Depending on where your business is established and where you pay VAT, one of two European Union directives will apply to your VAT refund claim:
Council Directive 2008/9/EC (formerly called the 8th Directive), or
Council Directive 86/560/EEC (also known as the 13th Directive).
If your company is based in an EU Member State but incurred VAT in another Member State, you can claim a refund under the 2008/9/EC rules. This applies when:
you are taxable for VAT in your home Member State but did not register for VAT in the state where VAT was paid, and
you did not carry out taxable supplies of goods or services in the state where the VAT was incurred (with specific exceptions for certain transport services and reverse-charge supplies).
To claim:
use the electronic portal provided by your home Member State’s tax authority, which forwards the claim to the relevant Member State.
submit your claim within 9 months after the calendar year containing the expenses.
provide all required documentation, usually including invoices showing VAT paid.
For businesses based outside the European Union, the 13th Directive (86/560/EEC) sets harmonised minimum rules for VAT refunds. Under this regime:
your company must not be established or VAT-registered in the EU Member State where VAT was incurred during the claim period.
you must not have supplied goods or services there (with similar exceptions as above).
Member States can impose additional conditions, such as:
requiring that the foreign country of establishment offers reciprocal VAT refund rights,
restricting the types of expenses eligible, or
asking you to appoint a fiscal representative.
Each Member State sets its own submission deadlines and documentation requirements for these claims.
Eligibility basics:
Member State rights:
EU countries can:
refuse refunds if there is no reciprocal refund right in your country,
limit which expenses are refundable,
demand a VAT representative.
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