Transactions for which VAT deduction is partly precluded
If a business carries out transactions for which VAT deduction is
partly precluded, the input VAT will be refunded subject to the
proportion rules (Vorsteuerschlüssel) defned by the Member
State in which the business is established.
For businesses established outside the EU, the refund may be
applied for directly from the German Federal Central Tax Offce
using the offcially prescribed form or data fle. Businesses need
to apply for the refund within 6 months from the end of the
calendar year in which the claim arose. Originals of pertinent
invoices and import documents are to be fled with the refund
application as evidence for the input VAT amounts claimed.
The refund applied for must be at least € 500. However, to the extent
that input VAT is claimed for part of the calendar year only, the
minimum amount is € 1,000, unless the refund period is the last
period of the calendar year. The applicant must present a certif-
icate issued by the authorities of the country in which the busi-
ness is established which confrms that it is a business within
the meaning of VAT law and possesses a tax reference number.
Such a certifcate according to form Ust 1 TN must cover the
refund period and may not be older than one year. Applications
after June 30, 2016 must generally be fled electronically and no
longer need to be signed by the taxpayer in person.
For businesses established outside the EU, there are restrictions
on the fling of 13th EC Directive claims in Germany. Input VAT
deduction is not possible insofar as the VAT applies to the pur-
chase of fuel. Further, reciprocity is required. A list published by
the German Ministry of Finance states countries with reciprocity
and countries without reciprocity. Nevertheless, for countries
without reciprocity, a 13th EC Directive claim in Germany is
possible in certain situations (such as, where a foreign business
only makes supplies in Germany which are liable to VAT due to
reverse charge, so that such foreign business is not registered
for VAT in Germany).
EU Forecast
euf:ba.18g:100/nws-01