This fact sheet is also available in PDF format.
Businesses may deduct the VAT they pay, to the extent that they supply VAT-taxable services (and meet the other conditions for VAT deduction).
You may only deduct Dutch VAT on your Dutch VAT return. How do you claim back the VAT you have paid as a business owner abroad?
Foreign VAT
We are talking about the VAT you pay to a trader established in another EU Member State, which that trader then pays to the tax authorities in the country where they are established.
Example
You’re driving your lorry all over Europe and decide to fill up in Germany. The operator of the German petrol station will then charge you German MehrwertSteuer (VAT) and pay this tax to the German tax authorities. You cannot claim a refund of this foreign tax on your Dutch VAT return. However, you may be able to submit a claim to the German tax authorities.
Within the EU
Within the EU, many goods and services are already exempt from VAT within the business supply chain through the application of:
- deferral arrangements and;
- the system of intra-Community transactions.
The VAT paid in another Member State and eligible for a refund therefore relates to:
- services supplied for VAT purposes in the Member State concerned;
- goods where it is not immediately clear that they will be transported to the Netherlands.
When claiming back VAT paid by a business in another EU Member State, a distinction must be made between businesses that are registered for VAT in that Member State and those that are not.
Registered in another EU Member State
If you are registered as a VAT-registered business in the EU Member State where you paid the VAT, you must claim a refund of that VAT via the VAT returns you submit in that Member State. (PLEASE NOTE: this does not apply if you declare VAT in the Netherlands using a “one-stop-shop” return. Such a system is being introduced, amongst other things, as part of the new VAT rules for e-commerce)
If you are not registered in the other EU Member State, but should be, your application for a VAT refund will be refused. You will then need to register.
No registration in the other EU Member State
In that case, you may claim a VAT refund in the relevant EU Member State. You must submit your claim via an online portal provided for this purpose by the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration: https://eubtw.belastingdienst.nl/netp/. You must submit a separate application for each Member State. This cannot be done on paper.
You will need a separate username and password for this request. Please ensure you have activated them in good time. You can apply for them here: https://www.belastingdienst.nl/rekenhulpen/aanvraag_inlog_eubtw/.
REMEMBER: if, in the Netherlands, you carry out only VAT-exempt transactions or are exempt from administrative obligations, you cannot claim a VAT refund in other EU Member States.
Time limits and thresholds
You can submit your application for a refund of VAT paid in another EU Member State:
- at the end of a calendar year (the VAT to be reclaimed must then amount to €50 or more);
- during the calendar year, in which case:
- the request covers a period of at least three consecutive months and;
- the VAT to be refunded amounts to €400 or more.
You must have submitted your request before 1 October of the year following the year to which it relates. Your claim for foreign VAT paid in 2019 must therefore by 30 September 2020 at the latest have been submitted.
Foreign affairs are being finalised
The Dutch Tax and Customs Administration carries out a number of checks and forwards your request electronically to the tax authorities of the Member State to which you are submitting the request.
Your application will be processed there. You will receive a decision from the country where you paid the foreign VAT. If your application is (partially) approved, the VAT due to you will then be paid out to you within 10 days.
You will be notified within 4 months of submitting your request. If further information is required to process your request, the processing period will be extended to a maximum of 8 months. You may lodge an appeal against a decision that is (partially) negative.
Outside the EU
If you pay VAT in a country outside the European Union (EU), you will need to check that country’s regulations to see whether you are entitled to a VAT refund. These rules vary from country to country. You often need to submit your refund application as soon as you leave the country in question.
Sometimes, as a private individual, you can also claim back VAT. As VAT is intended to tax consumption, this does not usually apply to services purchased whilst you are abroad. However, it often does apply to goods that you bring back with you.
If you are bringing goods into the EU from a country outside the EU, you are liable for import VAT when you bring those goods into the EU. You must declare this yourself upon your return to the Netherlands. You do this at customs (businesses with a licence can transfer the import VAT to their domestic VAT return). Import VAT is, of course, not payable if you are eligible for an exemption.
The purpose of this note is to outline a scheme. For the sake of readability, matters have therefore been simplified. VWG is therefore not liable for the consequences of actions taken or not taken as a result of this memorandum.