The general refund procedure, which was in place until 1 January 2009, only allowed a small group of taxpayers (large companies, exporters, major exporters) to apply for monthly refunds at the end of each accounting period. In all other cases, refund requests could only be made for the last accounting period at the end of the year.
The end-of-year refund system has not changed, but taxpayers now have the option to apply for the monthly refund.
This new system is intended to avoid the financial costs involved in deferring refunds, especially in the current crises where large investments have been made or where there is an attempt to start a business or professional activity.
The new monthly refund system is available to most taxpayers, regardless of the nature and volume of transactions, business or professional, goods or services. However, the transactions must be used in connection with a business or professional activity.
In order to exercise the right to the monthly refund, taxpayers must be registered in the register of monthly refunds. They are registered by means of a special census declaration.
Taxpayers registered in the register of exporters and other economic operators are automatically included.
The register is fully compatible with units paying tax under the special corporate group regime. In this case, the parent company is designated as the unit responsible for applying for registration according to its status as a representative of the group of companies.
If you have any questions about the monthly VAT refund, please contact our team of experts at Arintass.
Juliane Köhler