Instruction
VAT refund to a foreign taxpayer is regulated by the provision of Article 53 of the Value Added Tax Law, which reads:
“Reimbursement of VAT shall be made to the foreign taxpayer, at his request, for the sales of movable goods and rendered services in the Republic, provided:
1) that the VAT for the sales of goods and services is stated in the invoice, in accordance with this Law, and that the invoice was paid;
2) that the amount of VAT for which he submits request for reimbursement of VAT is higher of EUR 200 in RSD equivalent as per the mean exchange rate of the National Bank of Serbia;
3) that conditions are fulfilled under which the VAT taxpayer could gain the right to deduction of input tax for those goods and services in accordance with this Law;
4) he does not carry out trade in goods and services in the Republic, except for the trade of:
(1) services of transportation of goods that are exempt from tax in accordance with Article 24, paragraph 1, items 1), 5) and 8) of this Law;
(2) passenger transport services which, in accordance with Article 49, paragraph 7 of this Law, are subject to individual transport taxation;
(3) goods and services for which the the obligation to calculate VAT has VAT taxpayer - the recipient of the goods or services.
VAT refund in the cases referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be carried out under the condition of reciprocity“ and the provisions of Article 271 of the Regulation on Value Added Tax, which reads as follows:
''VAT refund will be made to the person referred to in Article 53 of the Law on the Trade in Movable Goods and Services Provided in the Republic, under the condition that:
1) the VAT for the sales of goods and services is stated in the invoice, in accordance with this Law, and that the invoice was paid;
2) the amount of VAT, expressed in one or more invoices, for which a request for VAT refund is submitted is greater than EUR 200 in RSD equivalent at the mean exchange rate of the National Bank of Serbia on the date of submitting the request for VAT refund;
3) conditions are fulfilled under which the VAT taxpayer could gain the right to deduction of input tax for those goods and services in accordance with this Law;
4) he does not carry out trade in goods and services in the Republic, except for the trade of:
(1) services of transportation of goods that are exempt from tax in accordance with Article 24, paragraph 1, items 1), 5) and 8) of the Law;
(2) passenger transport services which, in accordance with Article 49, paragraph 7 of this Law, are subject to individual transport taxation;
(3) goods and services for which the the obligation to calculate VAT has VAT taxpayer - the recipient of the goods or services.
The request is submitted by an authorized person once a year, no later than June 30 of the current year, for goods and services purchased in the Republic in the previous calendar year.
Together with the request, submitted is also:
1) certificate of registration for VAT, or another form of consumption tax, issued by the tax authority of the country where the foreign taxpayer is based (original and certified translation);
2) paid invoices for goods purchased or services used in the Republic, on which VAT was calculated and paid.
Head Office of Tax Administration, after verifying that the conditions for refund are met, decides on the request by decision within 30 days from the date of submission of the request and delivers the decision to the applicant, and within 15 days from the date of delivery of the decision, VAT refund is carried out.
The request and documentation are submitted electronically via the Tax Administration portal, and the Tax Administration issues a decision in electronic form.
The VAT refund is made in the currency of the applicant's country in the amount obtained by converting the RSD amount of the VAT refund at the selling rate of the National Bank of Serbia on the date of payment of the VAT refund amount, with the deduction of the costs of the conversion.
The request is submitted on Form РЕФ 1 - Request from a foreign taxpayer for refund
The user manual for submitting requests and using the application software you can download from the Tax Administration website here.