VAT Refund outside EU for companies established outside the EU.
Companies established in a country that is not a member of the European Union can, in certain cases, recover the VAT paid on expenses borne within the EU.
The possibility to recover VAT in these cases is regulated by EU Directive 86/560/EEC, the so-called Thirteenth Directive, which harmonises the way VAT can be refunded by EU member states to businesses from outside the EU.
If you are a transport company established in a third country, you can most probably recover VAT on your diesel or tolls expenses, among others. This depends primarily on your country of establishment and where you supported the costs, as some of the EU countries allow VAT refund to companies established in any country, while some others require a reciprocity agreement with the company’s country of establishment to allow to reclaim a VAT refund outside EU.
VAT country | Extra-EU countries allowed to reclaim |
Austria | All non-EU countries |
Belgium | All non-EU countries |
Bulgaria | Reciprocity – Among others: Macedonia, Moldova, Norway, Serbia, Switzerland and Ukraine |
Croatia | Reciprocity – Among others: Serbia and Switzerland |
Republic of Cyprus | Reciprocity – Among others: Israel and Switzerland |
Czech Republic | Reciprocity – Among others: Switzerland, Macedonia, Norway |
Denmark | All non-EU countries |
Estonia | Reciprocity – Among others: Israel, Norway and Switzerland |
Finland | All non-EU countries |
France | All non-EU countries |
Germany | Reciprocity – Among others: Switzerland, Norway, Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Liechtenstein, San Marino. |
Greece | Reciprocity – Among others: Switzerland, Norway |
Hungary | Reciprocity – Liechtenstein, Norway, Serbia and Switzerland |
Ireland | All non-EU countries |
Italy | Reciprocity – Among others: Israel, Switzerland, Norway |
Latvia | Reciprocity – Iceland, Monaco, Norway and Switzerland |
Lithuania | Reciprocity – Among others: Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Turkey (with certain limitations) |
Luxembourg | All non-EU countries |
Malta | Reciprocity – In practice, all non-EU countries |
Netherlands | All non-EU countries |
Poland | Reciprocity – Among others: Switzerland, Norway, Macedonia |
Portugal | Reciprocity – In practice, case by case |
Romania | Reciprocity – Switzerland, Norway, Turkey (partial reciprocity) and Serbia |
Slovakia | Reciprocity – Switzerland and, in practice, case by case |
Slovenia | Reciprocity – Among others: Switzerland, Norway, Liechtenstein, Israel, Macedonia, Turkey, Serbia, Montenegro, UK |
Spain | Reciprocity – Among others: Norway, Switzerland, UK |
Sweden | All non-EU countries |
Secondly, the eligibility to VAT refund outside EU depends on the type of expenses. Mainly, for the transport sector, VAT can be reimbursed on expenses for fuel, tolls, maintenance and spare parts purchase. Although the rules for eligibility are similar to those applicable to EU-based road hauliers, some EU states can reject the amounts related to some of the expenses if the origin of the business is outside of the European Union. Also, the deadline and minimum amounts to recover VAT in case of a business based outside the EU vary according to the refund country.
VAT country | Deadline | Minimum amount |
Austria | 30th June of the following year | If reference period is less than 1 year: 400 EUR; if 1 year: 50 EUR |
Belgium | 30th September of the following year | If reference period is less than 1 year: 200 EUR; if 1 year: 25 EUR |
Bulgaria | 30th June of the following year | If reference period is less than 1 year: 400 BGN; if 1 year: 50 BGN |
Croatia | 30th June of the following year | If reference period is less than 1 year: 3,100 HRK; if 1 year: 400 HRK |
Republic of Cyprus | 30th September of the following year | If reference period is less than 1 year: 205 EUR; if 1 year: 25 EUR |
Czech Republic | 30th June of the following year | If reference period is less than 1 year: 7,000 CZK; if 1 year: 1,000 CZK |
Denmark | 30th September of the following year | If reference period is less than 1 year: 3,000 DKK; if 1 year: 400 DKK |
Estonia | 30th September of the following year | 1 year reference period: 320 EUR |
Finland | 30th September of the following year | If reference period is less than 1 year: 400 EUR; if 1 year: 50 EUR |
France | 30th June of the following year | If reference period is less than 1 year: 400 EUR; if 1 year: 50 EUR |
Germany | 30th June of the following year | If reference period is less than 1 year: 1,00 EUR; if 1 year: 500 EUR |
Greece | 30th September of the following year | If reference period is less than 1 year: 400 EUR; if 1 year: 50 EUR |
Hungary | 30th September of the following year | If reference period is less than 1 year: 400 EUR; if 1 year: 50 EUR |
Ireland | 30th June of the following year | If reference period is less than 1 year: 400 EUR; if 1 year: 50 EUR |
Italy | 30th September of the following year | If reference period is less than 1 year: 400 EUR; if 1 year: 50 EUR |
Latvia | 30th September of the following year | If reference period is less than 1 year: 400 EUR; if 1 year: 50 EUR |
Lithuania | 30th June of the following year | If reference period is less than 1 year: 400 EUR; if 1 year: 50 EUR |
Luxembourg | 30th June of the following year | 1 year reference period: 250 EUR |
Malta | 30th June of the following year | If reference period is less than 1 year: 200 EUR; if 1 year: 25 EUR |
Netherlands | 30th June of the following year | If reference period is less than 1 year: 400 EUR; if 1 year: 50 EUR |
Poland | 30th June of the following year | If reference period is less than 1 year: 400 EUR; if 1 year: 50 EUR |
Portugal | 30th September of the following year | If reference period is less than 1 year: 400 EUR; if 1 year: 50 EUR |
Romania | 30th September of the following year | If reference period is less than 1 year: 400 EUR; if 1 year: 50 EUR |
Slovakia | 30th June of the following year | If reference period is less than 1 year: 1,000 EUR; if 1 year: 50 EUR |
Slovenia | 30th June of the following year | If reference period is less than 1 year: 400 EUR; if 1 year: 50 EUR |
Spain | 30th September of the following year | If reference period is less than 1 year: 400 EUR; if 1 year: 50 EUR |
Sweden | 30th June of the following year | If reference period is less than 1 year: 4,000 SEK; if 1 year: 400 SEK |
Last but not least, it might be needed, according to the EU country where the refund is claimed, to mandatorily appoint a local proxy to deal with local tax authorities.
Although some EU countries have made efforts in simplifying applications for vat refund outside EU for companies established outside the EU for extra-EU businesses by putting in place online forms instead of the usual paper claims, obtaining a VAT refund remains a complex procedure that requires a bunch of documents, usually legalized, in order to smoothly result into a VAT refund within the usual average 6 months’ time from the date of claiming.
More in general, having a third party filing your claim is highly recommended if businesses are established outside of the EU, due to the different rules and practices of VAT recovery under the so-called 13th Directive.
Find out if you can recovery VAT on transport-related expenses in the EU and improve your company’s liquidity now. Contact us for more information.