How to Buy TCG Cards with Proper EU VAT Invoices

If you run a game store or resell cards, every purchase needs a document your accountant can work with — and whether you can deduct input VAT depends entirely on what kind of document you receive and under which VAT scheme the sale was made. Much of the TCG singles market runs through consumer-oriented platforms and private deals, where a proper VAT invoice is the exception rather than the rule. Citadel TCG is built to make this transparent before you commit: every seller passes Stripe identity verification, and every shop is labeled as a private or professional seller, a distinction EU law requires marketplaces to display. Professional sellers also owe consumers the 14-day EU right of withdrawal, while private sellers do not — so the label matters for buyer protection as well as for your bookkeeping. Knowing the seller's status up front tells you what document the order will produce.

Citadel generates the sale document for every completed order automatically, in the seller's name and on the seller's behalf — a standard EU invoicing mandate permitted by Article 220 of Council Directive 2006/112/EC and §72 of the Slovak VAT Act. The document type follows the seller's declared tax status: private individuals produce a proof-of-sale document (not a VAT invoice); professional sellers who are not VAT payers produce an invoice without VAT, marked "Seller is not a VAT payer"; and VAT-registered sellers produce a VAT invoice with the applicable scheme applied per line — standard rate, cross-border B2B reverse charge, or the second-hand margin scheme where its conditions are met. Each shop has its own document numbering series, and the billing details you enter at checkout are used on all invoices. If a generated document is incorrect, support issues a correction. Sellers remain responsible for the accuracy of their declared tax status.

At checkout you can mark the purchase as a business purchase and enter your company name and VAT ID (a company name is required for a business purchase). The VAT ID is verified against VIES, the EU's VAT information exchange system, and once verified it is stored in your billing profile and used on all invoices. From then on, eligible cross-border purchases from VAT-registered sellers are invoiced under the reverse charge: the invoice shows 0% VAT, item prices are shown as net, and you account for VAT in your own country under your normal rules. Checkout states this explicitly — "Reverse charge — VAT 0% (business buyer with VAT ID). Item prices shown as net." Reverse charge applies per line, so it covers standard-rated items from VAT-registered sellers; margin-scheme lines and purchases from private sellers follow their own treatment, described below. If VIES cannot verify the number, it is not saved and normal consumer pricing applies.

Listing prices on Citadel are shown gross — they include all applicable taxes, as EU consumer pricing rules require. When a consumer in another EU country buys standard-rated items from a VAT-registered seller, the cross-border B2C sale is handled under the EU One-Stop-Shop (OSS) regime, and the checkout summary shows the VAT included in the total. For a business buyer, the practical consequence is that the gross price you see while browsing is not necessarily your cost: once your VAT ID is VIES-verified, eligible items are re-shown as net prices with a reverse-charge note at checkout. All prices are listed in euros — informed by live European market prices — with automatic conversion to US dollars and British pounds for reference. When comparing sourcing options, compare net prices where reverse charge applies, and see our TCG card prices guide for how pricing works across the platform.

No — and this is worth being clear about. A private seller is not a VAT payer, so a purchase from one produces a proof-of-sale document, not a VAT invoice: no VAT is shown and there is no input VAT to deduct. The same deduction limit applies to margin-scheme lines from VAT-registered sellers, because margin-scheme items do not show VAT separately, as the law requires. Private-seller listings can still be worthwhile stock — the proof-of-sale document records the purchase for your accounting, and if you later resell those cards as a business, the second-hand margin scheme may be relevant on your side; that is a question for your tax advisor. Sellers are labeled throughout the marketplace, so you can filter your sourcing decisions accordingly. For the general buying flow, see our guide to buying TCG singles online.

Disclaimer: this page is general information about how Citadel TCG generates sale documents — it is not tax or legal advice. VAT treatment depends on your business's circumstances and country; confirm specifics with your tax advisor. Citadel TCG is operated by Castellum - Forge s.r.o., Nitra, Slovakia.