Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 9 October 2012
149. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance if he will indicate the timeframe in which to process an application for a VAT EU refund for a business (details supplied) in County Antrim; if he will indicate the average length of time for processing such applications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42696/12]
View answer150. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to the impact on haulage businesses cash flow arising from delays in the processing of VAT EU refund applications and the potential loss to the Exchequer that could arise if such delays forced businesses located in the north of Ireland to cease sourcing fuel from the south of Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42697/12]
View answer151. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance if he will consider allowing VAT EU refund applications to be made and granted on a monthly basis rather than the current three monthly basis, in order to assist businesses meet their cash flow needs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42698/12]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 149 to 151, inclusive, together.
The Directive stipulates that the Member State of refund shall notify the applicant of its decision to approve or refuse the refund application within four months of its receipt by that Member State. It also provides for an extension of the timeframe for a decision for a period of up to eight months depending on whether additional information, if sought by the Member State of refund, has been provided by the applicant or not.
I am advised by Revenue that there are no undue delays in processing applications for refund of VAT to taxable persons not established in Ireland but established in other Member States. Revenue has informed me that such claims are generally dealt with in accordance with Revenue Customer Service Standards, that is 80% of claims are repaid within 10 working days and 100% are repaid within 20 working days, provided all the information required to process the claim is supplied by the claimant or the Agent.
With regard to allowing refunds to be made on a monthly basis, the time periods in respect of which claims can be submitted are also set out in the Directive. It stipulates that a refund period shall not be more than one calendar year or less than three calendar months.
I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that an application for a refund of VAT from the business concerned in Question No. 149 was received on 1 October 2012. It is now being processed in the normal manner and, assuming that it passes all the normal processing and verification checks, payment will be made within the next two weeks.
