claim VAT back on trade fairs in Luxembourg

Stand rental, access and accommodation costs fall within the scheme

VAT paid in Luxembourg on stand rental, admission fees for a trade fair or exhibition, and the ancillary costs of that visit — hotel, meals, transport, toll — is eligible for refund under Council Directive 2008/9/EG. These expenses fall within the ten EU cost categories that the Directive distinguishes: stand rental and admission typically fall under the category specifically intended for trade fairs and exhibitions, and the travel and accommodation costs surrounding it fall under the categories that apply to those.

Not every EU country treats every cost category in the same way. A country may exclude a category entirely, or only refund part of the VAT — for example for representation costs or expenses that are partly private. What specifically applies to Luxembourg is not stated in the Directive itself but in the country-by-country implementation that the Tax and Customs Administration and the European Commission maintain. For a concrete trade fair invoice, it is therefore that country-specific list that determines whether, and to what extent, the VAT actually qualifies for refund.

What this is based on

The categorisation of costs and the right to refund itself derive from Council Directive 2008/9/EG, which forms the framework for VAT refund to entrepreneurs not established in the refund country. What exclusions and limitations Luxembourg specifically applies per c