Refund of Foreign VAT for EU Businesses (Directive 2008/9/EC)
European businesses are entitled to a refund of VAT paid in Member States where they are not established. This refund is, however, subject to specific conditions and a harmonised electronic procedure across the whole Union, often still referred to as the "8th Directive" procedure.
1. Conditions for a Refund
- No VAT registration required: during the period covered by the claim, the business must not have carried out any transaction requiring it to register for VAT in that Member State.
- Correct invoicing: the VAT must have been properly invoiced by the supplier or service provider.
- Right to deduct: the VAT must relate to purchases of goods or services used for transactions giving a right to deduction.
- No excluded expenses: the VAT must not relate to expenses for which deduction is excluded under the rules of the Member State where it was paid.
2. One Portal: Your Own Country's
- Electronic filing: each Member State has set up its own refund portal.
- Country of establishment: the business files all its claims on the portal of its country of establishment, whichever Member State the VAT was paid in.
- Intermediary role: the Member State of establishment forwards the claims to the Member States concerned.
- Processing: the tax authority of the country where the VAT was paid reviews the claim and decides on the refund.
The Procedure at a Glance
The rules for filing refund claims under Directive 2008/9/EC are the same in every EU Member State. However, the expenses eligible for a refund vary from country to country, and some Member States accept claims below the minimum amounts set by the Directive.
| Item | Applicable rule |
|---|---|
| Period covered by a claim | 1 calendar year maximum, 3 months minimum |
| Minimum amount of refundable VAT | €400 for a period of 3 months to under 1 year; €50 for a full calendar year (or the last months of the year) |
| Filing deadline | 30 September of the year following the refund period |
| Processing time | 4 months maximum (extended to 6 or even 8 months if additional information is requested) |
| Supporting documents | Copies of invoices and import documents showing the VAT |
| Eligible expenses | Vary by country (each Member State's own deduction exclusions apply) |
Filing Does Not Guarantee a Refund
The portal is only a means of transmitting the claim. If additional information is needed, the authority of the country concerned sends its requests in its official language, and the business has a set deadline to respond.
It is therefore essential to follow each claim closely until the refund is actually paid.
Worked Example
Take a French company that paid VAT in Spain and Italy in 2025, without carrying out any transaction there requiring VAT registration.
To recover the Spanish and Italian VAT, the French company must log in to the French tax authority's electronic portal by 30 September 2026 and complete two separate refund claims: one for Spain and one for Italy. These claims are then forwarded to the tax authorities of each country for review.
If additional information is needed (which is common for a first claim), the tax authorities send their requests to the company electronically, in their own language. The company then has a set period to reply in the language of the country concerned.
Source: Council Directive 2008/9/EC of 12 February 2008 (EUR-Lex)
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