If you run a business in the UK and are registered for VAT in the UK, you can claim a refund of VAT incurred in an EU country. When are you entitled to use the EU VAT refund system and what formalities do you need to complete?
VAT refund rules after Brexit
You can claim a refund of VAT incurred in an EU Member State from 1 January 2021 or later. The last date for claiming a refund for an earlier period is 31 March 2021.
Despite the UK leaving the EU, UK businesses can still claim a refund of VAT incurred in an EU country. However, they must now follow the procedure for non-EU businesses, which may vary depending on the Member State.
If your company is registered for VAT in the UK, you may also need to request a certificate from HMRC confirming that you are trading in the UK.
Rules for submitting a VAT refund claim for VAT incurred in an EU country
You submit your VAT refund claim for VAT incurred in an EU country online. There is no need to send invoices or other paper documents. However, in some Member States it may be necessary to scan invoices for amounts above a certain value.
Normally, you will not have to do this for documents confirming purchases or imports of less than €1,000. For fuel purchases, the threshold is €250. It is best to check the specific requirements on the website of the country you are applying to.
Remember to keep all original invoices and other documents relating to your application, just in case. The information they contain will be useful when completing the application. In addition, some EU countries may require access to the original documents in order to verify the refund claim.
Attaching scanned invoices to a VAT refund claim – what do you need to remember?
You cannot attach documents larger than 5 MB to the application. If the attachments are too large, you will need to delete some of them before sending. You can also attach documents in a zip file.
All invoices included in the application for a VAT refund incurred in an EU country (EU VAT refund claims) must be expressed in the currency of the Member State from which you are claiming the refund. Otherwise, the Member State may reject the claim.
This means, for example, that if you are applying in an EU country where the euro is not the official currency and your invoices are in euros, you will need to convert the amounts into the currency of that country. In such cases, use the European Central Bank (ECB) exchange rate on the date of the invoice.
Also remember that if an application is rejected by a Member State because it is in the wrong currency, it must be corrected and resubmitted by 30 September. Otherwise, the Member State may refuse to accept it.
