, the VAT of the customer's country applies above the €10,000 threshold. You can report it in the OSS return.

Sources Belastingdienst · KVK · wetten.overheid.nl Last updated: 6 October 2026