New Electronic VAT Refund (EVR) procedures with effect from 1 January 2010

Significant new EU legislation regarding the processing of VAT refund claims will come into effect on 1 January 2010

A new electronic VAT refund procedure will be introduced across the EU for all claims submitted after this date. From 1 January 2010, all applications for VAT refunds must be made by VAT registered traders (or their agents) electronically on-line via the Tax Authority in their own Member State. For Irish taxpayers, the tax authority is the Revenue Commissioners. Revenue will then forward the claim electronically to the Tax Authority in the Member State of Refund for processing.

The following is some information on the new EVR procedures for both Irish and Foreign Traders and their agents:

New and existing agents, acting on behalf of Irish traders can make an application on behalf of a client for a refund of VAT incurred in another Member State, provided that they:

• have a TAIN number (Tax Advisor Identification Number) and
• are registered with ROS and
• have been linked to their client for EVR

Agents must register with Revenue by obtaining a TAIN number (Tax Advisor Identification Number). This function is handled by Dublin North City District, TAIN Section, 14-15 Upper O’Connell Street, Dublin 1, Tel: 01-865 5000, e-mail: dublinagents@revenue.ie. To register, Agents must apply in writing stating their tax number, their full Name, Address, Tel/Fax/E-mail and supply a list of their clients which should include each clients’ VAT number.

Once registered, the Agent will be linked to their client(s) on Revenue’s Online Service (ROS). If not already registered, an Agent must register for ROS through www.ros.ie.

A new tax head ‘EVR’ will be available on ROS from 1 January 2010. Agents (or their clients, if registered on ROS) can make an application for refund of VAT online under EVR. An agent may submit a maximum of 5 applications to each Member State in any calendar year.

When an application is submitted online, a message is forwarded to the applicant’s ROS inbox stating that their application has been received by Revenue and that it has been forwarded to the relevant Member State for refund.

If an application is successful, a decision message will be forwarded to the applicant’s ROS inbox. Payment will then be made (by electronic fund transfer) to the bank account provided in the application.

EU Member States have different requirements. Some States may require that invoices/importation documents be forwarded with the application as a scanned attachment. These attachments must not exceed 5MB in size. If attachments exceed this amount, then only the largest invoices should be attached. The Member State of Refund may request that the remaining invoices be forwarded for examination.

The Tax Authority of the Member State of Refund may also request additional information before a final decision is made on an application. The applicant will be notified directly via the contact details provided in their application i.e. e-mail or telephone.

Allowable expenditure may differ from State to State. If in doubt, you should contact the Member State for clarification.

ROS allows for the submission of a maximum of five applications to each Member State in a calendar year. However, some States may only accept four.

If errors occur when completing the application or you are prevented from submitting the application, you should direct your enquiries to the ROS helpdesk at: roshelp@revenue.ie or telephone 1890 201 106.

Queries relating to refund procedures operated by other Member States, should be directed to the Tax Authority of that State.

Further information is available on the Revenue website at http://www.revenue.ie/eu-vat and the European Commission website: www.ec.europa.eu

Enquiries can also be addressed to: unregvat@revenue.ie or telephone Lo-call 1890 252 449