Revenue and Customs Brief 10 (2021): repayment of VAT to overseas businesses not established in the EU and not VAT registered in the UK
Published 1 July 2021
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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 getting 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’re:
- 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 can reclaim the VAT using the overseas VAT refund scheme. To get VAT refunds for 2019 to 2020, businesses were required to submit their application for refunds together with the certificate of status on or before 31 December 2020.
Previously we gave a 6 month extension to submit the certificate of status for the prescribed year 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020 in Revenue and Customs brief 20/2020.
We’re aware that businesses, or their agents and advisers, are still experiencing difficulties getting the required certificate of status from their official issuing authorities due to measures taken in response to coronavirus (COVID-19).
Next steps
We’ve agreed that due to this we’ll allow overseas businesses a further 6 months to submit a valid certificate of status. This means the certificate of status must be submitted on or before 31 December 2021.
We’ll not make a payment until we get a valid certificate of status to validate any claims. Due to the unknown volume of businesses that this is likely to impact, we cannot guarantee how long it will take to process claims. We’ll aim to make payments within 6 months of receiving the valid certificate of status.
We’ll continue to review the situation and, where businesses are still experiencing difficulties, we’ll consider if further easements are possible.
Businesses must still submit their application for VAT refunds and all other documentary evidence required to process claims for the prescribed period 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021, on or before 31 December 2021. All certificates provided to HMRC throughout 2021 will remain valid for claims in the prescribed period 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021.
More information
Contact the UK VAT Overseas Repayment Unit if you have a query about an application you have sent to them.