In the same way that a business can request a refund of its sales Sales tax, it can request a refund of this tax in the event that it has paid the Sales tax of another country of the European Union. In this case, it is subject to the Sales tax regime applicable in the country in question. As a reminder, in the context of importing foreign goods into country, the company must pay country Sales tax. For the state sales tax calculator this is important.
The refund conditions depend on the country
The 3 conditions for taking advantage of the reimbursement of intra-community Sales tax:
- The company must be subject to Sales tax in country.
- The company must not be identified for tax purposes in the country where it files the Sales tax refund request.
- The company must not have made deliveries of goods or services taxable in the country . Otherwise it must recover its Sales tax from the services of the country in question. This tax is then not considered as intra-community Sales tax.
The conditions concerning the type of expenditure:
In general, the taxable person can claim reimbursement of the amounts of Sales tax which are deductible for local taxable persons. You must therefore ensure that your expenses are effectively deductible depending on the country of your business partner.
Refund is possible for Sales tax on:
- Services rendered or goods delivered within the country by other taxable persons.
- The acquisition of goods imported into the country, when they are necessary for the realization of the economic activity or the services giving right to reduction.
- Thus, a sales representative who goes to another European country for a business trip will pay Sales tax on his train tickets, hotel nights, etc. This tax can be recovered by the company.
- Almost all of the goods and services concerned by the Sales tax refund, taxi, train, plane, fuel, meals, accommodation.
However, there are exceptions, so in Belgium it is not possible to recover Sales tax on catering. Before requesting a refund of Sales tax, make sure that it is refundable on the good in question. You must then consult the legislation of the country where the transaction was carried out.
Please note: in the case of purchases in operation with suppliers abroad, you will probably enter your intra-community Sales tax number and the supplier will issue your invoices excluding tax. In this case, no Sales tax to recover.
- So check if this is entered on the purchase invoice or not
- Always remember to check if Sales tax is mentioned on the invoice.
What are the practical arrangements for being reimbursed for intra-community Sales tax?
You now have the information you need to know if you are entitled to claim a refund of intra-community Sales tax.
So what must be done to obtain a refund of intra-community Sales tax?
The value-added tax recovery procedure is now fully electronic. You must connect to the sales tax administration’s website in order to request a refund and send the necessary supporting documents.