Irish VAT registered traders reclaiming VAT from European Union (EU) Member States
An Irish VAT registered trader who has paid Value-Added Tax (VAT) in another European Union (EU) Member State (MS) can claim the VAT back from the other EU MS.
The trader or their agent can claim the VAT back by submitting a claim via Revenue Online Service (ROS) under Electronic VAT Refund (EVR).
Before submitting claims, please know what language the MS of refund requests the claim to be made in. Also check what time periods you can submit a claim for.
How is the claim processed?
Revenue sends on the EVR claim to the MS of refund for processing. The MS of refund may require scanned attachments including invoices to be forwarded with a claim.
Please note that the total size of the attachment must not exceed 5MB.
If the attachment is larger than 5MB then you should only scan the largest invoices and attach them with your claim. The MS of refund may request the remaining invoices at a later date.
You can prepare the claim offline and upload the invoices to EVR on ROS.
You must classify all purchases incurring VAT by the codes, sub-codes, or both on ROS.
When your EVR claim has been completed correctly you will get a unique reference number from ROS. You will need to include this number in any query regarding the claim. You can contact Unregistered VAT section through MyEnquiries.
You must keep all supporting documentation for six years from the end of the year in which the claim is made.
Applications to multiple Member States
If applying to more than one MS of refund in the same period:
- proceed to Sign and Submit, then
- save the application in Work In Progress.
What if you have more than one VAT number?
If you have more than one VAT number you must claim the refund using the VAT number the invoice issued to.
VAT Groups
VAT group remitters can only submit a claim using the group remitter's number. If there is no group remitter number each member of the group may submit their own claims.
How many claims can you make?
Applicants may submit a maximum of five applications in a calendar year.
Can you amend a claim?
You cannot amend a claim to increase your refund. You must wait and submit the additional invoices on the final 12- month period claim. This corrected claim can be submitted through ROS.
Is there a time limit for making a refund claim?
You must apply for the refund before the 30 September of the calendar year following the year in which you made the purchase. For example: you made the purchase in April 2017, you have until 30 September 2018 to submit the claim.
How are repayments made?
The refund payment will be made by electronic funds transfer (EFT) to the bank details provided in the claim.