Innergemeinschaftliche

Innergemeinschaftliche is a German term used in the European Union’s value-added tax (VAT) regime to describe intracommunity transactions, primarily relating to intra-community supplies and acquisitions of goods between VAT-registered businesses in different member states. The concept denotes cross-border activity within the EU internal market and is defined in EU law and national VAT statutes.

The most common usage is innergemeinschaftliche Lieferung (intra-community supply of goods). This occurs when a supplier established in one member state delivers goods to a VAT-registered customer in another member state, and both parties provide valid VAT identification numbers. If the conditions are met, the supplier’s member state typically treats the transaction as VAT-exempt, while the purchaser accounts for VAT in their own member state under the reverse-charge mechanism. The supplier may issue a zero-rated invoice, and evidence such as transport across borders and proper documentation (for example, an EC Sales List) is required to justify the exemption.

A related concept is innergemeinschaftlicher Erwerb (intra-community acquisition of goods), which describes purchases made by a business in one member state from a supplier in another member state. In this case, the purchaser self-assesses the VAT due under the reverse-charge mechanism in their own member state, declaring both output VAT and the corresponding input VAT, subject to national rules.

The terms arise from EU directives on VAT (notably Council Directive 2006/112/EC) and are commonly used in business, tax administration, and accounting contexts to regulate cross-border trade within the EU.