Quarterly Refund for Export and International Transport Operations
A taxable person whose export or international transport operations amount to LBP 50 million annually or more may submit a request for a quarterly refund of the deductible tax surplus.
The quarterly refund request must be submitted within a maximum period of two months from the end of the quarter, starting from 1/7/2004.
The taxpayer must submit an exporter classification request to the Taxpayer Services Department in order to obtain quarterly refund applications.
Reference: Decree No. 7336 dated 31/1/2002 and its amendments, right of deduction.
Semi-Annual Refund
A taxable person may, after the end of the second quarter of any calendar year, submit a request to refund the deductible tax surplus.
Reference: Decree No. 7336 dated 31/1/2002 and its amendments, right of deduction.
Annual Refund
A taxable person may, after the end of any calendar year, submit a request to refund the deductible tax surplus calculated at the end of that year.
Reference: Decree No. 7336 dated 31/1/2002 and its amendments, right of deduction.
Refund for Certain Exempt Operations under Article 59, Healthcare and Education
Who are the persons concerned under Article 59?
They are persons carrying out exempt operations according to Articles 16 or 17 of this law, including:
- Pharmaceutical manufacturing.
- Manufacturing of exempt food products mentioned in Article 17 of the Value Added Tax Law.
- Hospitals and medical laboratories.
- Activities of non-profit bodies and associations in relation to their tax-exempt activities.
- Education.
- Public transport of persons.
- Water and electricity companies and newspapers.
- Paper and cardboard manufacturing.
- Pharmaceutical products manufacturing. The refund request must be submitted using special form Q7-3 at the end of each quarter of the year.
Reference: Article 59 of Law No. 379/2001 and its amendments, Value Added Tax Law.
Decree No. 7365 and its amendments dated 2/2/2002, VAT refund for exempt persons.
VAT Refund for Embassies, Diplomatic Missions and International Organizations
The bodies that benefit from the right of refund are:
- Diplomatic and consular missions established in Lebanon, subject to reciprocity.
- United Nations organizations operating in Lebanon.
- International and regional organizations.
- Diplomats, consuls and employees affiliated with the organizations mentioned above.
Conditions and procedures for VAT refund:
- Principle of reciprocity.
- Refund of the tax paid on goods and services used for carrying out their official duties and activities.
- The value of a single invoice must exceed LBP 300,000.
- The refund request must be submitted on special forms prepared for this purpose by the tax administration, at the end of each month of the year, provided that the refund request deadline does not exceed one year from the purchase date.
- The refund request must be submitted through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants, and is not accepted unless certified by that Ministry.
Reference: Decree No. 7295 and its amendments dated 26/1/2002, diplomatic missions.
Refund for Non-Resident Business Persons
These are foreign or Lebanese natural or legal persons residing abroad, who do not have a permanent place of business in Lebanon and do not have a permanent residence in Lebanon, and whose visit to Lebanon is for the purpose of holding conferences, lectures, exhibitions, or participating in them.
Refund conditions:
- The person must be registered with the tax administration and must not have a residence or place of business in Lebanon.
- A written application, form Q8, must be submitted at least ten days before starting the activity to the Value Added Tax Directorate in Lebanon.
- The value of the tax paid must exceed LBP 1,000,000 during one or several periods of stay.
- The refund request must be submitted before the end of the sixth month of the year following the year in which the refund request was submitted.
Reference: Article 58 of Law No. 379/2001, Value Added Tax Law.
Decree No. 7299 dated 26/1/2002, non-resident business persons.
Refund of the Cost of One Cash Register Machine
Persons who follow the simplified system for organizing and issuing invoices, pursuant to Decision No. 294/1 dated 6/3/2002, and who keep their accounts on a cash basis and have obtained the tax administration’s approval to adopt this system, may submit a request to the Value Added Tax Directorate, Tax Compliance Department, to refund the cost of one approved cash sales registration machine, namely a cash register, provided that the machine was acquired after 31/1/2002 and complies with the specifications imposed by the Directorate and determined under Instructions No. 198/1 dated 23/10/2004.
Reference: Law No. 583 dated 23/4/2004, General Budget and attached budgets.
Minister of Finance Decision No. 914 dated 16/7/2004.
Tourist Refund
Tourists may recover the tax paid on certain goods or items purchased in Lebanon, subject to the following conditions:
- The purchased goods or items must be transported as accompanied baggage.
- The tourist and the goods must be outside the scope of the Lebanese tax administration.
- The total value of a single invoice must not be less than LBP 150,000.
- The purchases must be taken out of Lebanon within three months from the purchase date or invoice date.
- The purchases must be new and not consumed in Lebanon.
Reference: Article 58 of Law No. 379/2001, Value Added Tax Law.
Decree No. 7301 dated 26/1/2002, tourists.