Changes to EC Sales List Format - Opera II
Changes to the EC Sales List format
As of 1 January 2010, it will be a legislative requirement for a UK VAT Registered Business to declare any Intra-EC Services that they provide to a VAT Registered Customer in the EC on the EC Sales List (ESL - VAT 101 form).

The ESL currently includes the supply of business-to-business (B2B) goods to customers in the EU.

From 1 January 2010, ESLs are required for B2B supplies of services. The default reporting frequency for both goods and services on the ESL will be monthly. But businesses may be able to opt to submit quarterly ESLs for services only if permission is obtained to do so from HMRC.

The amount of time that HMRC and other tax administrators in the EU are allowed to collect and exchange data between each other is being reduced to one month. This means that businesses are likely to have a certain number of days after the end of the reporting period to submit their ESLs:

14 days for paper ESLs
21 days for electronic ESLs
Note: Intra-EC Services must (still) not be included on the SD report.

Please note that the first new format EC Sales List will require submission by the middle of February 2010. Details of the changes can be found on http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/vat/ec-sales-lists.pdf