Procedure for applying for the refund

The application shall be submitted on the corresponding official form approved by Order EHA/789/2010, of 16 March (BOE of 30 March):

1. Entrepreneurs and professionals not established in the territory of application of the tax, but established in the Canary Islands, Ceuta or Melilla, shall submit the form 360 "Application for refund of Value Added Tax borne by entrepreneurs or professionals established in the territory of application of the tax".

2. Entrepreneurs and professionals not established in the territory of application of the tax but established in another Member State of the Community shall submit the application form for refund of input tax paid in the territory of application of the tax by entrepreneurs or professionals not established in that territory but established in the Community, as referred to in Article 5 of the abovementioned Ministerial Order, which will be available on the electronic portal of the Tax Administration of the Member State where the applicant is established.

3. Entrepreneurs and professionals not established in the territory of application of the Tax, nor in another Member State of the Community, nor in the Canary Islands, Ceuta or Melilla, will present the form 361 "Request for refund of VAT to certain entrepreneurs or professionals not established in the territory of application of the Tax, nor in the Community, Canary Islands, Ceuta or Melilla".

These models and forms must be submitted electronically under the conditions set out in Order EHA/789/2010, of 16 March, modified by Order HAP/841/2016, of 30 May (BOE of 2 June).This electronic filing can be done using a recognised electronic certificate, or through the Cl@ve system in the case of individuals who are not obliged to use this electronic certificate.

In relation to form 361 and prior to submitting the refund application, the following documents must be sent to the competent body of the Tax Administration, by registered post:

1. Certificate issued by the competent authorities of the State where the applicant is established, certifying that he/she carries out in that State business or professional activities subject to value added tax or similar taxation during the period to which the application refers.

2. Original power of attorney granted before a notary public in favour of a representative who is a resident, which must expressly state the capacity of the grantor to act in the name and on behalf of the person or entity represented, the place and date on which said power is granted, the name and surnames or company name, the address and tax identification number of the businessperson or professional granting the power, the identification details and address of the representative, as well as the powers conferred by said power, which must expressly include the power conferred to file form 361 by telematic means.If the representative also wishes to be approved to receive Value Added Tax refunds in his or her name on behalf of the requestor, this must be expressly stated in the power of attorney.

   Entrepreneurs or professionals not established in the Community who make use of the special schemes applicable to taxable persons supplying services to non-taxable persons, who carry out distance sales of goods and certain domestic supplies of goods, shall not be required to appoint a representative before the tax authorities.

The State Tax Administration Agency will be responsible for processing and resolving these refund applications.

When the AEAT considers that it does not have all the information it needs, it may request the necessary additional information from the applicant or third parties, by means of a message sent electronically within four months of receipt of the refund application.It may also request any further information it deems necessary.

Likewise, when there are doubts as to the validity or accuracy of the data contained in a refund application or in the electronic copy of the invoices or import documents to which it refers, the body responsible for processing it may, where appropriate, require the applicant to provide the originals of the same within the framework of section seven of Article 119 of the Tax Law.These originals must be kept at the disposal of the tax authorities during the tax limitation period.

Requests for additional or further information shall be dealt with by the addressee within one month of receipt.

The decision on the refund application must be taken and notified to the applicant within four months of the date of receipt of the decision by the body competent to take the decision.

However, where a request for additional or further information is necessary, the decision shall be taken and notified to the applicant within two months of receipt of the information requested or of the end of the period of one month after the request was made, if the request has not been complied with by the addressee.In such cases, the refund procedure shall last for at least six months from receipt of the application by the body responsible for deciding on it.

In any case, when a request for additional or further information is necessary, the maximum period for resolving a refund application shall be eight months from the date of receipt of the application, and it shall be understood to be rejected if no express notification of its resolution has been received after the periods referred to in this section have elapsed.

Once the refund has been recognised, it shall be paid within 10 days of the end of the periods referred to in the previous paragraph.

The total or partial rejection of the application filed may be appealed by the applicant.