The right for excise duty refund which were paid for diesel fuel in commercial transport of goods and passengers

Based on the increase of the energy source prices, including fuel, we are mentioning the Ordinance on exercising the right to a refund of part of the excise duty paid for diesel fuel in the commercial transport of goods and passengers. This Ordinance prescribes the method of entering in the register of users of the above mentioned right to return and obligations, content and attachments. With this article, Confida provides an overview of the most important points and guidelines from the Ordinance.

Persons registered for the commercial transport of goods and passengers based in the European Union and those registered in the register of beneficiaries of the right to a refund of paid excise duty have the right to a refund of paid excise duty.

What is considered as commercial transport?

Commercial transport is considered to be:

• transportation of goods for others or for your own account, with your own or hired truck or a truck with a trailer or semi-trailer that are registered and intended exclusively for road transportation of goods and have a maximum permissible total weight of not less than 7.5 tons,
• regular or occasional transportation of passengers by road vehicles of categories M2 and M3 by special regulations on vehicle homologation.

Submitting a request

The right to a refund of part of the excise duty paid is realized on the basis of submitted request by:

• Beneficiaries with headquarters or residence in the Republic of Croatia and the competent Customs office according to the headquarters or residence on Form 1 from Annex 1 of this rulebook, which is an integral part of it.
• Beneficiaries based in other Member States of the European Union, namely the Regional Customs Office of the city of Zagreb.

Then:

• The beneficiary for refund must be the owner, lessee or person who rented a truck or a truck with a trailer or semi-trailer and road vehicles of categories M2 and M3.
• The competent Customs office registers the beneficiary in the register of beneficiaries when submitting the first application for excise duty refund.
• A request for excise duty refund in the name and on behalf of the user of the right can be submitted by a person authorized for financial handling by the user of the right

The request can be submitted monthly, or quarterly (January – March, April – June, July – September, and October – December), or yearly.

Necessary attachments to be submitted with the application

Several attachments must be attached together with the refund request:

1. invoice or specification in the original or copy for the purchase of diesel fuel in the territory of the Republic of Croatia, which contains all necessary information: invoice number, date of purchase, name, and address of the point of sale, name and OIB of the buyer, a quantity of fuel purchased, registration number of the vehicle and information about cashless payment method,
2. a copy of the registration data with proof that the applicant is the owner of the vehicle, the leasing user, or the person who rent the vehicle,
3. records on the internal supply of diesel fuel,
4. for road vehicles of category M2 and M3, registered in another Member State of the European Union, proof that the taxpayer who performs occasional international road transport of passengers on the territory of the Republic of Croatia is registered for VAT purposes in the Republic of Croatia,
5. proof that the taxpayer who performs occasional international road transport of passengers on the territory of the Republic of Croatia is registered for VAT purposes in the Republic of Croatia, has submitted a monthly VAT return by the regulations on value added tax,
6. power of attorney for representation if the request is submitted by an attorney for financial representation,
7. other evidence that the Customs Administration deems necessary depending on the circumstances of the case.

After submitting the necessary request and attachments, the Customs Administration ex officio determines whether the user is entitled to unpaid due obligations.

Calculation of the amount of the excise duty paid refund

The refund of the excise duty is determined in the amount of the difference between the excise duty valid on the date of purchase of diesel fuel and the minimum prescribed amount of excise duty on diesel fuel which is 330 euros. The amount is calculated by applying the exchange rate of the European Central Bank (ECB) published in the Official Journal of the European Union valid on the first working day of October in such way that it starts to be applied from January 1 of the following calendar year.

The following table provides a list of the most important data and figures:

If you need help with the rules and calculation of the refund of part of the excise duty paid for diesel fuel in the commercial transport of goods and passengers, feel free to contact us at office@confida.hr and find out the complete range of our services on our website.