Tax refunds abroad: reducing complexity for transport companies

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A truck driver is en route from Germany to France. He refuels in Lyon, continues towards Spain and pays tolls in Italy on the way back. Everything runs exactly as it typically does in day-to-day European transport operations.

What happens in the background is less visible: with every refueling and every toll payment, taxes are incurred abroad. And this is where the real challenge begins for many transport companies. Recovering these taxes is more complex than one might expect. Every year, thousands of European transport companies are confronted with lengthy and inconsistent procedures for reclaiming taxes paid abroad.

Tax refunds in Europe: many rules, little standardization

The European transport market operates across borders. Tax refund processes, however, are still largely organized at a national level. In principle, companies can reclaim VAT or excise duties paid abroad.

While most countries follow the refund deadlines set out in EU directives, delays often occur in practice. One of the main reasons is the differing application procedures, portals and requirements across EU Member States.

This creates a fragmented landscape of processes that consume time and resources. For many companies, tax refunds become, above all, a complex administrative burden.

An example from everyday operations

A German transport company purchases fuel in France for a gross amount of €1,200. French VAT on fuel is 20%, meaning €200 of the total is VAT.

In principle, this amount can be reclaimed—but getting there involves several steps: receipts must be complete and accurate; the application is submitted via the German Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt), forwarded to the foreign authority and reviewed there. The foreign authorities may have questions about the application, which are typically communicated in the local language. The authorities will only continue processing the claim once a complete and timely response, supported by the required documentation, has been provided. Only then is the refund paid out.

For a single transaction, the effort remains manageable. In reality, however, numerous transactions occur each month across multiple countries. What starts as a handful of receipts quickly turns into hundreds of cases.

Why standardization is becoming more important

REMOBIS Refund Service C.V., together with Edenred Finance, is an initiator and founding member of the European Refund Providers Association (ERPA) – a new industry association dedicated to representing the interests of tax refund service providers and their customers in the European transport sector. Through ERPA, REMOBIS aims to collaborate with, advise, and influence the relevant authorities at the highest level. Recent initiatives have helped reduce administrative burdens in countries such as Germany, Italy, Sweden, Belgium and Norway.

The focus is on processing high-quality refund claims efficiently and reliably on behalf of customers. This helps to reduce processing times at the relevant tax authorities and leads to faster payouts. For freight forwarders and transport companies, this means less administrative effort, improved liquidity and tangible relief when handling cross-border tax refunds.

What this could mean for companies

For freight forwarders and transport companies, the key benefit is clear: reduced workload.

Better organized and more standardized processes can have a noticeable impact: processing times are shortened, follow-up queries are reduced and payments are made more quickly. This directly affects day-to-day operations—less bureaucracy, improved liquidity and more focus on the core business.

Tax refunds in European transport remain a complex issue. At the same time, initiatives such as ERPA, increasing digitalization and closer cooperation between businesses and authorities show that processes are gradually becoming simpler.

Would you like to learn more about claiming VAT and excise duties abroad within Europe? You can find all the key information here.

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