UK Extends Deadline for Docs Required for VAT Refund Claims From US Companies

The United Kingdom will give U.S. companies an additional 60 days to submit documentation for value-added tax (VAT) refund claims covering 2017-18 in light of disruptions caused by the recent U.S. federal government shutdown, the U.K.’s HM Revenue & Customs said in an updated guidance document. As a result of the partial shutdown, U.S. companies may not have been able to obtain a valid certificate of status proving their U.S. business registration, HMRC said. The revised deadline for the certificates for 2017-18 refund claims is now May 30. The deadline for claimants from all other countries remains March 31, 2019. “In all cases, all other documentary evidence required to process the 2017 to 2018 claims must have been submitted by 31 December 2018,” HMRC said. Under the Overseas Refund Scheme, companies not based in the U.K. or European Union may “reclaim VAT charged on imports into the UK or purchases of goods and services used in the UK for business purposes.”