VAT refund rules

Examples of purchases that are typically eligible for VAT refunds:

• passenger transport
• fuel
• hotel accommodation
• restaurant visits
• access to trade fairs

The rules of the relevant EU country determine whether you can receive a refund. For the rules of the individual EU countries, see the EU’s website.

If the supplier has charged VAT by mistake, you must contact the supplier.

If your business has a partial right to deduct VAT

If your business has a partial right to deduct VAT in Denmark, you are only entitled to a partial VAT refund. You must therefore state last year’s deduction rate in your application for a VAT refund. For example, if the deduction rate is 80%, enter 80 in the ’Pro rata-sats’ (Pro rata rate) field in your application. If the deduction rate is changed, you must change the pro rata rate.

The pro rata rate must also be applied if the purchase only entitles you to a limited deduction according to the other EU country’s rules. As a Danish business, you should apply the Danish rules to calculate the deduction rate. Read more about VAT deductions.

1. Your business must not be registered for VAT in the EU country in which you purchased the goods or services
2. The purchases must relate to your business’ taxable activities
3. Only VAT amounts that exceed the minimum limit in each EU country will be refunded. See all EU countries’ minimum limits (www.europa.eu).
4. Businesses must have a VAT receivable in excess of DKK 3,000, comprising a period of at least three months, if they wish to apply for a VAT refund from Denmark on an ongoing basis. If the business applies for a VAT refund for a full calendar year, the VAT amount must be at least DKK 400
5. The application must cover a period of at least three months and not more than one calendar year.
6. The deadline for applying for a VAT refund is 30 September in the year after you purchased the goods or services.
7. The refund will always be submitted directly to your account from the authorities in the relevant EU country.

Some EU countries require that you attach invoices for your purchases. If you need to attach invoices, this will appear from the self-service system E-tax for businesses (TastSelv Erhverv) when you apply for a VAT refund. Not all countries accept simplified invoices.

Danish businesses that want to apply for a VAT refund from a country outside the EU often need to send a form to the tax authorities in the country, they are seeking the refund from. Please contact the country’s embassy in Denmark for this form.

You must apply for a VAT refund under ’Momsrefusion’ (VAT refunds) in E-tax for businesses.

You can also have others apply for a VAT refund on behalf of your business. However, not all EU countries accept powers of attorney issued to another person than the applicant to obtain a VAT refund.

Read more about the VAT refund application process at Applying for a refund of VAT paid abroad.

When you have applied for a VAT refund, we will forward your application to the authorities in the relevant EU country for processing.

If you have questions about your application after it has been submitted, you must contact the tax authorities in the country from which you are applying for a VAT refund. Find the address on the Vat Refund Contact Points (www.ec.europa.eu) page. Please state the reference number of your application.

List of application rejection codes

You may risk that your application for a VAT refund in another EU country is either rejected or only partially approved. The reply you receive to your application may contain a number of codes explaining the reason for the rejection in the other country.

In the event of a complete rejection of your application for a VAT refund, you may receive the following codes:

01 = Application period is invalid.
02 = The amount applied for is below the minimum amount for the period.
03 = Business codes must be written as NACE codes. A NACE code is the same as the sector code for your business. You can find the sector code on the registration certificate for your business issued by the Danish Business Authority (Erhvervsstyrelsen) or at datacvr.virk.dk/data (virk.dk).
04 = Bank details are not recognisable, are incorrect or are incomplete.
05 = The reported business activities require that a pro rata rate be fixed. A pro rata rate states whether the business’s right of deduction for VAT is 100% or less (partial right of deduction).
06 = It appears that the applicant has supplied goods or services in the country from which a VAT refund has been applied for and that the applicant is not covered by the statutory exemption defined in Article 3 of Council Directive 2008/9/EC of 12 February 2008.  
07 = The applicant is registered for VAT in the country from which a VAT refund is applied for.
99 = Other.

In case of rejection of an application for a VAT refund for a single purchase (partial approval):

20 = The invoice or import document has already been processed in another VAT refund application.
21 = The currency used is not the national currency of the country from which a VAT refund has been applied for.
22 = The type of goods and services must be specified.
23 = The type of goods and services must be clearly stated in the application when code ‘10’ is used.
24 = The purchase of goods and services was not made in Denmark.
25 = The item has not been imported into Denmark.
40 = The supplier’s VAT registration number or tax registration number is unknown or was not active for the specified date.
41 = The supplier’s name and address do not correspond to the VAT registration number or tax registration number provided.
42 = The information provided about the supplier is different from the information specified in the import/invoice document.
60 = A copy of the import/invoice document is required.
61 = The original requested import/invoice document was not submitted in due time.
62 = The import/invoice document appears to be a forgery.
63 = The import/invoice document is illegible.
70 = Requested supplementary information has not been submitted on time.
80 = The information provided is incorrect in relation to the information provided by the competent authority in the country in which the applicant is established. A pro rata rate states whether the business’s right of deduction for VAT is 100% or less (partial right of deduction).
81 = The tax base or/and tax amount specified in the request is not that stated in the import/invoice document.
82 = The amount applied for does not correspond to a paid VAT (the application is not for the VAT amount stated in the invoice).
83 = The type of goods and services does not entitle the applicant to a VAT refund in connection with the stated business activity.
84 = The classification code or sub-code does not match the supplied service/item specified in the import/invoice document.
85 = The deductible VAT amount is limited to a given percentage based on the stated type of goods and services.
95 = The application has only been partially processed - not a final decision.
99 = Other.