Reverse charge (VAT)
For cross-border B2B services in the EU, the buyer accounts for VAT instead of the seller, so the invoice shows no VAT.
When a business in one EU country buys services from a business in another, the seller invoices net with a note such as “reverse charge” and both VAT IDs, and the buyer declares the VAT in its own return, usually offsetting it in the same period. Each VAT ID should be valid in the EU’s VIES service. For a client outside the EU, the service is usually outside the scope of EU VAT altogether.
Related terms
- NIP and CEIDG (Polish business identifiers): NIP is the Polish tax number on every invoice; CEIDG is the public register where you can check a Polish sole proprietor exists.
- B2B contract (Poland): How many Polish developers work: as their own registered business, invoicing the client monthly instead of being employed.
- VAT OSS (One-Stop Shop): The EU scheme that lets a seller declare and pay VAT on consumer sales in other EU countries through one return at home.
