When a company wishes to establish itself in an EU member state, it has the choice between the tax representative and the tax agent if it’s established in an EU Member State. For companies established outside the EU, only the tax representative can handle their administrative formalities related to VAT.<\/p>\n
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The main difference between the tax representative and the tax agent is the responsibility to which they are linked. The agent acts only under the responsibility of his principal. He can not, in contrast to the tax representative, be designated as a pecuniary person. The principal company remains the only person liable for the tax.<\/p>\n
An enterprise established in a Member State of the European Union may, if it so desires, appoint a tax agent. If it carries out a transaction in another Member State, the tax agent will then be in charge of carrying out all or part of the declaratory and payment formalities.<\/p>\n
European Directive 2006\/112 \/ EC provides for the obligation for companies not established in the European Union, carrying out taxable transactions in a Member State, to appoint a tax representative.
\nThe appointment of a tax representative is mandatory when the company has to fulfill, in a Member State of the European Union, certain reporting obligations or when it is liable for VAT.
\nAfter registering the foreign company, the tax representative must fulfill his accounting, tax and reporting obligations. It is the guarantor of tax compliance and accounting of the foreign taxable person. He is therefore liable in case of non-compliance with these obligations and the non-compliance of the declared transactions (including those of which he was not aware).
\nHowever, the obligation to appoint a tax representative is not automatic in all European Union countries.<\/p>\n