For VAT on fuel abroad, in most cases, you need a full invoice, not just the pump's PIN. That invoice shows the name and address of the petrol station, the seller's VAT identification number, the date, the amount excluding and including VAT, and the VAT rate applied. In addition, some of the refund countries ask for the vehicle's license plate number on the receipt, and it is wise to substantiate the business nature of the trip yourself.
What distinguishes fuel from other cost types is the amount above which the full invoice is required. When staying at a hotel or at an exhibition stand, many countries accept a simple voucher up to a higher amount. The limit is usually lower for fuel, which means that a full invoice is needed more quickly instead of a receipt. Exactly which threshold a country uses, and from what amount it applies, is detailed in the Tax and Customs Administration's list of Requirements for each country of return; these differences are too great to summarize here in general terms.
Why fuel gets its own treatment
Directive 2008/9 regulates the right to a refund, but leaves the precise billing requirements largely to the Member States. In practice, this is more strict for fuel than for most other cost types. Fuel is a high-volume cost item with relatively small amounts per transaction, which makes it easier for a refund country to rely on more data per receipt: a lower threshold for the full invoice means less room for unclear or incomplete substantiation when assessing a request.
For the entrepreneur, this mainly means that a pump receipt, which is sometimes sufficient for a lunch or a parking ticket, is rejected more quickly when it comes to fuel. So you should always ask for an invoice with the company details on it when you fill up, instead of having to trace back to which filling station and on what date you filled up.
The list of pieces you need
The core of what is needed for a fuel claim always comes back to the same components. First, the invoice itself, with the VAT specified and the seller's VAT identification number legible on it. In addition, the license plate number of the vehicle, where the country of return requires it, and a link between that license plate and the company, for example via a lease contract or registration in the name of the business. A receipt, such as a debit or credit card statement, is also useful as additional evidence, especially when the original receipt fades or loses.
Finally, it is advisable to record why the trip was business: a route, a mileage administration or a link to a project or customer visit. This does not have to be done separately for each receipt, but a country with a refund can ask for it in case of doubt, and then it is nice if that substantiation is already ready instead of having to be reconstructed afterwards.
What this means in practice
Because the threshold for fuel is lower than for other cost types, it is more likely that these vouchers in particular do not meet the requirements of the returning country. A fuel receipt that is completely common in Dutch accounting can miss just the wrong information for a foreign VAT refund. That is also why requests are relatively often lost or delayed with this type of cost: not because the entrepreneur did not fill up for business, but because the receipt did not have the correct format.
If you want to see for your own situation how much fuel costs count over the past period, give the calculator with a few questions - a first indication. For an overview of all expense categories and what applies per country for each, including fuel, hotels, tolls and trade fair attendance, there is the explanation by situation. And anyone who wants to know where the information about requirements per country comes from exactly, will find that in the explanation of where the data comes from.
If you are in doubt about a specific invoice or a borderline case, it is never wrong to submit it briefly to a VAT specialist; vatea.eu is an executor and information source, not a tax adviser. For the most frequently asked practical questions about receipts, formats and what a refund country exactly accepts, there is the collection of answers to practical questions. If you simply want to know first whether it is worth arranging this structurally for your business, the free quick-scan is the fastest way to see that in a few minutes.