Serbia Expands VAT Recovery Reciprocity List

Serbia Expands VAT Reciprocity List to Four Additional EU Member States

The Serbian Tax Administration has confirmed an important update to its VAT refund framework for non-resident businesses. Reciprocity has now been established with four additional EU Member States: France, Bulgaria, Luxembourg, and Sweden.

What has changed?

Serbia operates a reciprocity-based system for VAT refunds to non-resident taxpayers. This means that foreign businesses can only recover Serbian VAT if their home country offers equivalent refund rights to Serbian businesses.

With this latest development, businesses established in France, Bulgaria, Luxembourg, and Sweden are now eligible to claim refunds of Serbian VAT, provided all other statutory conditions are met.

Practical implications for businesses

This update is particularly relevant for companies incurring Serbian VAT on local costs such as: business travel expenses, trade fairs and exhibitions, local services supplied in Serbia.

Businesses established in the newly added countries should now assess whether they have unrecovered Serbian VAT and consider submitting refund claims. At the same time, Serbian businesses may benefit from reciprocal treatment in these jurisdictions, depending on local rules.

The updated list of countries with reciprocity agreements is available on the Serbian Tax Administration website.

The extension of Serbia’s reciprocity list reflects continued progress in facilitating cross-border VAT recovery. For businesses operating across multiple jurisdictions, this change may create immediate opportunities to recover previously irrecoverable VAT and improve cash flow management.