reclaim VAT fuel France

Fuel falls under a separate cost category; France determines the scope

VAT on fuel purchased in France for business use may be eligible for refund via the Dutch Tax Administration portal. Fuel is one of the ten EU cost categories into which a request is classified, and for each cost category the Member State of refund itself determines whether, and to what extent, the VAT charged on it is eligible for refund. As the Member State of refund, France is therefore the party that determines which portion of fuel costs is granted.

This means not every fuel receipt is automatically and fully refunded. Member States may make distinctions within EU rules between, for example, the type of vehicle for which fuel was purchased, the type of fuel, and the use (exclusively business or mixed). For France, the specific arrangements setting out which restrictions and percentages apply are detailed in the Requirements List of the Dutch Tax Administration per Member State of refund; this overview is kept current and is the source to consult for the precise rules currently applicable to France. The calculator on this platform takes into account in its estimate the fact that fuel is a separate category, but the final assessment is carried out by France itself when evaluating the submitted request.

Why this varies per country: Article 6 and the Annex to Directive 2008/9

The basis for this procedure lies in Directive 2008/9/EC. Article 6 of the Directive establishes that a non-established entrepreneur is entitled to a refund insofar as the goods and services are used for taxable transactions, but links the scope of the deduction to the rules applicable in the Member State of refund for domestic entrepreneurs. Each country fills this space differently, and the Taxes in Europe Database of the European Commission provides an overview of how Member States have regulated VAT deduction on fuel and other items nationally. For the concrete, current application to requests from the Netherlands, the Requirements List of the Dutch Tax Administration is the designated source, as it is drawn up per country and states the date of consultation.