Invoicing abroad from a Czech company: the basic rules

When a Czech company invoices a client across the border, the key question is not “how much” but “where is the place of supply and who accounts for the tax”. That is what decides whether the invoice carries Czech VAT or shows none at all. The rules are set by the Czech VAT Act (No. 235/2004 Coll.) and, in the basic situations, apply equally to a VAT payer and to a small business.

The difference lies mainly between trade within the European Union and outside it, and between a service and goods. Let us walk through the basic cases so you know what belongs on the invoice, when tax is declared and which reports follow from it. It is not complicated once you know a few rules in advance.

What an invoice abroad must contain

The essentials of a tax document are set out in Section 29 of the VAT Act and are at their core the same as for a domestic invoice: identification of the supplier and the customer including their tax identification numbers (VAT IDs), the document number, the date of issue and the date of supply, the scope and subject of the supply, the unit price, the tax base, the tax rate and its amount. For a cross-border supply under the reverse charge, a mandatory note is added: “the customer will account for the tax”.

Verifying the customer's VAT ID is essential. When trading with a company from another EU country, check its validity in the VIES system — without the customer's valid European VAT ID you cannot apply the exemption or the reverse charge, and you risk ending up paying the tax yourself. You may issue the invoice in a foreign currency, for example in euros; any VAT amount, however, must also be shown in Czech koruna, converted at the exchange rate (of the Czech National Bank or the ECB) on the day the obligation to declare the tax arises.

Mind the deadline too. Issue the tax document within 15 days of the date of supply; for goods delivered or a service supplied to another EU member state you have until the 15th day of the month following the month in which the supply took place.

Services to an EU company: the reverse charge

For services supplied to a business (a taxable person) in another member state, the place of supply is generally where the customer is established — not in Czechia. This means you leave Czech VAT off the invoice and the customer declares and pays the tax in their own country. This mechanism is called the reverse charge.

On the invoice you therefore state both your and the customer's VAT ID, the amount without tax and the note “the customer will account for the tax”. As a payer you additionally report such a supply in the recapitulative statement (souhrnné hlášení), filed electronically by the 25th day of the month following the supply. Example: a Czech graphic designer invoices EUR 2,000 to a German company — the invoice is issued without Czech VAT, with the reverse charge note, and the supply is listed in the recapitulative statement.

Not a VAT payer? Mind the identified person

A common misconception is that cross-border rules concern only VAT payers. A non-payer who supplies a service with the place of supply in another member state to a business registered for tax becomes a so-called identified person. They register within 15 days of such a transaction — while they do not pay Czech VAT on that particular invoice and remain a non-payer for domestic supplies, they must file a recapitulative statement.

A non-payer also becomes an identified person when they instead receive a service from abroad (for example advertising on a foreign platform) or when they acquire goods from other member states worth more than CZK 326,000 a year. In that case they declare and pay the tax in Czechia, even though they remain a small business. The context around thresholds and registration is covered in the article on when to register for VAT.

Goods to the EU and trade outside the Union

For goods, different rules apply than for services. The supply of goods to a company in another member state is exempt with the right to deduct — provided the goods physically leave Czechia and the customer has a valid European VAT ID. Such a supply is likewise listed in the recapitulative statement. How value added tax works in everyday practice is summed up in the piece on how VAT works in Czechia.

Outside the EU the situation is different again. The export of goods to a third country is exempt from VAT, but you must be able to prove that the goods actually left the Union's territory (through customs documents). Services supplied to a customer outside the EU are usually not subject to Czech VAT either, because the place of supply is with the customer; the recapitulative statement does not apply to supplies outside the Union.

Conclusion

Invoicing abroad rests on a single question — where is the place of supply and who accounts for the tax. For services to an EU company the reverse charge applies, for goods the exemption with the right to deduct, and outside the Union the export rules. And beware: even a non-payer can become an identified person with a single foreign invoice. Once these principles are in order — and order in your documents is reinforced by a credible registered seat such as RyeBase, a curated house for thirty companies in central Prague — invoicing across the border becomes entirely routine.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to put Czech VAT on an invoice to the EU?

For services supplied to a company in another EU country, generally no — the place of supply is with the customer and they account for the tax under the reverse charge. On the invoice you state both your and their VAT ID, the amount without tax and the note that the customer will account for the tax. Verify the customer's VAT ID in advance in the VIES system.

I am not a VAT payer — does anything apply to me when invoicing abroad?

Yes. If you supply a service to a company in another EU country, you become an identified person and must register within 15 days. You do not pay Czech VAT on that invoice and remain a non-payer domestically, but you file a recapitulative statement. The same applies when you receive a service from abroad or acquire goods from the EU worth more than CZK 326,000 a year.

Which currency should I invoice in when billing abroad?

You may issue the invoice in a foreign currency, for example in euros or dollars — the currency is not restricted. If the invoice includes Czech VAT, its amount must also be shown in Czech koruna, converted at the Czech National Bank or ECB rate on the day the obligation to declare the tax arises. For exempt supplies or those under the reverse charge, Czech VAT is not converted.