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VAT - Conferences and Tradeshows

When organizing conferences or tradeshows in Europe, there are several VAT refund opportunities that will ultimately lower your costs.

1. VAT refund on business conferences and tradeshows where No Fees are charged:
If no fees are to be collected for the corporate meeting/conference/exhibition taking place in Europe, the VAT incurred from the European vendors can in most cases be reclaimed without prior VAT registration.

Original invoices are required to claim the VAT back. EuroVAT will assist in identifying the refund potential and in establishing processes to gather the required original invoices in the most efficient way. The original invoices are then prepared for filing and filed by our Los Angeles office with the different foreign countries.

2. VAT Refund on business conferences and tradeshows where Fees are charged:
A foreign (North American) event planner and/or corporation producing a meeting, conference or exhibition in Europe is often subject to VAT if any fees are to be collected for this event. This means that the foreign (North American) event planner and/or corporation is required to:

1. Register for VAT in the European country where the event takes place.
2. Assess (charge) VAT on all invoices issued regarding the event (i.e. to the corporate client/conference attendees/sponsors).
3. Reclaim the VAT paid by most European vendors on their invoices.

If a foreign event planner/corporation does not comply with EU VAT rules, they are exposed to:

• Tax-penalties for violation of VAT rules, if discovered.
• Decreased profit margin because none of the VAT incurred from the European vendors will be refundable.

Further, most attendees/sponsors representing business entities participating in the event are able to reclaim the VAT they paid for the event.

It is very important that the VAT registration is done by the planner and/or corporation producing the event at the planning stage, prior to business transactions taking place.

EuroVAT will assist companies in the pre-planning phase and identify the refund potential. We then assist with the VAT registration and establish processes to efficiently gather the required original invoices. The original invoices are then prepared and filed by our Los Angeles office with the foreign country in question.

3. VAT refund on incentive trips:
In general, VAT is not refundable to a corporation that organizes an incentive trip for their employees or for contracted sales people. The incentive trip may certainly be a corporate expense, but in most cases the VAT rules disallow VAT refund on the services since no business was conducted.