Background
This case study highlights how GTR partnered with a UK-based international recruitment firm to successfully recover VAT on travel and expenses. The company frequently sends consultants and executives abroad for client meetings, trade shows, and training events across Germany, France, Italy, and the Nordic regions.
The Challenge
Following Brexit, the recruitment firm faced growing challenges reclaiming VAT on travel and expenses incurred in Germany, France, Italy and the Nordic Regions.
These included:
- Diverse VAT rules and documentation standards across jurisdictions.
- Language barriers and lack of in-house expertise to interpret local tax regulations.
- Delayed or rejected claims due to missing or non-compliant invoices.
- Time-consuming processes that burdened the finance and operations teams.
Despite incurring thousands in recoverable VAT annually, most claims were left unfiled or partially recovered due to administrative complexity.
Our Solution
GTR implemented a tailored an International VAT recovery strategy, including:
- Full audit and eligibility review of past expenses.
- Automated expense processing tools to collect and categorise T&E receipts.
- Local expertise and multilingual support for handling country-specific requirements in each region.
- End-to-end reclaim management, from document validation to submission and follow-up with local tax authorities.
Results
- GTR recovered over €76,000 in VAT in the first 12 months.
- 95% reduction in internal processing time for VAT reclaim tasks.
- Minimal rejected claims thanks to improved invoice compliance and expert oversight.
- An ongoing recovery process was established for future travel, creating sustainable cash flow gains.
