Is it possible to claim VAT back on fuel purchased in Germany?
A friend asked an interesting question, as we go shopping in Germany fairly often, and the VAT reclaim process is quite simple and straightforward...
Yes, if you buy it in a sealed container.
There is no way to prove the exact quantity of fuel you are exporting/importing in the tank of your car.
Yes, If you buy filled sealed cans of fuel. Aspen pre mixed mower fuel for example. The goods need to be demonstrably untampered with when crossing the border. People have been famously fined for eating sandwiches before they crossed the border.
Is the arbitrage opportunity even there? Fuel is anyway more expensive in Germany, probably due to higher VAT (19% ?). Enter Switzerland pay 7.7% VAT and you may end up spending the same as refueling here.
My friend says these arbitrage opportunities work when it's a 1 time high value item.
Not at the moment it's not.
At the moment, fuel is cheaper in Waldshut than Zurich... Especially when you factor in the strong CHF.
The 7.7% would only kick in >300CHF, no? We have a way to go before a tank of fuel costs 300CHF... I guess that'll be Christmas
Not possible for private persons as a quick look in the German UStG §6 shows
https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/ustg_1980/__6.html
(3) Ist in den Fällen des Absatzes 1 Satz 1 Nr. 2 und 3 der Gegenstand der Lieferung zur Ausrüstung oder Versorgung eines Beförderungsmittels bestimmt, so liegt eine Ausfuhrlieferung nur vor, wenn
1. der Abnehmer ein ausländischer Unternehmer ist und
2. das Beförderungsmittel den Zwecken des Unternehmens des Abnehmers dient.