(no need to incur accountant's fees);
True, you could follow the advice on here, and get it wrong. You could follow the advice given to you by HMRC and also get it wrong because you overlooked to explain a vital element of the transaction. If you cant afford your accontant's fees so be it, but given you were referring to a business, and a business which I guess almost certainly will have an accountant, I will stay with my original advice. It is a very simple issue but as Whirls demonstrates it is also very easy to get confused over when and whether an Intrastat return is necessary. Moreover you increase your exposure to an audit significantly the moment you make an Intrastat return for the first time, and then who are you going to ask how to complete the return? PPRuNe is great, but sometimes it is worth getting good professional advice - but of course it is up to you.
I will however give you one peice of general advice. If you resort to relying on the advice of HMRC make sure you make a note of the reference number they give you, and call back after to make sure their case notes agree with yours.
