HMRC is to trial a new EU VAT mechanism involving private VAT ruling requests in relation to cross-border VAT disputes.

This means that UK VAT-registered businesses planning cross-border transactions to one or more of the participating member states can make a request to HMRC for a ruling.

The UK is among 13 EU countries taking part in the European Commission's pilot of cross-border rulings (CBRs), which began on 1 June 2013, to allow participating EU member states to arbitrate cross-border VAT transaction disputes between themselves.

HMRC says that if a request is accepted and consultation is specifically requested, the member states will consult on the issue, but there is no guarantee that they will agree on the correct VAT treatment of the situation envisaged. The trial will end on 31 December 2013.

The 13 participating member states are Belgium, Estonia, Spain, France, Cyprus, Lithuania, Latvia, Malta, Hungary, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia and the UK.

More details are available from HMRC