Reclaim German Import VAT
Hello all
We have recently shipped goods to Germany using a freight forwarder who paid import VAT to clear customs.
Given Amazon collect VAT from the end customer and pay to the relevant tax authorities, how can we reclaim this VAT we have been invoiced for for the goods to enter the country.
We use Amazon Tax Services and are VAT registered in Germany. We would have thought we need to submit this information via the supplementary tax file but the instructions say the below:
- If you are using a freight forwarder to import goods into the EU on your behalf, then you are not required to report any IMPORT transactions with your Additional Data.
- This is because any VAT due on import will be declared and paid by the freight forwarder, and you are not able to declare this with your own VAT reporting
I have seen similar questions raised on other threads but no clear answer! Does anyone have any experience with this?
4 replies
Seller_f4qaOP2rNgn8I
Have a look at the customs clearance form. If your company is listed as the “Anmelder”, or the “Vertretenen (für Rechnung)” - you are 100% entitled to reclaim the import VAT. In this case the form will show your EU VAT / EORI numbers.
As you state, it’s a bit of a pain because Amazon are collecting the sales VAT in Germany, meaning that you cannot hold VAT funds and pay only what is due on your returns. In this case you need to ask for a VAT reimbursement from your DE tax office but it can take them months to process this. In our case we’ve had to wait until our DE annual return to file the correct balance…
