The UK currently looks set to leave the European Union on 31st January 2020. This will have an impact on EU refund claims (formerly known as 8th Directive Claims).
In their most recently published guidance on the subject, titled “Claim VAT refunds from EU countries after Brexit”, HMRC advises that it will not be possible to use their VAT online services to claim a VAT refund from an EU member state after 5pm on 31st January 2020.
Any refund claims made after this time will have to be made using the existing processes used by businesses based outside the EU, even for expenses incurred before Brexit.
It is important to note that EU VAT expenses incurred in 2019 can still be claimed after this deadline. However, it will not be possible to use the HMRC Online Portal, and it is likely to be more complicated afterwards, so businesses are encouraged to make their claims before the deadline.
Read HMRC’s guidance on claiming EU VAT refunds after Brexit
All data and figures referred to in our news section are correct at the date of publishing and should not be relied upon as still current.
