'Reverse Charge Mechanism'.
See http://www.nl.pwcglobal.com/extweb/Bn/Taxnews.nsf/Public/EY2...

http://www.glscs.com/archives/9.00.opinion.htm?adcode=30
A second challenge was the VAT itself. Unlike duties with a single rate throughout the EU, the VAT rates vary from one country to another. Until the VAT also is put onto a single rate basis, issues will arise, such as which VAT should be applied? In the above case, should the Belgians collect VAT at the rate prevailing in Belgium or in Finland? The solution has been to treat duties, deferred and collected at a single customs clearance, differently than VAT, which is deferred but still collected by each member of the EU.

To understand the concept of the virtual bonded warehouse, start with the legal fiction called a bonded warehouse. In its simplest form, it’s a physical area deemed to be outside the customs territory and under customs control. Duties and VAT are deferred while the goods are in the bonded warehouse. If they are re-exported directly, then the duties are eliminated (a far more efficient process than a duty drawback program). In the EU, as in the United States, there are a variety of bonded warehouses, some with specialized uses. The EU has a type that goes one better than what the U.S. can offer. The “E-type” warehouse allows for the same duty deferral/elimination play but without the confines of a discrete physical area. It is the company’s own inventory control system that is bonded.