A European company that pays VAT abroad can apply for a refund. To do so, it must send an electronic application from its country of establishment, which then forwards it to the tax authorities of the country concerned. The tax authorities have four months to process the application and refund the VAT.
The procedure, which in theory is simple and efficient, can become a real trap for businesses that carelessly make mistakes in their refund applications.
The misadventure of the Belgian company with its Hungarian VAT refund claim is worth telling as it could happen to any other company.
Source vatdesk.eu
