A foreign entity can appoint a tax representative in the import country to represent their business with the Tax and Customs Administrations.

A foreign entity can appoint a tax representative in the import country to represent their business with the Tax and Customs Administrations. If you do engage a tax representative then generally you will not be obliged to register yourself as a taxpayer for VAT purposes. There are two types of fiscal representation, General and limited. In very few EU member states (NL is an example) Customs forwarding agents sometimes act as limited fiscal representatives. The (limited) fiscal representative can take care of completing VAT returns and can (where applicable) apply the reverse-charge mechanism on import or postponed VAT accounting.

Other resources:

• What is limited fiscal representation?
• What Information Do I Need For New EU Shipments?