Exports outside the EU
The main document is the customs confirmation of exit. This is the export declaration with the exit confirmation from the customs system. Supporting documents are the transport document (bill of lading, CMR, airway bill), the commercial invoice and the payment from abroad. Together, these documents form consistent evidence for each shipment.
To arrange the export documents for your shipments, such as the certificate of origin and the EUR.1, see export documents from the Netherlands.
Intra-EU supplies
Inside the EU the file needs two independent pieces of transport evidence, for example a signed CMR and the carrier's invoice. It also needs the customer's VAT number, checked through VIES, and the sale listed in the ICP declaration. Customer pick-up (ex works) needs extra care. A signed collection statement with vehicle details strengthens the file.
The file per shipment
- Invoice at 0% with the correct mention.
- Transport evidence, two pieces where possible.
- Customs exit confirmation for exports.
- Payment trail from the customer’s country.
A fiscal representative collects and keeps this proof for you, shipment by shipment, so you can defend the 0% rate in an audit. See fiscal representation for non-EU importers.
The VAT return is due every quarter, the payroll every month and the annual accounts once a year. Read more about this work, and how the monthly amount is calculated, on bookkeeping in the Netherlands.
What weak evidence costs
If the tax authority rejects your file in an audit, the sale counts as a domestic sale. You then pay 21% VAT from your own margin, plus interest. See VAT on exports outside the EU for more detail per option.