If you sell to non-registered customers in EU countries watch out for the distance selling rules.
Basically:
• Each EU country has the option to choose one of two distance selling limits – 35,000 or 100,000 Euros. If this annual limit is exceeded on a calendar year basis by a business making sales to unregistered customers in that country, it must register for VAT in that country
• Examples of countries that have adopted the 35,000 Euros limit are Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Sweden
• Examples of countries that have adopted the higher threshold are Austria, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands and the UK (the UK limit is £70,000 as we are not in the Euro)
It is worth stressing that the turnover levels are those for the current calendar year, not tax year or trading year (unless of course your year end is 31 December).
VAT rates
If you presently sell to unregistered customers in say Ireland you will have charged VAT at 15% in the usual way. If your calendar year turnover to Ireland did exceed 35,000 Euros you would need register in Ireland and account for VAT at 21.5%. If you were unable to increase your prices to reflect the VAT increase your profitability will suffer!
If you feel that you may be affected by these rules do call as you need to consider both the registration rules and penalties of each country.