Cross-border supplies of goods to other Member States of the Community are subject to the principle of taxation at destination, i.e. VAT on the transaction is payable in the country of acquisition. If the purchaser is a taxable person liable to tax in a Member State other than that in which the goods are dispatched, or a non-taxable legal person, this means that the transaction is exempt at the place of dispatch, on the supply side, for intra-Community supplies of goods; and taxable at the destination, on the purchaser side, for intra-Community acquisitions of goods.

The conditions for tax-free intra-Community supplies of goods have remained unchanged since 1 January 2020. The exemption has serious conditions and only if the following conditions are met can be the exemption applied:

• The seller is taxable but not exempt,
• The product is shipped from the country,

• The product is dispatched to another Member State,
• The seller has documents or certificates proving that the goods have been dispatched to another Member State,
• The buyer is a taxable person registered in another state or a non-taxable legal entity and communicates its tax identification number to the seller (taxpayers are required to verify and archive the information in VIES)
• The seller must include the sale in the summary declaration. If the seller does not fulfil their obligation to submit a recapitulative statement, or fails to do so correctly or completely, no tax exemption will be granted. Unless they acted in good faith.

Proof of dispatch to another Member State can be provided by both the buyer and the seller, or by the carrier acting on their behalf. However, the documents must be issued by different parties, independent of each other, but also of the seller and the buyer.

The Implementing Regulation 282/2011/EU of the Value Added Tax Directive, which is also binding on Hungarian taxable persons, provides further guidance on what documents must be provided as proof of dispatch or transport.  

Possibilities for the seller or the carrier acting on their behalf to provide proof:

• There are two documents issued by an independent party (e.g. a signed CMR document or CMR waybill, bill of lading, air waybill, invoice from the carrier of the goods, etc.) The seller has two documents, one of which is the document listed in the previous point and the other is one of the following:
• Transport insurance policy, bank document of payment for transport, notarial declaration of arrival of the goods in the buyer's Member State, receipt of delivery issued by the warehouse operator in the country of destination.

The seller's means of proof in the case of the buyer or a carrier acting on their behalf:

The seller has a declaration from the buyer containing the following information:

• carried by the purchaser or a third party,
• the name of the Member State of destination, the date of issue, the name and address of the purchaser, the type and quantity of the product, the place and date of arrival, and the identity of the person taking delivery of the product on behalf of the purchaser.

The declaration must be sent to the seller by the 10th of the month following the sale.

AND

• Documents proving delivery or dispatch: two documents from the seller under point 1 or one document from each of points 1-2.

In practice, the following cases are possible:

The SELLER or a third party acting on their behalf dispatches/transports the product:

1. If the SELLER uses a carrier:

• The seller declares that the goods have been transported by a person acting on their behalf and that they have the following documents:

• a signed CMR document or CMR waybill (bill of lading, air waybill) or
• an invoice issued by the carrier,

AND

• a bank document proving payment to the carrier, or
• a receipt issued by the warehouse operator in the Member State of destination

(additional documents: transport insurance policy, notarial declaration in the buyer's Member State) 

 2. If the SELLER transports by their own means of transport:

• The seller indicates that they have transported the goods and has the following documents a document relating to the dispatch or transport of the
• products (e.g. a delivery note)

AND

• a receipt issued by the operator of the warehouse in the Member State of destination, certifying that it has been stored in that Member State.

(or additional documents: transport insurance policy, notarial declaration in the buyer's Member State)

If the above documents are not available, the seller has the possibility to prove that delivery has taken place by other means.:

• seller's own waybill,
• a written request for delivery from the seller within the company,
• road registerss,
• proof of foreign refuelling, invoice for payment of motorway or road tolls, ferry ticket 

The BUYER or a third party acting on their behalf dispatches/transports The SELLER has:

• a written DECLARATION by the buyer stating that the goods have been transported by the buyer or a third party and containing the following information:
• the name of the Member State of destination, the date of issue, the name and address of the buyer, the type and quantity of the product, the place and date of arrival, the identification of the person taking over the product on behalf of the purchaser and, in the case of the sale of means of transport, the identification number of the means of transport.

The declaration must be sent to the seller by the 10th of the month following the sale.

AND

• in addition to the above, the seller has two of the documents listed in the previous points as proof of delivery or dispatch - according to the rules already mentioned. 

If the above conditions are not met, the supply to another Member State of the Community will not be VAT-exempt but will be subject to 27% VAT.