Major burden reductions on the way for minor exporters and importers

If you are reporting to Intrastat, you can read further here how the changes will affect you.

What will change for me?

• A minor share of Danish exporters and a substantial share of Danish importers will be exempted from reporting to Intrastat as a result of the changes that will be implemented. The exemptions include the enterprises with the least foreign trade in goods with EU-countries, whereas major importers/exporters will still have to report.
• To ensure the best possible utilisation of the exchanged microdata, the remaining units reporting to Intrastat Export are obliged to report two additional data elements: The VAT number of the foreign importer and the country of origin for the goods.

When will the changes take place?

• Reporting on the VAT number of the foreign importer and the country of origin for the goods will be mandatory for units reporting to Intrastat Export from 1 January 2022.
• Statistics Denmark will enable voluntary reporting of the VAT number of the foreign importer and country of origin for the goods from 1 January 2021 to allow all reporting units to prepare for this change.
• The burden reductions, which the changes in Intrastat should produce, will be realised gradually. Statistics Denmark expects to be able to exempt a small number of enterprises from reporting already during the second half of 2021, after which the full burden reduction of 25-50 per cent will be phased in as the exchanged microdata is incorporated in the production of statistics.

Is the data exchange secure?

• Yes. Microdata will be exchanged between the EU countries’ national statistical authorities in encrypted form via secure networks. At the same time, the statistical authorities of the individual countries will only be allowed to receive microdata from other EU countries, if they pass an external information security certification based on ISO 27001. In the first half of 2019, Statistics Denmark successfully completed this certification.

How are confidentiality and non-disclosure handled?

• Exchanged microdata is for statistical purposes only. Confidentiality concerning the data processing applies to both the country that has collected microdata and the country that receives microdata.
• If an enterprise has requested non-disclosure of export data for specific goods and/or countries, this must be fully observed by the statistical authorities that receive – and use – microdata subject to non-disclosure in their imports statistics. In the encrypted files, in which the microdata is sent, it is clearly indicated which transactions that are subject to non-disclosure.

Will the reporting solutions change?

• No, Intrastat must still be reported in IDEP, but in the export declaration, country of origin and VAT number of the foreign importer must be indicated for each item of trade.

Will the reporting deadlines change?

• No, the present deadlines for reporting to Intrastat will continue.

Which information about the VAT number of the foreign importer must be reported?

• From 1 January 2022, it will be mandatory to report the partner VAT number in Intrastat Export.
• It must be the VAT number of the enterprise, which is the physical receiver of the goods in the country, which is indicated as partner country. In case of standard trade including two countries, this VAT number will normally be the same VAT number as the one indicated in the VIES report for Danish Tax Agency.
• In case of triangular trade, where a commodity is sold to a customer in one country, but delivered to a recipient in another country, the VAT number of the recipient should be indicated. In this respect Intrastat differs from VIES, where the VAT number of the invoiced partner should be stated. If a reporting unit does not know the VAT number of the recipient of the goods, the code ’QV999999999999’ for ’Unknown VAT number’ should be indicated.
• In case of distance sales to private individuals or in other cases, where a VAT number of the recipient of the goods cannot be stated, the code ’QV999999999999’ for ’Unknown VAT number’ should be used as well.

Which information on country of origin must be reported?

• From 1 January 2022, it will be mandatory to report the country of origin for the goods in Intrastat Export. Country of origin means the country in which the goods have been manufactured, or, if the manufacturing has taken place in two or more countries, the country in which the last processing has taken place. Repacking, sorting or blending is not considered to be processing, unless after the processing, the goods can no longer be traced back to any country of origin other than the country in which this processing took place.
• The country of origin may be a EU member state or a country outside of the EU. In many cases, the export goods will have Denmark as their country of origin, because the goods are manufactured in Denmark.
• If it is not possible to determine the country of origin, reporting units should indicate the code ‘QV’ for ‘Unspecified EU country’ or ‘QW’ for ‘Unspecified third country’, depending on where it is deemed most likely that the goods originate.
• A list of codes which should be used to indicate country of origin can be found here
  List of country codes

If you use the statistics of Denmark’s international trade in goods, balance of payments or national accounts, you can read further here on how the changes in Intrastat will affect you.

Will the content of the present statistics change?

• No, the content will be the same as today. You will still be able to retrieve detailed or aggregate statistics of the EU trade from Statbank Denmark.
• The publication deadlines will remain unchanged, and accordingly, the first statistics for a calendar month will be published approximately 40 days after the end of the month.

How does the method behind the statistics change?

• In the EU imports, Statistics Denmark will use received microdata to calculate the EU imports of small and medium-sized enterprises. Imports by the large enterprises will still be based on reporting from these enterprises. The new calculation methods will gradually include more of the small and medium-sized enterprises that have EU imports as the experience base from the received microdata increases.

Will the quality change?

• No, the purpose is for the quality of the statistics to remain the same as today. However, data breaks may occur on detailed commodity code level (8-digit CN commodity codes).

Do the changes in Intrastat provide new capabilities?

In the long term, new data in Intrastat Export and exchange of microdata provide improved capabilities for:

• Compile the re-export.
• More analysis options in terms of to whom the Danish exporters send their goods.
• Compile the country of origin in the EU imports.

Autumn 2020: Enterprises are notified whether they are expected to be exempted from Intrastat Export. Enterprises that are expected to be exempted can thus abstain from preparing for the new reporting requirements, which will apply from 2022.

January 2021: In 2021, it will be possible for the enterprises to voluntarily report information about country of origin and VAT number of the foreign importer in Intrastat Export, so that they can prepare their systems for the mandatory reporting in 2022.

September 2021: Thresholds for Intrastat in 2022 will be published.

January 2022: It will be mandatory to report information about country of origin and VAT number of the foreign importer in Intrastat Export.