What Is an ICP Filing?
The ICP Filing is also known as the Intra-Community Transactions declaration. This is a report that Dutch entrepreneurs and companies must submit to the tax authorities. This declaration includes a statement of all deliveries and services provided to other businesses in EU countries (B2B). The filing contains the total amounts and the VAT that has been charged. With this declaration, the tax authorities can verify whether the correct financial information has been received by the other EU countries.
When Must You File an ICP Declaration?
If you have supplied goods or services to another business in Europe, you are required to report this to the Dutch Tax Administration. This is usually once per quarter, in addition to your VAT return. You only need to do this if there is actually something to report. You do not need to file if there were no cross-border deliveries or services. Below you can find the exact timelines:
Delivery of Goods Only
The timing of the ICP filing depends on your situation. If you supply goods only, you must submit the declaration within specific periods. If you sell more than €50,000 worth of goods to businesses in other EU countries, you are required to file monthly from the month in which you exceed the threshold. If you remain below this threshold for four consecutive quarters, you may return to quarterly filings.
Delivery of Services Only
If you provide services only, you may choose how often to file the ICP declaration: monthly, quarterly, or annually. If you want to file annually, you must apply for a permit to do so. This can be done via the website of the tax authorities. For convenience, quarterly filing alongside your VAT return is usually easiest.
Delivery of Both Goods and Services
If you deliver both goods and services abroad, you can choose to file separate ICP declarations for goods and services. We recommend submitting your ICP filing alongside your VAT return, since you can often extract the data from there. This saves a lot of time each year and requires no extra work.
How Do I Submit the ICP Filing?
Submitting the declaration can be quite a task. Where do you find the revenue, and which VAT applies? You can choose to have a bookkeeping office like Balancify handle this for you, or you can do it yourself. Below is a step-by-step guide. Good luck!
Step 1: Gather the Required Information
To file an ICP declaration, you must always have the foreign VAT number of your customer. Request this number immediately when doing business with a foreign company. To ensure the VAT number is valid, you can check it in the European VIES database. Without a valid VAT number, you cannot submit an ICP filing.
Step 2: Access the Form
The “Opgaaf ICP” form can be found on the website of the Dutch Tax Administration. Go to “Login for entrepreneurs” on the Tax Administration's website. Alternatively, you can use bookkeeping software to submit the ICP declaration. Not all bookkeeping programs have this functionality built in, so check your software first!
Step 3: Enter the Correct Information
In section 3b of the form (“Deliveries to/services in EU countries”), enter the total amount of your intra-community performances. These are the goods or services you delivered within the EU. Note that this applies only to deliveries to foreign businesses, not private individuals.
Step 4: Specify the Transactions
In section 3 of the ICP declaration, specify the amounts you entered in section 3b of your VAT return. Enter the VAT number and total amount of each delivery or service abroad. You must do this for every sale to a business within the EU.
Step 5: Check and Correct If Needed
Always check whether the total amount in the ICP filing matches what you entered in the VAT return. If there is a discrepancy, find out what went wrong and correct it.
It is also useful to know that you do not pay VAT on these deliveries. You reclaim it in your input VAT deduction, so the final VAT total ends up at €0.
What If You Forgot to File?
It can happen to anyone—forgetting to submit the ICP filing. The most important thing is to file it as soon as possible. It is also wise to contact the Dutch Tax Administration immediately to inform them of the situation and let them know the filing has now been submitted. This can help prevent potential fines.
Can You Correct the Filing?
If you discover that you made a mistake in your ICP declaration after submitting it, don’t worry. This can happen. You can easily correct this by entering the correct information in your next ICP filing. You then indicate that it concerns a correction.
In addition, it may happen that your customer does not accept the goods and returns them. The website of the Tax Administration provides instructions for how to correct your ICP declaration in such cases.
