Search Q&A
VAT Refund
If I have had a residence card for Belgium but will be turning it in before I leave for the last time, can I get the VAT back for purchases I made 90 days before I left? In other words, I won't be a resident when I leave but had the residence card when I made the purchases but they were within the 90 day period that you normally have to get a VAT refund.
I'm confused, why do you get a VAT refund to begin with?
It can't be because you have a residence card otherwise nobody would pay VAT.
More info needed please.
Basically you can reclaim VAT for purchases in Belgium (and the EU) based on the assumption that they are being "exported" to outside the EU.
I'm, not 100% sure, but it would seem logical to me that being a resident is irrelevant here. For example, a Belgian resident in Belgium would be able to reclaim VAT for, say, a computer that he buys as a present for his son in, say, America.
The issue will be more whether you have to pay VAT and duty in the country you are taking it to.
Oh right, well that makes sense I guess.
It was the residency thing that threw me.
Residence do matter. If you are a Belgian resident and show your Belgian ID, they will refuse VAT refund at customs, despite you prove you export it to a non-eu country.
"VAT refund can only be requested by travellers who reside outside of the European Union."
http://www.brusselsairport.be/en/passngr/at_the_airport/vatrefund/
So, if you can prove (say model 8 form from commune)you are a not a Belgian resident anymore, you can get VAT refund on export to a non EU country, within 90 days of purchase.
