Spanish late 13th Directive accepted
The Spanish Administrative Court of Justice recently allowed the refund of a non-EU business that submitted a late 13th Directive claim.
The 13th Directive refund claim in Spain
The Court argued that applying the neutrality principle prevents the tax authorities from denying the €4.8 million refund on the grounds of late filing.
In the case at hand, the taxpayer had initially submitted the claim in time, however, this claim was extended with a corrective 13th Directive after the deadline to include additional invoices. Following the taxpayer´s appeal, the refund was accepted.
How to request a refund via the 13th Directive
The process to get your VAT back for non-EU companies changes from country to country in Europe. Some jurisdictions require a fiscal representative, some also require mutual agreements with the country of establishment of the applicant and most countries ask for copies of the invoices that make up the claim. You can read more about when to request a refund via the 13th Directive or via the VAT return in our article EU VAT Refund. Recover VAT through the VAT return or separate refund claims?.