=========
VAT units
=========

.. important::
   This is only applicable to multi-company environments.

A **VAT unit** is a group of VAT-taxable enterprises that are legally independent of each other but
are closely linked financially, organizationally, and economically and therefore considered the same
VAT-taxable enterprise. **VAT units** are not mandatory, but if created, constituent companies of
the unit must belong to the same **country**, use the same **currency**, and one company must be
designated as the **representative** company of the **VAT unit**. **VAT units** receive a specific
**tax ID** intended only for **tax returns**. **Constituent** companies keep their **tax ID** used
for **commercial purposes**.

.. example::
   Enterprise **A** owes €300.000,00 of VAT taxes and enterprise **B** can recover €280.000,00 of
   VAT taxes. They form up as a **VAT unit** so that the two amounts balance out and must conjointly
   only pay €20.000,00 of VAT taxes.

Configuration
=============

To configure a **VAT unit**, go to :menuselection:`Settings --> General Settings`, scroll down to
the :guilabel:`Companies` section, and click :guilabel:`Manage Companies`. Select the company to
serve the **representative** role, and in the :guilabel:`General Information` tab, fill in the
mandatory fields for the .XML export when exporting the **tax report**: :guilabel:`Company Name`,
:guilabel:`Address`, :guilabel:`VAT`, :guilabel:`Currency`, :guilabel:`Phone`, and
:guilabel:`Email`.

.. image:: vat_units/general.png
   :align: center
   :alt: General information tab

Then, click on the :guilabel:`VAT Units` tab, :guilabel:`Add a line`, and either select an existing
**VAT unit**, or create a new one. Enter a **name** for the unit, :guilabel:`Country` of the
constituent companies and tax report, the :guilabel:`Companies`, the :guilabel:`Main Company` that
serves the **representative** role, and the :guilabel:`Tax ID` of the **VAT unit**.

.. image:: vat_units/vat-unit.png
   :align: center
   :alt: VAT units tab

Fiscal position
---------------

As transactions between constituents of the same **VAT unit** are not subject to VAT, it is possible
to create a :doc:`tax mapping (fiscal position) <../taxes/fiscal_positions>` to avoid the
application of VAT on inter-constituent transactions.

Be sure a constituent company has been selected before, then go to :menuselection:`Accounting -->
Configuration --> Fiscal Positions`, and :guilabel:`Create` a new **fiscal position**. Click the
:guilabel:`Tax Mapping` tab, select the :guilabel:`Tax on Product` usually applied for
**non-constituent** transactions, and in :guilabel:`Tax to Apply`, select the 0% tax to apply for
**constituent** transactions.

Do the same for the :guilabel:`Account Mapping` tab if required, and repeat this process for
**each** constituent company on your database.

.. Example::
   Depending on your :doc:`localization package </applications/finance/fiscal_localizations>`, taxes
   may vary from the screenshot displayed.

   .. image:: vat_units/fiscal-positions.png
      :align: center
      :alt: Tax mapping of fiscal position for VAT unit

Then, assign the fiscal position by opening the **Contacts** app. Search for a **constituent**
company, and open the contact's **card**. Click the :guilabel:`Sales & Purchase` tab, and in the
:guilabel:`Fiscal Position` field, input the **fiscal position** created for the **VAT unit**.
Repeat the process for each **constituent** company card form, on each company database.

.. seealso::
   :doc:`../taxes/fiscal_positions`.

Tax report
==========

The **representative** company can access the aggregated tax report of the **VAT unit** by going to
:menuselection:`Accounting --> Reporting --> Tax Report`, and selecting the **VAT unit** in
:guilabel:`Tax Unit`. This report contains the aggregated transactions of all **constituents** and
the .XML export contains the name and VAT number of the **main** company.

.. image:: vat_units/report.png
   :align: center
   :alt: VAT unit tax report