VATPOSG3820 - Main rules: movements of goods between Northern Ireland and the EU: chain supplies

Where a movement of goods between Northern Ireland and the EU occurs during a series or ‘chain’ of supplies, only one of those supplies can represent the movement into or from Northern Ireland. This was confirmed by the ECJ in the case of EMAG Handel Eder OHG (C-245/04). It follows from this that the place of the movement is the place of departure of the goods. The other supplies in the chain are treated as domestic supplies (see VATPOSG3300), in either the country of departure or of delivery of the goods, depending on where in the chain the supply falls.

The important point is therefore to identify which of the supplies represents the movement.

Articles 19 to 23 of the Value Added Tax (Place of Supply of Goods) Order 2004 (SI 2004/3148) provides for the rules to determine where the place of supply is for chain transactions involving the movement of goods from to Northern Ireland.

How this works is explained in VATNIEU.