Sell goods to an overseas business (NI)

Overview for businesses in Northern Ireland

When you sell goods to a VAT registered business in a different country, the VAT is zero rated. You still need to make a customs declaration if the country is outside of the EU.

Before you start, make sure you have an Economic Operators Registration and Identification (EORI) number starting with XI.

HMRC guide to exporting goods from UK (opens in new tab)

1. Go to Sales, Sales Invoices, and select New Invoice.
2. In the Customer field, select your overseas customer from the list, or type the customer name. If the customer is not a saved contact, select Add a customer to create a record for them.
    TIP: Make sure each customer has the correct country set on their address and a VAT registration number where applicable. 
3. On the first invoice line, select a product from the list, or start typing its name to find it. If the product is not a saved item, enter a description for the item or select Create item to create a record for it.
4. In EU Goods/Services select Goods (and related services). The VAT rate will be zero-rated and cannot be edited.
   Repeat on a new line for as many items as you need to add to your invoice.
5. Select Save.

The VAT Return

When the VAT scheme is on a Standard or lower rate scheme Sales of goods are reported in Box 6 - total value of sales and all other outputs excluding any VAT and Box 8 - total value of dispatches of goods and related costs (excluding VAT) from Northern Ireland to EU Member States.

The VAT on sales is zero-rated so there is no VAT value recorded on the return.

If the business uses the flat rate VAT scheme, it will affect Box 1 - VAT due in this period on sales and other outputs (depending on the flat rate percentage) and Box 6 – the total value of sales and all other outputs excluding any VAT.

Invoicing overseas from Northern Ireland