August 1, 2021
Am I required to invoice?
Not everyone is legally required to send an invoice. In this article, you can find out if you need to invoice or if you belong to the exceptions.
Everyone who supplies goods or services to other entrepreneurs must issue invoices. This also applies if you supply to legal entities that are not businesses, such as a foundation or an association.
According to this rule, you do not have to issue an invoice if you sell goods or services to individuals. However, there are some exceptions:
- You are a wholesaler in food, tobacco products, dental materials or parts of dental technical works, and at least 80% of your customers are entrepreneurs. In this case, you must issue an invoice.
- You engage in distance selling. Distance selling is a sale in another EU country than the EU country in which you are established. The purchaser must be someone who is not required to file VAT returns. For example, you are a Dutch company and you supply chairs to individuals in Germany. Or you have a company that is based in Germany and you supply laptops to a business in the Netherlands that is exempt from VAT. In the case of a distance sale or a prepayment of a distance sale, you must issue an invoice.
- You engage in an intra-community supply. An intra-community supply is a supply of goods from the Netherlands to another EU country. In the case of an intra-community supply, you must send an invoice. You do not have to send an invoice for a prepayment of an intra-community supply.
- You supply a (nearly) new means of transport in another EU country. It does not matter whether your customer is an individual or a business. In both cases, you must send an invoice.
If these exceptions do not apply to you, then you are required to invoice when you supply to entrepreneurs. Do you want to know what should be included on an invoice? Then read an article on invoice requirements here.
