Value Added Tax Refunds
Applying for a VAT refund in Germany.

German VAT Refunds

VAT Refunds

VAT Refunds: If you are a registered company, your business location is in the United States, and you are interested in applying for a VAT refund, you must electronically submit a VAT refund via the BZSt online portal (BOP) of the Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt). Applications submitted by mail or email are not accepted as VAT refund applications and will be rejected.

An explanation of the application process can be found here: VAT Refund Information 

For more detailed information as well as the application form (referred to as ‘Form: Registration with the BZSt Online Portal’ under the section ‘Form’) please visit: VAT refunds to foreign businesses 

If you need to contact the BZSt about VAT refund questions or to send additional correspondence or documents in exceptional cases, please use the following address:

Bundeszentralamt für Steuern
Dienstsitz Schwedt/Oder
Passower Chaussee 3b
16303 Schwedt/Oder
Germany
Email: poststelle-schwedt@bzst.bund.de
Phone: +49 228 406‑1200
Fax: +49 228 406‑3200


http://www.steuerliches-info-center.de/EN
http://www.bzst.de

For a quarter of the year (e.g. January-March) the VAT refund minimum is EUR 1000. For a complete calendar year the VAT refund minimum is EUR 500. A company with high quarterly expenditures might opt for the quarterly refund, companies with lower VAT cost might collect their bills for a year and then turn them in for a refund.

Invoices and import documents above specified thresholds must be uploaded electronically with the VAT refund application via the BZSt Online Portal, and refund decisions are made available electronically. Companies should ensure that all required supporting documents are submitted in electronic form and that their contact details in BOP are up to date.

VAT refunds can also be recovered by using a service provider. Please review our directory of Business Service Providers.

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Global Business Navigator Chatbot Beta

Welcome to the Global Business Navigator, an artificial intelligence (AI) Chatbot from the International Trade Administration (ITA). This tool, currently in beta version testing, is designed to provide general information on the exporting process and the resources available to assist new and experienced U.S. exporters. The Chatbot, developed using Microsoft’s Azure AI services, is trained on ITA’s export-related content and aims to quickly get users the information they need. The Chatbot is intended to make the benefits of exporting more accessible by understanding non-expert language, idiomatic expressions, and foreign languages.

Limitations

As a beta product, the Chatbot is currently being tested and its responses may occasionally produce inaccurate or incomplete information. The Chatbot is trained to decline out of scope or inappropriate requests. The Chatbot’s knowledge is limited to the public information on the Export Solutions web pages of Trade.gov, which covers a wide range of topics on exporting. While it cannot provide responses specific to a company’s product or a specific foreign market, its reference pages will guide you to other relevant government resources and market research. Always double-check the Chatbot’s responses using the provided references or by visiting the Export Solutions web pages on Trade.gov. Do not use its responses as legal or professional advice. Inaccurate advice from the Chatbot would not be a defense to violating any export rules or regulations.

Privacy

The Chatbot does not collect information about users and does not use the contents of users’ chat history to learn new information. All feedback is anonymous. Please do not enter personally identifiable information (PII), sensitive, or proprietary information into the Chatbot. Your conversations will not be connected to other interactions or accounts with ITA. Conversations with the Chatbot may be reviewed to help ITA improve the tool and address harmful, illegal, or otherwise inappropriate questions.

Translation

The Chatbot supports a wide range of languages. Because the Chatbot is trained in English and responses are translated, you should verify the translation. For example, the Chatbot may have difficulty with acronyms, abbreviations, and nuances in a language other than English.

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