What is Intrastat and what does it involve?

Intrastat is a statistical system for collecting information and establishing the status of intra-Community transactions. Intrastat information is declared by economic operators using Intrastat export declarations and Intrastat import declarations.

Who is subject to Intrastat?

Why is Intrastat not more popular and familiar to traders? This is because not everyone who carries out intra-EU transactions is obliged to submit an information declaration. According to the regulations, the obligation to provide such information rests with natural or legal persons and organisational units without legal personality which are taxable persons for VAT purposes and which carry out exchanges with other European countries that exceed certain established thresholds.

A business will need to consult the Intrastat system if its exports or imports exceed one of these thresholds in a given fiscal year, or if such exceedance occurs in relation to contributions from the current year, even though transactions relate to the previous year. Importantly, a taxpayer who exceeds a threshold for e.g. exports only, must submit an information return only in this respect, not taking into account imports.

What is the difference between the basic and detailed thresholds? In the case of the former, the trader provides in the return more general data on his transactions with other EU states. This information includes:

the reporting period, the type of declaration,the code of the customs chamber to which the Intrastat declaration is addressed, the consignee on arrival, the consignor on departure,the representative, if the declaration is made by him,total invoice value in Polish zlotys,total number of items,item number,description of the goods,country code of dispatch for imports or country code of destination for exportstransaction type code,commodity code,net mass,quantity in the supplementary unit of measure,invoice value in Polish zloty,filler.As far as the taxpayer who exceeded the detailed thresholds is concerned, in addition to filling in the above-mentioned items in the declaration, he has to add data on: total statistical value, code of the delivery termscode of the mode of transport, the statistical value.

What is Intrastat declaration and how to submit it?

Declarations may be submitted electronically both by the entrepreneur directly or by the proxy assigned by the taxpayer.

The accounting period for Intrastat declarations is the calendar month during which the trader makes intra-Community acquisitions or supplies. The declaration must be submitted by the 10th day of the month following the month to which it relates. The taxable person may also choose to submit partial information for periods shorter than one month. In this case, however, it must be ensured that such partial forms together cover the whole reporting period.