What is the EC Sales List (ICP return)?

A small producer sells to companies in Germany and Belgium. Because VAT works differently on a sale to a business in another EU country than on a home sale, the authorities need to see who supplied what to whom. A listing per customer makes that possible. In the Netherlands it is called the ICP return.

So the list holds the details of intra-community supplies and certain services: the buyer's VAT number, the country and the total amount. It sits alongside the ordinary VAT return, it does not replace it.

What goes wrong? The customer's VAT number was never checked or is entered wrongly, an invoice is missing from the list, or a supply is posted the wrong way. Then the list does not match what the customer reports, and that stands out in checks.

Watch three things. Record and check the VAT number of every business customer. Use the right VAT code on each sale to another EU country. And compare the list with your sales before you file it, so nothing is missing. How the shift of VAT works on such sales is covered under reverse-charge VAT.

Which sales belong on the list, and when, is something your bookkeeper or accountant confirms. Also find out how a correction works if you spot a mistake afterwards. If you have many small customers abroad, it pays to build the list from the books themselves each period rather than from a separate spreadsheet. That way nothing slips between two systems. That avoids surprises in a check.