FAQ

Why choose our EBV finance team if you want to recover VAT on tolls? 

• Receive a 100% refund of declared taxes. 

• Save time. 

• Our services are provided in a timely and proper manner. 

• We will answer any questions that you may have regarding taxes and refunds. 

Want to receive a thorough consultation or have other questions? Contact us today via our provided special form or e-mail sales@ebvfinance.com.  

The most important thing is that the provided documents (receipts, cheques, invoices) would clearly and fully indicate the company’s data, code and other details. And the company cannot have branches established in countries from which it seeks to recover VAT.  

VAT can be recovered from the following countries: 

Ireland, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Great Britain, Estonia, Greece, Italy, Iceland, Spain, Cyprus, Croatia, Latvia, Poland, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, France, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland, Hungary, Germany. 

Paying tolls is mandatory when travelling via toll roads throughout Europe. This is especially relevant for truck drivers since tolls are much smaller than the possible fines. What is the fine for not paying a toll? It depends on the tax and legal system of the country and can range from tens to several hundreds of euros for the first offence. Fines for failure to pay tolls can also be imposed in cases of incorrect toll calculation, i.e. when incorrect vehicle data (Euro pollution class, category), weight and travelled distance are specified. Today’s traffic control services work closely together and exchange information making it impossible to avoid fines. It is much safer to pay the toll and recover the paid VAT later on.  

Feel free to contact our EBV finance team of professionals. We have over 160 employees in Lithuania, Poland, Denmark, Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary. We are prepared to help our clients by providing our services in various different languages.  

With us, you will recover 100% of your paid taxes, as well as receive professional advice and save time. You can also use our fast VAT recovery service as necessary (recovery within 2 days after the date of submission of appropriate documents).  

Yes, it is legal if the main activity of your company is related to heavy transport, if costs are incurred in relation to your company’s direct activities, and if you do not have any branches in the countries from which you want to recover VAT. 

If your drivers or accountant are wondering how to check if a toll is valid, there are two ways to do this. First: if you purchase road vignettes from large companies or our partners, they usually have convenient websites where you can easily check the validity of a vignette after entering the relevant data – whether a toll is valid will be indicated next to its status. In it, you will also see additional conditions – countries, roads, and periods. The second way to check a toll is to use the official toll website of that country.  

When paying a toll, it is important to know that the VAT paid for it in a foreign country can be refunded. However, proper accounting of documents is very important – when paying for roads, it is important to remember to collect the invoices, receipts or cheques with your company’s details. In this case, the VAT paid on the toll in a foreign country will be refunded to your company. If you have no experience with tax refunds for transport companies, please feel free to contact us. Our team of professionals is prepared to provide consultations to companies carrying out activities related to the transportation of both passengers and cargo, which incur transportation costs in foreign countries and are interested in the recovery of VAT and excise duty. 

In order to successfully recover VAT on tolls paid in European countries, it is important to know that invoices and receipts must include all the details of the company. I.e. invoices must indicate the company’s full name, VAT code and registration address, and receipts must indicate the seller’s VAT code, name, address and the amount of VAT. If you have any questions, please contact our ABV team of professionals and we will be happy to provide you with country-specific information.  

It is important to remember that only the VAT amount will be refunded and not the entire amount of the paid toll. Its recovery depends on the legal and tax framework of the country from which the recovery is sought. Refunds usually take one to six months. It may take longer for non-EU countries. If you urgently need working capital – use our unique service for fast VAT recovery. Once all the appropriate documents are provided, it can be done within 2 business days.  

VAT on tolls can be recovered by companies whose main activity is the transportation of goods. To do this, you need to fill out an electronic form also called the EPRIS VAT refund. If you do not have experience and knowledge of the law – entrust the recovery of VAT to us! 

Tolls can be checked on certain websites of each country and on specialized websites providing toll services. A toll consists of a vehicle’s tonnage, number of axles, and mileage, and in some countries may depend on the number of days spent there, applied pollution taxes, and other factors. Sometimes it may also depend on the vehicle’s category and class (therefore, when planning to expand your fleet, it is worth paying attention to these nuances as well). You can easily check which roads you need to pay for in a particular country online. 

As a general rule, tolls must be paid by every company whose vehicle weighs more than 3.5 tons. In many European countries, light commercial vehicles (passenger cars, motorcycles, smaller cars, etc.) are also required to pay tolls. Certain road sections, viaducts, bridges, ferries, etc. may also be charged. Toll roads usually provide the fastest route from one travel point to another, and include trunk roads, autobahns and highways. 

The development of a passenger or cargo transportation business inevitably involves tolls. In the past, tolls were paid on-site, however, it is now common practice for cargo and passenger transportation companies to pay a toll online. In many cases, this enables to avoidance of queues, and downtime, and at the same time simplifies accounting procedures. The good news is that some of the amount that you pay for a toll can be recovered. If your main activity is transportation by heavy transport or transportation of passengers and/or parcels – you can get a VAT refund.  

We invite you to register on the self-service portal, where you will be able to see all invoices and all relevant information about the status of applications, VAT and excise refunds and other useful information.

Click the registration link to access the registration form: 
https://client.ebvfinance.com/#/register

a) Enter your company code

b) Enter your password twice

c) You will receive a confirmation of registration by e-mail

Also we recommend that you use the latest version of Google Chrome for the best Self Service portal experience.

Agreements submitted to excise authorities must be signed and sealed. Electronically signed agreements must be accompanied by a Validity Confirmation Sheet.

The Validity Confirmation Sheet is a form confirming the validity of a document. Based on the requirements of excise authorities, the said form must be submitted by the client when an agreement is signed electronically.

The charge can be deducted from the amount of the VAT refunds.
No such possibility exists for excise duty refund applications alone.

The Belgian excise authorities refund excise duty in 8 to 12 months of the date of the application.

This period of time is not regulated by the Belgian excise authorities, it is a preliminary deadline.

For VAT refund applications covering a period shorter than one calendar year (e.g., a quarter), the minimum VAT amount to be recovered from each country may not be below EUR 400.
For VAT refunds covering a period of an entire year, the minimum VAT amount to be recovered from each country shall be EUR 50.

The fast VAT refund service is only available for fuel and toll invoices (the invoices must bear the details of both countries). VAT invoices for vehicle repairs, spare parts, and other expenses, as well as receipts shall not be subject to fast refund. These types of documents shall be submitted for standard VAT refund.

VAT refunds may be made for a period not longer than a calendar year and not shorter than 3 calendar months of the same calendar year.

Applications to refund VAT may be filed by September 30 of the calendar year following the calendar year of the VAT refund period specified in the application; for instance, a VAT refund application for the year 2021 may be filed by 30 September 2022.

There may be exceptions. For more information please contact EBV Sales team.