bmf.gv.at VAT Refund Procedure Austria : Federal Ministry of Finance

Organization : Federal Ministry of Finance
Type of Facility : VAT Refund Procedure
Country: Austria

Website : https://www.bmf.gv.at/en.html

VAT Refund Procedure :

VAT-Refund for foreign entrepreneurs who are established within the EU

Related : Federal Ministry of Finance AEO Authorised Economic Operators Austria : www.statusin.org/10406.html

Foreign entrepreneurs who are established within the EU, but who have neither their registered office nor a fixed establishment within the Austrian territory:
** who make no taxable transactions in Austria, or
** effect only tax-exempt transport of goods or only tax-exempt transport of passengers by ship or aircraft, or
** make only supplies for which the tax liability is shifted to the recipient of the supply (supplies under the reverse charge system according to the second sentence of Sec.19 (1) ), or
** may claim their input VAT in electronic form via the national electronic system of the member state of fixed establishment (Art 7 of the directive 2008/9/EC). This applies for all applications from 1 January 2010 on. Applications which are submitted in paper form, are no longer recognized by the Austrian tax office Graz-Stadt.

VAT-Refund for foreign entrepreneurs who are NOT established within the EU:
Foreign entrepreneurs who are NOT established within the EU, but who have neither their registered office nor a fixed establishment within the Austrian territory:
** who make no taxable transactions in Austria, or
** effect only tax-exempt transport of goods or only tax-exempt transport of passengers by ship or aircraft, or
** make only supplies for which the tax liability is shifted to the recipient of the supply (supplies under the reverse charge system according to the second sentence of Sec.19 (1) ), or
** render only electronical services from a third country to non-entrepreneurs and have applied the special scheme under TITLE XII Chapter 6 of the VAT Directive 2006/112/EC
** may claim their input VAT in filling the forms as noted below, enclosing the invoices and imports documents for which the refund is requestet in original and forwarding them to the Austrian tax office Graz Stadt.

Please note the time limit:
The claim form, the certificate of entrepreneurial status, the invoices and import documents must be sent in originals to the tax office until

30 June of the following year:
The amount to be refunded must at least be EUR 400. This does not apply if the refund period is the calendar year or the last period of a calendar year. For these refund periods the amount to be refunded must be at least EUR 50.

Input VAT :
** Refund or deduction of input VAT is possible only where such input VAT is deductible according to the Austrian VAT Act 1994. The VAT Act provides that the entrepreneur is allowed to deduct as input VAT the amount of VAT separately shown on an invoice, issued to him by other entrepreneurs for supplies of goods and services which have been effected in Austria for the purpose of his business.

Living Expenses :
** Deduction of input VAT is not allowed as far as living expenses (e.g. entertainment expenses) are concerned.

** As regards expenses for business meals, deduction of input VAT is only allowed where it is possible to provide evidence that such expenses have served advertising purposes and have predominantly been used for business or professional purposes. As for the evidence of the advertising purpose and the predominant business or professional purpose, see paragraph 4823 of the Income Tax Guidelines 2000.