Hurry up to issue a VAT refund for expenses in other EU countries

In a cross-border environment, many entrepreneurs buy products, materials or pay for contractors in other EU countries.

VAT on these foreign transactions cannot be refunded through a regular tax return in the Netherlands. To get VAT paid in the EU countries in 2019, you need to make an additional request to the tax office for its refund. Moreover, this must be done before September 30, 2020. This deadline is strictly enforced in most countries and if it is exceeded there is a chance that a refund will be refused.

Terms

To get a VAT refund, you need to meet several conditions:

• your company is based in the Netherlands;
• your company has no VAT arrears in the country in which VAT is refundable (in this case, VAT must be declared in the respective country, and thus VAT can be refunded);
• you have used the goods or services for a VAT-liable activity;
• the VAT paid must be deducted in the respective country, otherwise there will be no refund;
• it is important that the invoices are correct and comply with the invoice requirements of the country in question (these invoice requirements may differ from those applicable in the Netherlands);
• The VAT refundable is at least € 50 if the request is for the whole year 2019; for a shorter period (at least three months), the VAT refundable must be at least € 400.

What about Great Britain?

The transitional period for the country's exit from the EU will be in effect until December 31, 2020, during which all EU rules and laws will apply to the United Kingdom. UK VAT on VAT invoices for 2020 can be requested through the tax authorities until 31 March 2021 at 23:00.

And then?

After this date, entrepreneurs must report to the UK tax authorities. For other EU countries, the deadline for applying for a refund remains September 31, 2021.

If you need to file a VAT refund request from other EU countries (and, for now, the UK), we are ready to help you 

However, keep in mind that the service is not simple and requires additional registration, it will not work out at the last moment, and the processing of the application in the tax authorities may take another four weeks.