The VAT Update #1

The hidden opportunity in recovering VAT

Businesses suffering due to rising costs and supply chain issues are often too busy to spend time clawing back VAT refunds from international transactions. But getting back these funds does not need to be costly or time-consuming.

For any firm with a sales presence in multiple territories, keeping on top of receipts and invoices can be a near constant task. Software giant Amdocs, which operates in global jurisdictions including APAC and EMEA, employs a designated accounts payable department, as well as the latest travel and expenses monitoring assistance.

However, in a fast-moving business, manually selecting and chasing VAT refunds across international transactions became increasingly difficult, says Nira Erez, General Operations Manager at the company.

“Through WAY2VAT’s innovative all-in-one solution, we found many irregularities in the way we were handling our travel and expenses management,” she says.

With these friction points, Amdocs suspected that VAT refunds were slipping through the cracks. The company onboarded WAY2VAT to simplify processes and optimise recovery, only paying the firm a fee if funds were recovered.

“As a result, we now have ongoing, steady income from our VAT return”, she concludes.

A Reliable Partner

WAY2VAT specialises in identifying and reclaiming tax refund opportunities for international businesses using a mix of human and AI-enhanced technological expertise. Operating like a VAT bounty hunter, the firm, which processes over a million invoices every month, only charges if it manages to recover money.

WAY2VAT has pulled back as much as £1.6m in a single year for a client. Yet the number of international businesses, both large and small, leaving cash on the table is growing in a rapidly changing global climate.

Amdocs is a great example. As a successful global software business with 30,000+ employees, it has sales teams moving between countries who stay in hotels and have travel expenditure that WAY2VAT recovers VAT on.

Smaller businesses are also missing important returns. If a firm gets back £200,000, that can make or break the business. In staffing costs, that £200,000 could mean five or six crucial hires.

VAT in Today’s Global Landscape

International businesses have faced significant upheaval in recent years due to the pandemic, Brexit and the war in Ukraine. This has often forced them to switch supply chains and be exposed to new territories and jurisdictions. This means many firms are not aware of the refunds they are leaving unclaimed.

Brexit laws, for example, were such that it made it harder to recover VAT. The previous EU process was more digital, however now the post-Brexit UK is much more manual. Saying to a business they have to do more paperwork forces extra time and extra mistakes.

Lockdown also forced people to work from home and while businesses have invested in new technology, many have cut costs in the subsequent economic down-turn. Often one of the first areas to be affected is the finance team. Businesses say they are going to do VAT internally and remotely across departments, yet none of whom are working in one office. That’s where mistakes get made.

The Hidden Opportunity

VAT refunds can be uncovered in the most unusual of places. For instance, pharmaceutical companies often find themselves using millions of test tubes each one produced in two different territories: the glass vials in one jurisdiction and plastic tops in another. A single fashion item may have buttons, cotton or zips produced in multiple places. This can mean VAT costs incurred at different points have to be claimed back.

The AI-powered WAY2VAT’s client interactive portal allows businesses to have a continuous up to date view of their VAT reclaim process, what refunds are successful, and what is happening with each invoice and expense. This visibility gives critical insight into funding.

Whether a business currently puts all its invoices and expenses in a drawer or a box, or uses an up-to-date digital expense management system, WAY2VAT can seamlessly collect them and immediately get to work, bringing value back into the business.

Found this helpful and would like to learn more? Get in touch.

WAY2VAT can help you navigate the process and claim back what’s yours.