Andersen in Greece is a member of the international Cash Back Network which is the global leader in the provision of services relating to VAT refund within European Union and third countries that proceeded with the signing of reciprocity agreements with EU member states.

Andersen in Greece through the cooperation with more than thirty offices of United Cash Back Network in the European Union, Lithuania, Switzerland, Norway etc can provide to companies located in Greece a comprehensive list of VAT services.

Expenses eligible for claiming VAT

If conducting business overseas such as attending international sales conferences or exhibitions, training courses, claiming VAT back on many of the expenses incured during the trip although the same type of expenses in Greece, according to the Greek adoption of VAT law, cannot be set off domestically and treated as cost. The expenses that are eligible for claiming VAT refund generally include:

• Conferences, trade shows and exhibitions
• Hotels and accommodation
• Restaurants and entertainment
• Car rental
• Marketing costs
• Petrol/diesel
• Training courses or seminars
• Public transport (including buses, trains and taxis)

However, the list of services, the rates and regulations and the required documentation vary from country to country and frequently change. VAT applications must be submitted to the tax authorities in the countries where the expenses are incurred and within specific deadlines. Listing the invoices and meeting authorities’ application requirements is a time-consuming and complex task aggravated by language differences.

VAT Reclaim Services

• Analysis of VAT refund possibilities
• Evaluation of existing VAT reclaims procedures to spot additional VAT refund possibilities which may still exist
• Retrieval of all relevant invoices from accounting records carried out by our trained staff. Alternatively, we can provide in-house training and process recommendations for efficient gathering of refundable invoices
• Formal corrections of foreign invoices by contacting suppliers in order to amend wrong or missing details, such as company name, etc
• Submission of the formal VAT refund application and handling all enquiries from the foreign tax authorities
• Contacting suppliers to obtain a credit where VAT has been incorrectly charged and paid and which will not be refunded by the authorities
• Online tracking system in order to monitor the status of claims
• Other possible services include local VAT registration and compliance as well as technical VAT advice provided by our network of international VAT specialists and co-operating partners.