How B2B Reverse Charge Works in Belarus
Updated 8 days ago
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When you sell SaaS from outside Belarus to a Belarusian business, you charge no Belarus VAT. Your customer accounts for the 20% themselves. Kintsugi applies this treatment automatically. This article explains what you see, and why a 0% line is not a mistake.
Reverse charge shifts the VAT obligation from you to your Belarus business customer
You invoice with no Belarus VAT and note that the buyer self-assesses it
Your customer reports the 20% as output VAT and claims it back as input VAT on the same return
Registering under the non-resident e-VAT scheme does not switch reverse charge off for B2B sales
Belarus has no domestic reverse charge, so a Belarus-established seller charges VAT normally
What Reverse Charge is
Under normal VAT, the seller charges the tax, collects it, and remits it. Under reverse charge, the seller charges nothing and the registered buyer self-assesses the tax on its own return. The liability moves from seller to buyer. The tax itself does not disappear.
Belarus applies reverse charge to cross-border supplies where the place of supply is Belarus and the foreign seller is not registered in Belarus for that supply. It covers goods, works, services, and property rights, not services alone.
When it Applies to You
You sell to a Belarus business | You sell to a Belarus consumer | |
|---|---|---|
Who accounts for the VAT | Your customer | You |
What you charge | No Belarus VAT | 20% |
Registration needed | No | Yes, once past EUR 10,000 |
Counts toward your threshold | No | Yes |
What Kintsugi shows | A 0% Belarus line with reverse charge treatment | A 20% Belarus VAT line |
How Kintsugi Decides B2B from B2C
Kintsugi treats a Belarus customer as a business when a valid Belarus tax ID (UNP) is present on the transaction. Without one, the sale is treated as B2C and 20% VAT applies.
The UNP is a nine-digit number, for example 123456789, where the final digit is a check digit.
This means your customer records do real work here. A business customer whose UNP never reaches Kintsugi is charged as a consumer, and that sale also counts toward your registration threshold.
Cases where reverse charge stays on, and where it stops
Situation | Does reverse charge still apply to your B2B sales? |
|---|---|
You are not registered in Belarus at all | Yes. Your business customer self-assesses |
You are registered under the non-resident e-VAT scheme | Yes. That scheme covers B2C only |
You are registered for distance selling of goods | Yes, for your B2B sales |
You open a branch or permanent establishment in Belarus | No. You charge VAT directly on that establishment's activities |
Both you and your customer are established in Belarus | No. Belarus has no domestic reverse charge, so you charge 20% |
What Kintsugi Does Automatically vs. What You Do
Kintsugi handles:
Applying reverse charge treatment to qualifying Belarus B2B SaaS sales
Charging 20% on Belarus B2C SaaS sales
Excluding reverse-charged sales from your EUR 10,000 threshold count
Reflecting the treatment in your Belarus reporting
You handle:
Capturing your Belarus business customers' UNP in the system that feeds Kintsugi
Adding the reverse charge note to your invoice template, stating that the buyer self-assesses the VAT
Your own position as a buyer of foreign services, if your business is Belarus-established and self-assessing VAT on purchases
Entering input VAT in Kintsugi, because Kintsugi does not calculate input tax credit
What This Does Not Cover
Belarus self-invoicing. A Belarus-registered buyer is required to issue a self-invoice for reverse-charged purchases. Kintsugi does not generate Belarusian self-invoices.
Belarus electronic invoicing (ESCHF). Mandatory for standard domestic VAT payers, not required for non-resident e-VAT payers, and not produced by Kintsugi.
Return box mapping. Where reverse charge appears on the Belarusian return is handled during filing preparation, not something you configure.
Input tax credit calculation. Out of scope for the Kintsugi engine in every country.
Verifying that a UNP is genuine. Kintsugi checks the format. Confirming that the customer is the registered holder of that number stays with you.
This article is general information about how Kintsugi works, not tax advice for your specific situation.
FAQs
Q: Why does my Belarus B2B invoice show 0%?
A: Because the VAT is your customer's to account for. The rate is still 20%, applied by the buyer under reverse charge.
Q: Do I need to register in Belarus to use reverse charge?
A: No. Reverse charge applies whether or not you are registered, and B2B-only sellers generally have no Belarus registration obligation.
Q: I registered for Belarus e-VAT. Should I start charging my business customers VAT?
A: No. The non-resident e-VAT scheme covers B2C sales only. Your B2B sales stay under reverse charge.
Q: What if my customer refuses to provide a UNP?
A: Then the sale is treated as B2C, 20% VAT applies, and it counts toward your registration threshold.
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