claim VAT back on restaurants in Italy

Hospitality expenses in Italy follow Italian rules

VAT on food, beverages and restaurant visits during a business trip to Italy can be refunded, but only to the extent that Italy also allows this for its own entrepreneurs. The refund country determines itself, per cost category, whether and to what extent VAT is deductible — the Netherlands does not look at this. Food, beverages and restaurant is one of the ten EU cost categories into which receipts are classified, alongside for example fuel, tolls, accommodation and trade fair participation. For some of these categories, restrictions or exclusions apply in some countries; whether this is also the case for hospitality expenses in Italy, and to what extent, is established per country and differs from country to country.

For the entrepreneur, this means above all that a hospitality receipt from Italy is not automatically approved for the full amount, even if the receipt is business-related and correct. The request is assessed against what Italy allows on this point, and only after that assessment does the refund country determine what is actually granted. This is no reason not to submit the receipt — a partial approval is still better than nothing — but it explains why the amount on a hospitality receipt sometimes differs from what is shown on the receipt.

Where that is stated: Directive 2008/9 and the Requirements list per country

The fact that the refund country applies its own deduction rules to an incoming request follows from Directive 2008/9/EC, in which the scope of the right to refund is linked to what applies in the refund member state for domestic taxable persons. What restrictions or exclusions Italy specifically applies for the cost category food, beverages