According to Eurostat, in 2022, the European Union recorded the highest percentage increase in cross-border transactions, including imports and exports, over the past decade. A year later, impressive results were reported for intra-community transactions, with Spain ranking seventh, behind Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, France, and Poland.

Although there are many differences in how imports and exports work compared to intra-community transactions, a key difference is that the latter is less bureaucratic. Nevertheless, these activities require certain formalities with the Spanish tax agency (AEAT); for example, Spanish companies must obtain an intra-community value-added tax (VAT) number and report EU transactions by completing Form 349. Let’s examine the purpose and procedure for filing this tax form.

What’s in this article?

• What is Form 349, and what is it for?
  
• Who has to file Form 349?
  
• What is the deadline for filing Form 349?
  
• What happens if Form 349 isn’t filed on time?
  
• How to file Form 349
  
• Corrections to Form 349
  
• Frequently asked questions about Form 349
  

What is Form 349, and what is it for?

Form 349 is an information statement that provides the AEAT with a summary of the intra-community exchanges conducted by a Spanish company over a month or quarter. This form must contain the following transactions, as long as they are between companies or self-employed individuals from two different EU countries:

• Sales and acquisitions of any product or service
  
• Sales of goods on consignment, meaning transactions where a product is shipped and stored in the destination country until it is later purchased by another professional in that territory
  

The AEAT compares the information provided in Form 349 with those furnished in other returns, such as Form 303, which is used to file the quarterly VAT return in Spain. Specifically, it verifies the taxable base and the identification details of the supplier and the buyer for intra-community dealings against the data in other declarations. This ensures taxpayers correctly apply VAT to transactions with other member countries that receive the same data.

To assure the accuracy of information related to this indirect tax and to correctly apply exemptions, such as those for sales to business customers in other EU countries, you can use a tax automation tool such as Stripe Tax. With Tax, you can automatically calculate and collect the VAT on your transactions, which you must report to the AEAT using their tax forms. Additionally, it verifies your customers’ intra-community VAT numbers through the VAT Information Exchange System (VIES) to determine whether the exchange qualifies for a tax exemption. What’s more, Tax is always updated to keep you informed of changes in tax rates in more than 50 countries where it’s available, subject to certain excluded territories.

By exchanging information among EU countries, member states ensure the accuracy of data and prevent irregularities in the application of VAT.

Recognising the benefits of sharing details about intra-community dealings, the European Council approved a 2006 regulation urging EU countries to modernise their tax systems. The aim was to provide taxpayers with a new method of reporting the necessary data, particularly transactions between companies in different countries within the EU. Spain took about three and a half years to act, finally amending its VAT law in 2010 to comply with the requirements, leading to the creation of Form 349, which was introduced a month later.

Who has to file Form 349?

All companies and self-employed individuals in Spain who hold a VAT taxpayer certificate must file Form 349 if they engage in transactions with professionals in other EU countries.

If this applies to you, you must file Form 349. Request a European VAT number by completing Form 036 and registering in the Register of Intra-community Operators (ROI). This will grant you legal authorisation to conduct intra-community activities with other companies or self-employed individuals within the EU. All such transactions must be reported on Form 349 within the designated time frame.

If no intracommunity activities occur during a tax period, you do not need to file Form 349. It should also not be filed for purchases exempt from this tax due to triangular transactions involving three or more parties (e.g. the manufacturer, the end customer, and the company facilitating the process).

What is the deadline for filing Form 349?

Form 349 must be filed monthly or quarterly. Although the default filing deadline is monthly, the criteria for filing quarterly returns are flexible and typically apply to most small- and medium-sized businesses. A company is exempt from filing monthly returns and can submit it quarterly if its gross intra-community transactions do not exceed €50,000 in the current quarter or the previous four quarters.

Here are the Form 349 deadlines based on the required filing frequency:

The €50,000 threshold could be exceeded during the first or second month of a quarter, in which case a quarterly filer must switch to monthly filing. In this instance, you must file Form 349 between the 1st and 20th of the second month of the quarter, including all intra-community activities conducted during the month this threshold was exceeded.

If your company exceeds €50,000 in the second month of the quarter, the filing period is from the 1st to the 20th of the third month. Form 349 must contain intra-community transactions from the quarter’s first and second months. When completing it, check the box indicating that this is a bimonthly return for a truncated quarter, located just below the contact information.

Suppose your company qualifies as a “large company” (gran empresa) with an annual turnover exceeding €6,010,121.04 and must file monthly VAT returns. In that case, the filing requirements for Form 349 remain the same as for other companies. You could file quarterly returns if your intracommunity total does not exceed the threshold of €50,000 per quarter. In addition, if no intra-community activities have occurred during the tax period, you are not required to file it.

What happens if Form 349 isn’t filed on time?

Failure to file Form 349 within the specified deadlines will result in fines and VAT penalties in Spain. The penalty amount varies significantly depending on whether you regularise your tax situation voluntarily or after receiving a notice from the Agencia Tributaria.

How to file Form 349

Filing Form 349 to report your intra-community transactions is relatively straightforward. First, make sure you have the required electronic identification for your specific situation. Self-employed individuals can authenticate themselves using a digital certificate or Cl@ve, while all other instances require a digital certificate.

• Public entities
  
• Large-scale taxpayers
  
• Large companies managing units
  
• Limited liability companies (SL) and public limited companies (SA)
  
• Taxpayers who pay VAT every month
  

Next, log in to the AEAT website and click the following links:

• All transaction types
  
• Taxes and fees
  
• Informative declarations
  
• Form 349
  
• Filing (up to 40,000 records)
  

Once you have completed all the steps and entered the data for your operation, we recommend you return to the first page and review the “Summary Declaration” section. Here, you will find several key fields the system automatically fills in based on the information you have entered. Before confirming the submission of Form 349, it’s important to review this summary to ensure that all data entered is accurate.

Corrections to Form 349

If you discover errors in a previous return or if reported transactions have since been changed, you must document these corrections on Form 349. For example, suppose a supplier corrects a pricing error and sends you an updated invoice in the next quarter. In that case, you must report the correction in the “Corrections” section filed for the following period.

If the error concerns the intra-community operator’s information or the chosen key rather than the taxable base, you must include the original and corrected records in the corrective declaration.

Although including these corrections might be more detailed and time-consuming than a standard return, completing Form 349 is generally not overly complicated because it is an informational return, and corrections are relatively rare.

Frequently asked questions about Form 349

Can Form 349 be filed with no information?

Form 349 cannot be submitted without activity; if a company has not conducted any intra-community dealings during a tax period, it should not file.

How do I declare a credit on Form 349?

Form 349 has a section for corrections. If you have received or issued a credit memo or corrective invoice, you must report this adjustment in the corrections section when you complete it for the next tax period.

Is Form 349 the same as INTRASTAT?

Although closely related, Form 349 is not the same as INTRASTAT. Although both serve to report intra-community operations, INTRASTAT is a European regulation requiring a statistical declaration, whereas Form 349 is an informational declaration for the AEAT.

Is there any difference in how companies and self-employed individuals file Form 349?

The deadlines and requirements for filing Form 349 are the same for self-employed individuals and companies. The procedure for completing it is the same; however, when accessing the AEAT website, self-employed individuals can identify themselves using either Cl@ve or a digital certificate, while companies must use the digital certificate.

This guide aims to clarify all your questions about this tax form and intra-community transactions in general.