Selling across the EU requires extra reporting, including the EC Sales List (periodisk sammanställning in Swedish). This is how the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) tracks sales between EU businesses. The EC Sales List (ESL) rules are precise and discuss what to include, how often to file, and what happens if you’re late. Below, we’ll explain what you should know about the ESL in Sweden and how to stay compliant.

What’s in this article?

• What is the EC Sales List (periodisk sammanställning) in Sweden?
  
• How does the EC Sales List apply to services?
  
• How does the EC Sales List apply to goods?
  
• How do you submit an EC Sales List in Sweden?
  
• When do you need to file an EC Sales List?
  
• What happens if you file late or have no sales to report?
  
• How Stripe Tax can help
  

What is the EC Sales List (periodisk sammanställning) in Sweden?

The EC Sales List, or periodisk sammanställning, is a report Swedish businesses must file with Skatteverket when they sell goods or certain services to VAT-registered companies in other EU countries. It’s a way for tax authorities across the EU to check VAT on cross-border sales. Sweden records what left the country with a zero rate or reverse charge, and the buyer’s country verifies that VAT was accounted for on arrival.

If your business makes intra-EU B2B sales of goods or provides services under the reverse charge rules, you’re required to file an ESL. There’s no minimum threshold, and even a single sale to a German or French VAT-registered customer must be reported.

The ESL is separate from your VAT return. Your VAT return shows totals, while the ESL lists your customers, their VAT numbers, and the total value and type of sales you made to them during the reporting period. Skatteverket and your customer’s tax office use this to ensure that zero-rated supplies match the customer’s reported acquisitions and that your customer applied the reverse charge. Failing to file correctly can lead to penalties or questions from tax authorities, for you and your customer.

How does the EC Sales List apply to services?

When a Swedish business provides services to a VAT-registered customer in another EU country, you generally don’t charge Swedish VAT and the customer handles the tax in their country through the reverse charge mechanism. These transactions go on your ESL.

The requirement covers B2B services sold within the EU. Think consulting, software-as-a-service (SaaS), or design work provided to an EU business with a valid VAT ID. Services to private individuals or businesses that aren’t registered for VAT aren’t included.

Filing frequency is lighter for services. If services are your only cross-border sales, you file the ESL quarterly in Sweden. All services for January–March, for instance, are grouped into one report due by April 25 if submitted electronically and April 20 if submitted on a paper form. If you also sell goods, you’ll need to report monthly.

Each service transaction must include the customer’s VAT number and the total value of services sold to that customer in the period. Double-check VAT IDs in the EU’s VAT Information Exchange System (VIES) before you file. Invalid IDs or mismatches can lead to rejections.

How does the EC Sales List apply to goods?

The ESL applies to physical products shipped from Sweden to VAT-registered customers in other EU countries. These goods form a zero-rated intracommunity supply. Every one of those sales must be listed, with the buyer’s VAT number and the total value you sold them during the reporting period.

You file monthly. Even if your VAT return is due each quarter, the ESL for goods is due each month. For example, a sale made in January must be reported by February 25 (if you file online).

There’s one exception: if your EU goods sales don’t exceed 500,000 Swedish kronor (SEK) per quarter, excluding VAT, you can apply to file quarterly instead. If you’re approved and later exceed the threshold, that permission is revoked and you go back to monthly reporting.

Here are some special scenarios to watch for:

• Call-off stock: If you move goods to a warehouse in another EU country for a known buyer, you list that buyer’s VAT number on a special section of the ESL. At that stage, you don’t enter a value; you just enter the VAT number tied to the stock transfer. If the goods return to Sweden or the intended buyer changes, those events are also reported. Once the buyer takes ownership, the sale itself is reported with a value.

• Triangulation: In a three-party chain, the middle business reports the resale as a triangular transaction. For example, a Finnish company sells to a Swedish business, which resells to a German customer. The goods are shipped directly from Finland to Germany. The ESL has a separate field for this situation, which shows the customer’s VAT number and the resale value.

How do you submit an EC Sales List in Sweden?

Businesses typically file their EC Sales Lists electronically with Skatteverket, which is the fastest and most reliable method. You have three main options:

• Online form (Skatteverket’s e-service): Log in and enter each buyer’s VAT number and the total value of goods or services sold. The system validates VAT formats and aggregates totals for you. Filing online also gives you a longer deadline—the 25th of the following month.

• File upload (filöverföring): If you have many transactions, you can upload a file with the suffix .txt or .csv instead of typing each entry. Accounting software often exports in the required format. This minimizes manual errors and is an efficient route for high-volume sellers.

• Paper form (SKV 5740): Paper reports must reach Skatteverket by the 20th of the following month, earlier than digital files. There are separate forms for special cases such as call-off stock.

Whichever method you use, the required data is the same: each customer’s VAT number, the SEK value of goods or services sold, and any triangular or call-off stock entries. Each VAT number typically appears once per period with aggregated totals.

Always save a copy of the submitted report or the confirmation page. It serves as proof of compliance and makes reconciliation easier when you check against your VAT return.

When do you need to file an EC Sales List?

Timing is one of the more difficult parts of the ESL, since it doesn’t always match your VAT return schedule.

The filing schedule depends on what you sell:

• Goods: If you sell goods to VAT-registered businesses in other EU countries, you file monthly. Each calendar month requires its own report. If your EU goods sales don’t exceed 500,000 SEK per quarter, you can apply to file quarterly.

• Services only: If you sell only services that fall under the reverse charge rules, you file quarterly. For example, January–March sales are reported once in April.

• Both goods and services: If you sell both goods and services, you need to file monthly.

Online reports are due by the 25th of the following month. Paper forms must reach Skatteverket by the 20th.

What happens if you file late or have no sales to report?

Two situations in particular can complicate the process for businesses: months when there’s nothing to report and months when the report is submitted late. Here’s what you should do.

No sales during a period

If you didn’t sell goods or services to VAT-registered businesses in the EU during a reporting period, you don’t submit a report. Skatteverket doesn’t want “nil” returns. Just ensure your own records confirm that nothing was missed, since Skatteverket will compare your VAT return with your ESL filings.

Late submissions

If you had sales and missed the deadline, Skatteverket might charge a 1,250 SEK penalty for each late report. The fine applies per period so multiple missed months mean multiple penalties. Submit as soon as you realize the mistake to stop late penalties from accumulating. Errors can be corrected by filing an updated report.

How Stripe Tax can help

Stripe Tax reduces the complexity of tax compliance so you can focus on growing your business. Stripe Tax helps you monitor your obligations and alerts you when you exceed a VAT registration threshold based on your Stripe transactions. In addition, it automatically calculates and collects VAT on both goods and services.

Start collecting taxes globally by adding a single line of code to your existing integration, clicking a button in the Stripe Dashboard, or using our powerful application programming interface (API).

Stripe Tax can help you:

• Understand where to register and collect taxes: See where you need to collect taxes based on your Stripe transactions. After you register, switch on tax collection in a new country or state in seconds. You can start collecting taxes by adding one line of code to your existing Stripe integration or add tax collection with the click of a button in the Dashboard.

• Register to pay tax: Let Stripe manage your global tax registrations and benefit from a simplified process that prefills application details—saving you time and simplifying compliance with local regulations.

• VAT numbers at checkout: Stripe Checkout can collect customer VAT IDs at the point of sale, and Stripe Invoicing can add them to invoices. You don’t have to track them down later.

• Automatically collect tax: Stripe Tax calculates and collects the right amount of tax owed, no matter what or where you sell. It supports hundreds of products and services and is up-to-date on tax rules and rate changes.

• Simplify filing: Stripe Tax seamlessly integrates with filing partners, so your global filings are accurate and timely. Let our partners manage your filings so you can focus on growing your business.

Learn more about Stripe Tax, or get started today.