Reclaiming VAT paid in another EU country

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EU businesses normally reclaim VAT paid in another member state through their home tax authority, with claims due by 30 September of the following calendar year. Non-EU businesses apply to the country that charged the VAT, while eligible non-EU travellers claim on goods exported in personal luggage.

The route depends on where the claimant is established and whether the purchase was business spending or personal shopping. Refund rules also set minimum claim amounts, spending restrictions and document requirements.

Claimant	Where to apply	Main deadline or limit
EU-established business	Online through its home tax authority	30 September in the following calendar year
EU business, shorter claim period	Home tax authority	At least €400 where the period is three months or longer, but less than a calendar year
EU business, annual claim	Home tax authority	At least €50 for a full year or remaining part of a year
Non-EU business	Authority in the country that charged VAT	Deadlines and minimums vary by member state
Non-EU traveller	Retailer or its intermediary after customs validation	Show goods and refund papers when leaving the EU

How EU business refunds work

An EU-established business uses the EU VAT refund system when it has paid VAT in another member state. The application goes online to the tax authority where the business is established, rather than directly to the country where it made the purchase.

The home authority checks the claimant’s identity, VAT number and whether the request can proceed. It then sends the claim to the authority in the member state that collected the VAT.

Council Directive 2008/9/EC of 12 February 2008 and Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 79/2012 set the EU business refund framework. A claim for a refund period in one calendar year must reach the home authority by 30 September of the next calendar year.

A claim covering at least three months but less than a full calendar year must reach €400. A claim for a full calendar year, or the final part of one, can be as low as €50.

The refunding authority has four months from receipt to tell the applicant its decision. If it seeks further additional information after an earlier request, the decision period may extend to eight months.

After approval, the refunding authority has 10 working days from the end of its decision period to make payment. Late payment by the tax authority brings interest for the claimant.

The claim route is not available where the business was established in the refunding country during the refund period. It also does not apply where it supplied goods or services there, apart from listed exceptions such as exempt transport.

The home authority will not pass on a request from a business whose only supplies are exempt and carry no right of deduction. It will also reject a claimant using the special scheme for small businesses or the flat-rate scheme for farmers.

Not every invoice creates refundable VAT. Some member states exclude categories including restaurant spending, entertainment, cars and fuel.

The European Commission publishes country Vademecums covering limits on VAT deduction in each member state. The home authority verifies the claimant’s VAT identification number, and businesses can check an EU VAT number before filing.

Working out the claim amount

A refund request is the total VAT from eligible invoices, measured against the minimum for the chosen claim period. The VAT amount depends on whether the invoice price is shown before or after VAT.

For example, assume an eligible purchase has a net price of €1,000 and VAT is charged at 20 per cent. VAT is €1,000 × 20 ÷ 100, which equals €200, and the VAT-inclusive price is €1,000 × 1.20, which equals €1,200.

If a receipt already shows a gross price of €1,200 at 20 per cent VAT, the VAT inside it is €1,200 × 20 ÷ 120. That produces €200.

Assume eligible VAT from several invoices totals €430 for a three-month claim period. The total is €30 more than the €400 minimum, so it passes that value test.

VAT rates differ between member states and between categories of supply. Businesses can compare national rates through VAT rates in EU member states, but a rate alone does not decide whether a cost is refundable.

What changes for non-EU businesses

A business established outside the EU applies to the authority in the member state where it paid the VAT. The governing framework is Thirteenth Council Directive 86/560/EEC of 17 November 1986, often called the EU 13th Directive process.

Unlike the EU business system, each member state sets its own application period, deadline, receiving authority and minimum amount. The country making the refund also decides eligibility under its own VAT rules.

A member state may deny a refund where the claimant’s home country does not grant equivalent VAT refund rights to businesses from that member state. It may limit qualifying expenses or require the claimant to appoint a tax representative.

For UK businesses unable to use the EU VAT refund system, GOV.UK directs them to the EU 13th Directive process. A UK business can normally seek repayment from the tax authority of the EU country that imposed the VAT.

Some UK claimants may need a Certificate of status. HMRC issues the certificate of status of taxable person (VAT66) to VAT-registered UK businesses to confirm that they trade in the UK.

Germany requires non-EU businesses to file electronically through the BZStOnline-Portal (BOP) of the Bundeszentralamt für Steuern (BZSt). Registration can take weeks or months because access data are sent abroad by post.

Germany gives non-EU businesses six months after the calendar year ends to claim VAT, ending on 30 June of the following year. BZSt says this deadline is not extended.

A German claim normally needs to reach €1,000. The minimum drops to €500 where the period is the calendar year or the final period within that year.

Germany also requires reciprocity and an official business certificate from the claimant’s home state. The Unternehmerbescheinigung remains usable for 12 months after it is issued.

For German claims filed from 1 January 2026, invoices and import documents must be uploaded where the document total exceeds €250. Those uploads prove the input VAT in the claim.

France requires a non-EU business to appoint a représentant fiscal, established there and approved by the French tax administration. Its procédure dite 13ème Directive is electronic, and the deadline is 30 June after the claim year.

France sets a €400 minimum for quarterly claims and €50 for annual claims. Ireland also uses a six-month deadline after the end of the relevant calendar year and requires Form VAT 60OEC with supporting documents.

Ireland asks non-EU businesses for written evidence of economic activity from their competent authority. It also requires confirmation from the claimant’s tax authority that reciprocal arrangements exist.

Northern Ireland and goods

Under the Windsor Framework, EU VAT refund legislation continues to apply to Northern Ireland for goods only. The claimant must be UK VAT-registered, have an establishment in Northern Ireland and be identified as trading under the Windsor Framework.

Northern Ireland businesses send eligible claims to HMRC no later than 30 September in the year following the refund year. Purchases of services, and invoices combining goods and services, use the EU 13th Directive process instead.

For Irish VAT on goods or services, Irish Revenue uses Irish rules for UK traders except those based in Northern Ireland. The purchase type and claimant location decide which route applies.

Tourist VAT refunds

Tourist refunds are for residents of countries outside the EU who buy goods during an EU visit and take them out in personal luggage. EU nationals living outside the EU may also qualify if they can prove their residence outside the EU.

Before departure, customs must see the purchased goods with the refund documents, within three months after purchase. Customs must validate every request digitally or physically before the traveller leaves the EU.

Each country runs its own tourist process and may impose a minimum purchase amount or other conditions. The retailer or an intermediary pays the refund, and either may deduct a fee.

Private shoppers within the EU pay VAT in the country of purchase once. They may take goods home without a border stop or customs declaration when purchases are for personal or family use.

In France, the shopper must be 16 or older, live outside the EU when buying, and spend less than six months in France.

The French seller issues an export sales slip, signed by seller and buyer.

When leaving the EU from France, the traveller must present the goods and stamped slip before checking luggage. PABLO terminals are near customs counters, where the voucher barcode is scanned.

French customs validates the process but does not return the money. The merchant makes the refund, and the customs sheet for the seller must arrive within six months of the sale.

What to do before submitting

For an EU business, choose a claim period that meets the €400 or €50 threshold and submit through the home authority.

For a non-EU business, check the refund country’s deadline, minimum, reciprocity rule and representative requirement. Germany, France and Ireland use different routes and document demands.

Keep invoices, import documents and proof requested by the refund authority. For visitors, obtain the retailer’s paperwork at purchase and arrange customs validation before departure.

Common questions

Can an EU business submit directly to the country that charged VAT?

No. An EU-established business submits online through the tax authority in its home country, which then forwards the claim.

What is the EU business refund deadline?

For a refund period in one year, submit the claim to the home authority by 30 September in the next calendar year.

Can a non-EU business use the same online system?

It applies to the country that charged the VAT under that country’s rules. Deadlines, minimum amounts and document requirements can differ.

Can an EU resident claim tourist VAT back?

Tourist refunds apply to people resident outside the EU. An EU national living outside the EU may qualify if they prove that residence.

Sources

• European Commission: VAT refunds - Taxation and Customs Union
• Your Europe: VAT refunds: claiming online
• Publications Office of the EU: Council Directive 2008/9/EC of 12 February 2008 laying down detailed rules for the refund of value added tax to taxable persons not established in the Member State of refund
• Publications Office of the EU: Thirteenth Council Directive 86/560/EEC of 17 November 1986 (refund of value added tax to taxable persons not established in Community territory)
• GOV.UK: Claim VAT refunds in Northern Ireland or the EU, if you’re established in Northern Ireland or in the EU
• GOV.UK: How to claim a refund of VAT paid in an EU member state
• GOV.UK: Refunds of VAT for UK businesses buying from other EU countries
• GOV.UK: Get confirmation from HMRC that you are trading in the UK
• Irish Revenue: Arrangements for UK VAT registered claimants resulting from the Withdrawal Agreement
• German Federal Central Tax Office: BZSt - Unternehmer Drittstaaten
• French tax administration: Quelle est la procédure pour déposer une demande de remboursement de TVA quand l'entreprise est hors de l'Union européenne ?
• Irish Revenue: Foreign traders established outside the EU paying Irish VAT
• Your Europe: VAT - Value Added Tax
• French customs: Tax exemption in France for tourists - PABLO
• Your Europe: VAT rules and rates: standard, special & reduced rates