On 31 December 2020, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) updated its guidance providing clarifications with respect to the ability of overseas businesses having incurred value added tax (VAT) on goods and services acquired in the United Kingdom for use by those businesses to claim a VAT refund. The overseas businesses must have been registered as businesses outside the United Kingdom. The guidance sets out the following items:
- who is eligible to claim a VAT refund;
- on what relief the VAT can and cannot be claimed;
- how to claim a VAT refund;
- what the minimum limits for claims of VAT refunds are;
- what are the documents needed; and
- what the timescales are for making claims of a VAT refund.