Article 36a Directive 2006/112/EC

Supply of goods with transport

Title V · Place of taxable transactions › Chapter 1 · Place of supply of goods › Section 2 · Supply of goods with transport

Open in the compendium3 cases ↓

Text of Article 36a

Consolidated version on EUR-Lex (CELEX 02006L0112-20250414). © European Union. Only the Official Journal is authentic.

Case law on Article 36a: 3 cases

Judgments, orders and Advocate General opinions of the Court of Justice and the General Court that cite Article 36a of Directive 2006/112/EC, most recent first.

1. T-614/25 Trading 4 Judgment · 9 September 2026 · Latvia
2. C-696/20 Dyrektor Izby Skarbowej w W. (Incorrect classification of chain transactions) Opinion · 7 April 2022 · Poland
3. C-401/18 Herst Opinion · 3 October 2019 · Czechia

Commission explanatory notes on Article 36a

Not binding. Guidance published by the Commission (DG TAXUD).

Explanatory Notes on the 2020 quick fixes

Call-off stock, chain transactions, the VAT number as a substantive condition and proof of intra-Community transport

• 3.6.8 Fractioned transport and breaks in the chain (p. 55) When we discussed example 2 in section 3.4.2, we stated that the supplies from A to B and from E to F were excluded from the chain, as there was a “clear break” in the transport. Thus, it is important to analyse, in the framework of transport with stops, when there is a clear break, giving rise to different transports,
• 3.6.7 Several persons involved in the transport of the goods (p. 54) It may happen that the intermediary operator, determined according to the criteria in section 3.6.5, has contracted the transport with more than one person. To illustrate this point, we are going to use the following example (example 3): For instance, in example 3, C is the intermediary operator. C can contract with di
• 3.3 What does the provision do? (p. 45) Council Directive (EU) 2018/1910 has introduced a new Article 36a in the VAT Directive. This Article addresses the issue of what is the supply to which the intra- Community transport or dispatch of the goods is to be ascribed when a chain transaction takes place, that is to say, what supply is to be considered as the i
• 3.5.2 The attribution of transport in example 2 (p. 48) As explained before, in that example only the supplies between B, C, D and E were part of the chain transaction. 14 Unless MS 2 has availed itself of the option in Article 194 VD. If that is the case, C will be liable for VAT under the reverse charge mechanism. a) The first supplier in the chain organising the dispatch
• 3.6.9 Proof of the organisation of the transport (p. 59) The intermediary operator needs to keep evidence that the goods have been transported or dispatched by himself (on his own behalf) or by a third party on his behalf. Such evidence is necessary to determine that he is the intermediary operator and therefore, to which transaction in the chain the transport is ascribed. H
• 3.4.1 Example 1 – a simple case of a chain transaction (p. 46) MS 1 MS 2 A B C Here we have consecutive supplies of goods from A to B and B to C, where the goods are transported only once, from A in MS 1 to C in MS 2. The problem in this case is determining whether the intra-Community transport has to be ascribed to the supply from A to B or to the supply from B to C. However, the
• 3.6.14 When has the intermediary operator to do this communication? (p. 62) Article 36a VD does not specify when the communication of the VAT identification number to the supplier has to take place. In principle, it would seem that, under normal circumstances, this communication should be done before the chargeable event takes place. In case the intermediary operator has not communicated to hi
• 3.5.1 The attribution of transport in example 1 (p. 48) In this situation, we are going to consider that the intermediary operator is B. This means that B dispatches or transports the goods from MS 1 to MS 2, himself (on his own behalf and not on behalf of another party of the chain) or by a third party on his behalf. The general rule in Article 36a(1) VD is that the dispat
• 3.6.2 What is the scope of the provision? (p. 52) There are certain transactions which are not covered by Article 36a VD. As stated in section 3.3, the goods must be dispatched or transported from one Member State to another Member State. Therefore, chain transactions involving imports and exports, or involving only supplies within the territory of a Member State, are
• 3.6.17 Triangular transactions simplification (p. 64) As already said, the scope of the rules in Article 36a VD is limited to clarifying which transaction in the chain the transport is assigned to. These rules do not have any impact on the liability of the tax, which is determined according to the general rules. Nor do they have an impact on the possibility to apply the s
• 3.6.17.1 More than three operators in the chain (p. 65) We will include again our example with four operators in the chain (example 8): In our example 8, C is the intermediary operator. C communicates to B his VAT identification number issued by MS 2. Therefore, instead of the general rule in Article 36a(1) VD, the rule in Article 36a(2) VD applies, so the transport is assi
• 3.6.3 Who can be an intermediary operator? (p. 52) The intermediary operator is of the utmost importance for the application of the rule. Depending on the option taken by this intermediary operator, the dispatch or transport of the goods will be assigned to the supply made to him or to the supply made by him. Therefore, once a chain transaction has been identified, the
• 4.2 What does the provision do? (p. 70) The amendment of Article 138 VD consists of 2 elements: - paragraph 1 is re-structured and a new condition is added; - a paragraph 1a is added. Article 138(1) VD Regarding Article 138(1) VD, the following must be taken into account: - The content of point (a) in Article 138(1) VD corresponds to the content of Article 1

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