Slovak VAT refunds: annual-claims floor now 50 euros

Estonian taxable persons reclaiming Slovak value added tax can now file annual claims from 50 eurosEmta. For Slovakia, the minimum refundable VAT for an application covering a calendar year, or the time remaining in one, is 50 euros; the figure given before was 500 euros. The lower floor opens up a band of claims between 50 and 500 euros that previously did not clear the stated threshold. Nothing else in the Slovak entry changedEmta.

The route is the standard intra-EU refund for businesses established in Estonia that use the Slovak purchases for taxable business at home. During the refund period the claimant must have no place of business, fixed establishment, domicile or residence in Slovakia, and must not have supplied goods or services treated as supplied there; exempt transport and related supplies, and supplies subject to the reverse charge, do not count against this. Applications go electronically through the e-MTA environment of the Estonian administration, which forwards them to the Slovak administration for the substantive decision. Claimants that deduct input VAT only partly must set and confirm their deduction proportion before filing and correct it if the rate changes. For refund periods shorter than a calendar year but of at least three months, the 400-euro minimum still applies, and Slovakia accepts communication in Slovak only.

The surrounding Slovak formalities are unchanged: a claim may be filed by a third party and paid to a third-party bank account, an activity description under the NACE classification is required, and copies of invoices start at 1,000 euros of taxable amount, 250 euros for fuel. The competent office is the Tax Office Bratislava. Applications must reach the Estonian administration by 30 September of the calendar year following the refund period; overlapping periods are not allowed, with an annual supplementary claim as the exception. The Slovak administration decides within four months of receipt, extended to up to eight months if it asks the claimant, the home administration or a third party for extra information, which must then be supplied within one month, and pays successful claims within ten working days of its decision.

Legal basis: Nõukogu direktiiv 2008/9/EÜ and Käibemaksuseaduse §§ 34 and 35, as reflected in the Maksu- ja Tolliamet handbook sections Käibemaksu arvutamine ja tagastamine and Teises EL-i liikmesriigis tasutud käibemaksu tagastamine.