Tax interest in the event of delays in processing VAT refunds

Have you applied for a VAT refund and is the processing taking a long time? If so, you may be entitled to compensation for tax interest.

Eight weeks 

In principle, the Tax and Customs Administration has eight weeks to process your VAT refund claim. If this takes longer, you are entitled to compensation for tax interest provided that the VAT refund relates to a previous year and 1 April has already passed. 

Example 
The Tax and Customs Administration receives your request for a VAT refund for the fourth quarter of 2025 on 20 January 2026. If you have not yet received a refund decision from the Tax and Customs Administration by 1 April 2026, you are entitled to compensation for tax interest from 1 April 2026. 

Calculation of tax interest 

The period over which tax interest is calculated begins on 1 April or eight weeks after receipt of your claim (if this is later than 1 April). The period runs until fourteen days after the date of the refund decision. 

Continuation of example 
If the Tax and Customs Administration issues a refund decision dated 15 June 2026, it must reimburse 5% tax interest for the period from 1 April 2026 up to and including 29 June 2026. 

Timely appeal against the rejection of a VAT refund claim 

Has the Tax and Customs Administration wrongly rejected your VAT refund claim? If so, you must lodge an objection in good time, i.e. within six weeks of the date of the rejection notice. If the Tax and Customs Administration subsequently grants the VAT refund, you are also entitled to reimbursement of tax interest. 

Please note! In response to enquiries on this matter, the Tax and Customs Administration has stated that there is no entitlement to reimbursement of tax interest if the original application for a VAT refund was submitted too late and/or if the appeal against the rejection notice was lodged too late.