Input tax refund procedure

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Every entrepreneur in Germany is entitled to deduct input tax in accordance with Section 15 (1) sentence 1 UStG , even if he has no registered office or a permanent establishment in Germany and does not perform any services here. The input tax reimbursement procedure offers companies domiciled abroad the option of reimbursing sales tax contributions that are invoiced for services subject to sales tax by domestic companies. In Germany, the input tax refund procedure is regulated in Section 18 (9) UStG and Section 18g UStG. According to Section 5 (1) No. 8 FVG, responsibility lies with the Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt).

Requirements for the input tax refund procedure

All of the provisions on the input tax refund procedure described below refer to the current set of rules, which came into force on January 1, 2010.

  • Entrepreneur based abroad, d. H. has no domicile, no registered office and no management or permanent establishment in Germany. The assessment of residency abroad is based on the point in time at which the relevant service was provided to this entrepreneur.
  • The entrepreneur based abroad may not generate any taxable sales according to § 1 Paragraph 1 No. 1 UStG during the remuneration period.

example

The Spanish freight forwarder S only carried out tax-free cross-border shipments of goods in Germany from January to March. A truck broke down and had to be repaired in a German workshop. S 600 € sales tax were billed for this.

S can have the invoiced sales tax refunded by the Federal Central Tax Office using the input tax refund procedure.

Input tax reimbursement to domestic companies from foreign countries

In the case of input tax refunds to domestic companies from foreign countries, a distinction is made between the rest of the Community (EU countries) and third countries (countries outside the EU).

Input tax reimbursement to domestic entrepreneurs by a country in a third country

When applying for input tax reimbursement in a third country, a company based in Germany may require confirmation of entrepreneurial status, which is issued by the responsible tax office. The condition is that the company is entitled to deduct input tax, i. H. Companies that only generate tax-free sales or are small businesses do not receive a certificate. The confirmation is only valid for one year from the date of issue. The application for input tax refund must be submitted directly to the foreign reimbursement authority. They have their own application forms that are country-specific and usually have to be completed in the local language.

Input tax reimbursement to domestically resident entrepreneurs by a country within the EU

The confirmation of entrepreneurship by the tax office when applying for input tax reimbursement within the EU is not required. This is done automatically by forwarding the application from the BZSt to the EU member state. According to Directive 2008/9 / EC, the application must be submitted to the Federal Central Tax Office using the officially prescribed data record by remote data transmission in accordance with the Tax Data Transmission Ordinance. The calculation of the tax for the reimbursement period must be done independently according to § 18g UStG. A separate application must be submitted for each member state if the entrepreneur submits an application for input tax reimbursement for several member states (BMF of December 3, 2009, BStBl I 2009, 1520, margin no. 34). The following should also be noted:

  • The applicant must be authenticated for electronic submission.
  • The application deadline is a preclusive period and must be submitted by September 30 of the calendar year following the year in which the invoice was issued.
  • The remuneration amount must be at least € 50.
  • An application can be made for a period of at least three months if the remuneration amount is at least € 400.

The following information in accordance with Article 8, Paragraph 1, Letters a to g of Directive 2008/9 / EC and BMF of December 3, 2009, BStBl 2009, I 520, margin no. 36 must be specified in the remuneration application:

  • Member State of Refund
  • Name and full address of the entrepreneur
  • Address for electronic communication
  • Description of the business of the company for which the goods or services to which the application relates were acquired.
  • Remuneration period to which the application relates
  • Declaration by the entrepreneur that during the reimbursement period in the member state of reimbursement he did not effect any deliveries of goods or services, with the exception of certain tax-free transport services for sales for which only the recipient of the service owes the tax, or intra-community acquisition and subsequent delivery i. S. d. § 25b Abs. 2 UStG
  • Sales tax identification number (USt-IdNr.) Or tax number (StNr.) Of the entrepreneur
  • Bank details of the entrepreneur (including IBAN, BIC)

Furthermore, the entrepreneur must provide the following information in the reimbursement application for each member state of the reimbursement and for each invoice or import document:

  • Name and full address of the supplier or service provider
  • VAT identification number of the supplier or service provider or the tax register number assigned to him by the member state for reimbursement, except for an import.
  • Prefix of the member state, except for an import
  • Date and number of the invoice or import document
  • The tax base and tax amount in the currency of the Member State of refund
  • Amount of deductible tax in the currency of the Member State of refund
  • Possibly. a pro rata rate
  • Type of purchased goods and services broken down by code
  • Invoices with a tax base of over € 1,000 must be attached to the entry as electronic copies of the invoices, provided that the respective member state provides for reimbursement. For fuel bills, this must be done from € 250.

The BZSt forwards the applications to the reimbursement member state. This confirms that the VAT ID number given by the entrepreneur. or tax number is correct and that the entrepreneur is authorized to deduct input tax.

Input tax reimbursement procedure for companies domiciled abroad by the BZSt

When applying for input tax refunds for companies based abroad, it is important to know where the company is based. A distinction is made between the rest of the community (EU states) and third countries (states outside the EU).

Entrepreneur is based in an EU country (= remaining community area)

When submitting an application for input tax refund, the following requirements must be observed:

  • The application must be submitted in accordance with the officially prescribed data record by remote data transmission in accordance with the Tax Data Transmission Ordinance. The application must be submitted to the BZSt via specially set up portals in the respective member state.
  • The application must be submitted no later than nine months after the end of the calendar year after the input tax refund claim arose.
  • The entrepreneur is obliged to calculate the remuneration amount.
  • Invoices must be attached electronically as soon as the turnover is more than € 1000. In the case of fuel bills, this limit is already exceeded at € 250.
  • Observe the minimum remuneration amount of at least € 400. There is an exception if the remuneration period is on the one hand the calendar year or on the other hand is the last period of the calendar year. If this occurs, the minimum fee is at least € 50.

The application will be processed at the Federal Central Tax Office within 4 months and 10 days after receipt of the complete documents. The payment of the remuneration amount is also made within this period. If the reimbursement is not made within this period, the Member State of reimbursement will owe the applicant interest on the amount to be reimbursed. (Art. 26 para. 1 RL 2008/9 / EC). The amount of the interest to be paid depends on the rules of the reimbursement member states. The BZSt sends an electronic notification of the input tax refund amounts.

Entrepreneur is based in a country outside the EU (= third country)

When submitting an application for input tax refund, the following requirements must be observed:

  • Use of a form based on the officially prescribed sample (must be completed in German)
  • Possibility of electronic transmission to the BZSt
  • Details of the input tax amounts that are requested. A distinction is made between invoices, tickets ≤ € 150 (payment and sales tax in one sum) and import sales tax documents. Invoices can be labeled with sequential numbers according to cost type. These numbers and the invoice numbers can be summarized together with the gross invoice amounts in special overview tables. In the overview table, all amounts are added up and the sales tax included is calculated from them. This amount is included in the application with a reference to the separate overview table. The procedure for import sales tax documents is the same as for invoices and tickets ≤ 150 €. All separate summary tables must be added to the application.
  • Independent calculation of the remuneration by entrepreneurs, whereby the original invoices must be attached to the application.
  • The application must be submitted no later than six months after the end of the calendar year after the input tax refund claim arose.
  • Observance of a minimum remuneration amount of at least € 1000. There is an exception if the remuneration period is on the one hand the calendar year or on the other hand is the last period of the calendar year. If this occurs, the minimum remuneration amount is at least € 500.
  • The application must be signed by the entrepreneur himself. The entitlement to remuneration can be assigned.
  • The entrepreneur who is based in a third country must provide an official certificate from the tax authority responsible for him, which confirms that he is registered as an entrepreneur under a tax number.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ See http://smartsteuer.de/portal/lexikon/V/Vorsteuerverguetungsverfahren.html
  2. ↑ See http://www.bzst.de/DE/Steuern_International/Vorsteuerverguetung/Vorsteuerverguetung_node.html
  3. ↑ See https://www.smartsteuer.de/portal/lexikon/V/Vorsteuerverguetungsverfahren.html
  4. ↑ See http://smartsteuer.de/portal/lexikon/V/Vorsteuerverguetungsverfahren.html
  5. ↑ See http://smartsteuer.de/portal/lexikon/V/Vorsteuerverguetungsverfahren.html
  6. ↑ See http://smartsteuer.de/portal/lexikon/V/Vorsteuerverguetungsverfahren.html