## Documentation Index

Access the complete documentation index at:
https://www.zoho.com/en-de/books/help/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available documentation pages before proceeding.

# VAT in Purchases

VAT is included in both the sales and purchase transactions of your business. There are different methods in which VAT is calculated on purchases, according to the region and the VAT treatment of your vendors. In Zoho Books, the VAT treatment of your vendor is taken into account and the VAT associated with the item is automatically populated.

### Purchases Within Germany

For creating a purchase (Bills, Recurring Bills, Expenses, Purchase Orders, Vendor Credits) transaction for a vendor in Germany,

*   Go to _Purchases_ and select one of the modules.
*   Click the **+New** button in the top right corner of the page.
*   Select the vendor whose VAT treatment is **Home Country**.

![VAT Treatment Home Country](/de-de/books/help/images/vat/vat-in-purchases/home-country.png)

*   Associate relevant VAT rates for your items.
*   After entering the required details, click **Save**.

**Note:** If you’re creating a purchase transaction for a vendor in Germany, you cannot associate other EU country tax rates with the items in that transaction.

### Purchases Outside Germany Within EU

For purchases (Bills, Expenses, Purchase Orders) that are made outside Germany but with other EU countries, the VAT rates depends on the type of items you select.

*   [Create a bill](https://www.zoho.com/en-de/books/help/bills/basic-functions.html#create-bill) with the vendor’s **VAT treatment** as **EU - VAT Registered** or **EU - Non VAT Registered**.
    
*   If you select goods and services in the transaction, they will be automatically eligible for [Acquisition VAT](https://www.zoho.com/uk/books/kb/taxes/acquisition-vat.html).
    

![Acquisition VAT](/de-de/books/help/images/vat/vat-in-purchases/acquisition-vat.png)

*   If you select only services in the transaction, they will be automatically eligible for [Reverse Charge](https://www.zoho.com/uk/books/kb/taxes/reverse-charge.html).

![Reverse Charge](/de-de/books/help/images/vat/vat-in-purchases/reverse-charge.png)

### Purchases Outside EU

When you import goods from vendors who are outside the EU, you might have to pay additional VAT charges. These charges are mostly because of custom duties and related taxes and you cannot include these charges as VAT rates in the bill, expense, or purchase order you’re creating. Such additional charges can be recorded as **Import VAT** in Zoho Books.

To record the import VAT:

*   [Create a bill](https://www.zoho.com/en-de/books/help/bills/basic-functions.html#create-bill) with the vendor’s **VAT treatment** as **Overseas**.
*   In the bill details page, click the **More** dropdown in the top right corner.
*   Select **Record Import VAT**.

![Import VAT](/de-de/books/help/images/vat/vat-in-purchases/import-vat.png)

*   In the next page, enter the bill **Entry Number** and **Port Code**.

**Insight:** A Port Code is a unique code assigned to specific locations, such as seaports, airports, and other inland destinations, used by shipping and freight companies during international transports.

*   Enter the **Date** and the select the **Paid Through** account.
*   Next, enter the **Assessable Value** (Item Quantity x Item Rate) of the goods and their **Custom Duty + Additional Charges**.
*   Select relevant **VAT** rates for all the items selected in your bill.
*   Click **Save**.

![Record Import VAT](/de-de/books/help/images/vat/vat-in-purchases/record-import-vat.png)

The import VAT for the bill you created will be saved.