When it comes to travel expenses, the application of VAT abroad affects items as varied as hotels, catering, invitations, passenger transport, car hire, petrol, training courses, and so on. It's a vast field, made all the more difficult by the fact that VAT rates vary depending on the type of expense and the country. To make matters worse, although VAT is generally recoverable, it may only be so under certain conditions. For a company aware of the benefits of reclaiming this tax, the road is long and steep. Particularly as the debt crisis affecting eurozone countries has seen rates rise from an average of 15 % to 20 % in Europe. Businesses can choose between two options for reclaiming VAT on expenditure paid outside their borders. They can either deal with the local authorities themselves, or outsource the operation to specialists. If the direct recuperation option is chosen, fairly strict deadlines must be met. And it's important to remember that, in almost all cases, companies face an obstacle course, particularly when spending money outside Europe. That's why it's a good idea to turn to a specialist service provider, such as TVA Conseil, Accordancevat.fr, GB Business Global or Taxeo, a recent partner of BCD Travel. In addition, when a company uses expense claim management software, it also benefits from reporting, which has the advantage of extracting expenses incurred abroad and showing the VAT amount. All you have to do is ask your software publisher to set up an integration with the selected service provider's IT network, which will optimise the operation. Before approaching a service provider, it is advisable to estimate the amount of VAT to be reclaimed and the cost of the service. Generally speaking, the remuneration consists of a variable component in the form of a commission calculated on the amount of VAT recovered. The service provider should preferably be chosen on the basis of its presence in the countries visited by the company's employees.
