Revenue and Customs Brief 20 (2020) repayment of VAT to overseas businesses not VAT registered
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Published 8 December 2020
Repayment of VAT to overseas businesses not established in the EU
and not VAT registered in the UK
Purpose of this brief
This brief explains the actions HMRC is taking to enable overseas
(not established in the EU) businesses to claim VAT refunds where
they’ve been having difficulties in obtaining a certificate of
status. This applies to the prescribed year 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020.
Who needs to read this
You should read this brief if you are:
- a non-EU business
- an agent acting on behalf of a non-EU business
- a body or association representing the interests of businesses
and advisers in relation to international VAT
Background
Overseas businesses who incur VAT in the UK for their business
purpose are eligible to reclaim the VAT using the overseas VAT refund
scheme. To obtain VAT refunds for 2019 to 2020, businesses are required
to submit their application for refunds together with the certificate
of status on or before 31 December 2020.
HMRC is aware that businesses, or their agents and advisers, are
experiencing difficulties in obtaining the required certificate of
status from their official issuing authorities due to measures taken by
jurisdictions in response to coronavirus (COVID-19). In the current
circumstances, overseas businesses may not be able to submit their
claims (with a certificate of status) by the deadline.
Next steps
HMRC has agreed that due to this specific circumstance, we will
allow overseas businesses an additional 6 months to submit a valid
certificate of status, which means the certificate of status must be
submitted on or before 30 June 2021.
Businesses must still submit their application for VAT refunds and
all other documentary evidence required to process the 2019 to 2020
claims on or before 31 December 2020.
Payments will not be made until a valid certificate of status is
received to validate any claims. Due to the unknown volume of
businesses that this is likely to impact, HMRC cannot guarantee how
long it will take to process claims, but we will aim to make payments
within 6 months of receiving the valid certificate of status.
HMRC will continue to review the situation and where businesses are
still experiencing difficulties, will consider whether further
easements are possible.
Contact the UK VAT Overseas Repayment Unit
if you have a
query about an application you have sent to them
(https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-revenue-customs/contact/vat-overseas-repayments-for-non-eu-businesses).
About the Author
© Crown Copyright 2020.
A licence is needed to reproduce this article and has been republished
for educational / informational purposes only. Article reproduced by
permission of HM Revenue & Customs.
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Article Published/Sorted/Amended on Scopulus 2020-12-08 22:52:54 in Tax Articles
