Half of European companies do not reclaim VAT

A recent report shows that 54% of European companies do not reclaim (foreign) VAT, due to the complexity of the VAT refund processes.

Source: accountancyvanmorgen.nl (in Dutch)

Note from the VATupdate Team: For many companies, reclaiming (foreign) VAT on expenses is not a priority. For various reasons.

For example, if an HR department is responsible for the expense allowances, VAT is not high on the list. And a VAT manager will often not be very concerned because it often concerns ‘peanuts’. When added together, however, it adds up to a lot of money. And certainly in this day and age, every euro that can be reclaimed is one.

It often starts at the source: employees do not ask for a receipt or invoice. And if they do, it often does not contain sufficient or correct information. Then you can automate a lot, but ‘garbage in is garbage out’. A good qualitative check in advance is therefore important, as is the right processes and responsibilities for and with the right people.

And then automation comes around the corner: it enables you to quickly and efficiently process all expenses, including the small taxi receipts and that one lunch of less than 10 euros, and prepare the VAT refund requests.

Bas de Koning made a podcast last year, covering this topic as well. If you’re interested, see HERE (podcast is in Dutch)

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