Due to Directive 2008/09 / EC dated February 12, 2008, companies that have paid input VAT in one of the EU countries in 2021 can apply for a refund. To do this, an application for it by the end of September 2022 must be submitted.
If a foreign trader carries out a transaction in a Member State without being VAT registered in that country, it is not possible to deduct input VAT. One of the basic principles of VAT is its neutrality, so when the entrepreneur is unable to deduct the input VAT, this tax becomes a kind of cost. In order to avoid such situations, the regulations provide for the possibility of applying for a VAT refund by submitting an additional application.
Companies from Member States and from third countries can apply for a VAT refund:
- EU countries – natural persons, legal persons and entities without legal personality who did not have a registered office or a permanent place of business or residence in the territory of Poland in the period in which they are applying for the refund, but having their seat in the territory of another EU Member State.
- third
countries – natural persons, legal persons and entities without legal
personality who did not have a registered office or a permanent place of
business or residence in the territory of application country, and foreign
entities not having a registered office in the territory of another Member
State, provided that the following requirements are met:
- no sales taxed in the territory of the country in the period of applying for a refund and no registration as a VAT taxpayer in the country from which the refund is claimed;
- not being established in an EU Member State from which the refund is claimed.
Procedure for countries based in the EU
In order to submit an application for a VAT refund by companies from EU countries, they will be able to fill in the online form published on government websites in the country of residence, which, after verification, will be redirected to the office in the appropriate country.
The deadline for submitting applications expires 9 months after the end of the calendar year, i.e. by 30 September at the latest.
Business units can apply for a VAT refund for a period ranging from 3-12 months or less than 3 months. Therefore, the minimum amount for which enterprises can apply has been established and these are, respectively:
- EUR 50 if the application concerns a period of less than 3 months
- EUR 400 if the application is over 3 months but not longer than 12 months.
Procedure for countries based outside the EU
These regulations have not been unified, therefore they may differ depending on the country in which the company wants to apply for VAT refund. The deadlines for submitting the application may fall at the end of June and the end of September after the end of the year for which the company is applying for the refund.
ASB supports clients in recovering VAT in 4 Member States – Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic. If you willing to recover VAT in one of the EU countries, please contact our experts:
Anna Szafraniec
CEE VAT Compliance Director
E: aszafraniec@asbgroup.eu
Mónika Marczin
Managing Director
E: mmarczin@asbgroup.eu
Zuzana Kolarova
Managing Director
E: zkolarova@asbgroup.eu
Štěpán Hrubý
Tax Manager
E: shruby@asbgroup.eu
Elżbieta Stefaniak
Senior VAT Consultant
E: estefaniak@asbgroup.eu
