Filenews 21 September 2021
The way citizens could request a VAT refund from the Department of Customs was analyzed in a statement by the Cyprus Post.
Citizens who wish to submit a request for the refund of the Postal Fee for presentation to Customs (€3,50) and /or vat due to its double payment, both during the electronic purchase and during delivery by the Post Office, can find all the necessary information in the relevant announcement issued by the Cyprus Post on 3/9/2021.
IOSS e-commerce items - VAT refund
Cyprus Post wishes to inform the public of the following:
The e-commerce Regulation was implemented as of July 1, 2021 and enables the payment of VAT on the purchase of the item, from e-commerce platforms in third countries, which are registered in the tax register of a Member State of the European Union under the provisions of the Import One Stop Shop (IOSS).
Items sent should be accompanied by an electronic customs declaration and include in a specific field the IOSS number of the platform.
The correctness and validity of the IOSS number is confirmed through an electronic system when submitting the customs declaration to the Customs Department and once it is confirmed, then the object can be forwarded for delivery with exemption from the payment of VAT in Cyprus.
For technical reasons it was not possible to confirm the correctness and validity of the IOSS number until now. It is noted, however, that the relevant system of the Cyprus Post has been fully operational and the control will now be done automatically.
As it is established, from July 1, 2021 until today, a number of customers paid the VAT on the purchase of the item from an e-commerce platform in a third country, and in addition, they paid again the VAT and the postal Fee for Presentation to Customs (€ 3.50), in Cyprus.
Therefore, recipients of items who have paid VAT both on a platform registered in accordance with the provisions of IOSS at the time of purchase, and in Cyprus, are invited to fill in the relevant form posted on the website of the Cyprus Post https://cypruspost.post/el/ioss-refund-form. Once the correctness and validity of the IOSS number has been confirmed, Cyprus Post will proceed with the refund of the VAT paid in Cyprus as well as the postal fee for presentation to Customs, either by return to the credit card (in case the payment was made through the THALISUPP website), or by issuing a cheque.
In order to issue a cheque for natural persons, it is necessary to enter the identity number of the beneficiary. The cheque will be sent by post to the address entered by the beneficiary.
The data entered on the form will be kept for a period of three months and then deleted.
Cyprus Post expresses its apologies for any inconvenience caused and assures that they will make every effort for the timely examination and processing of any requests submitted.
