After the Republic of Croatia’s accession to the European Union, Croatian taxpayers submit VAT refund requests from other Member States through the electronic portal of the Tax Administration – the VAT refund system.
The Value Added Tax Act implements Council Directive 2008/9/EC, which aligns with the VAT refund system.
What is the VAT refund system intended for?
The electronic VAT refund system is for all taxpayers in the Republic of Croatia registered for VAT who wishes to apply for a VAT refund from another EU Member State.
Example
The Tax Administration of the Republic of Croatia explained the VAT refund using the following example:
“A Croatian taxpayer (registered for VAT) purchases fuel during a business trip in Germany. Upon returning to the Republic of Croatia, the taxpayer can submit a VAT refund request through the national VAT refund system and attach scanned invoices if required by the respective Member State of the refund.
The Croatian VAT refund system forwards this request to the German Tax Administration or the German VAT refund system. The German Tax Administration processes the request and directly deposits the approved amount into the Croatian taxpayer’s bank account.
In the same manner, but using their country’s national VAT system, foreign taxpayers submit requests for VAT refunds from the Republic of Croatia.
Who can submit a VAT refund request?
The VAT refund request can be submitted through the electronic system by:
- the requester (taxpayer) or
- their authorized representative.
The VAT refund system allows for registering both the requester and their authorized representative and associating the representative with a specific requester. The authorized representative acts on behalf of the requester in seeking the VAT refund. The prerequisite for registering and associating an authorized representative with a particular requester is the prior registration of the requester at the competent Tax Administration office.
The applicant requests, authorized representative registration, and revocation of authorization are submitted using forms available on the Tax Administration’s website. Applicants and authorized representatives submit the documents to the relevant Tax Administration office.
After registration, users will receive a username and password to access the VAT refund system. The authorization system based on power of attorney will enable the authorized representative to submit requests on behalf of the requester.
What is the deadline for submitting the request?
To obtain a VAT refund in EU Member States, Croatian taxpayers must submit an electronic refund request through the electronic VAT refund system by September 30th of the calendar year following the tax refund period.
What is the tax refund period?
The tax refund period must not be longer than one calendar year or shorter than three calendar months in a row. Refund requests can also refer to a period of less than three months if that period includes the end of the calendar year.