2024-08-18 06:57:56
According to the reform to the Regulations of the Tax Regime Law, the VAT refund will apply only to purchases made in certain businesses authorized by the SRI. Read a guide.
The Regulations to the Tourism Law, published on July 15, 2024 in the Official Registry, establish a new procedure for the refund of Value Added Tax (VAT) to senior citizens and people with disabilities.
According to the legal text, which reformed the Regulations to the Internal Tax Regime Law, VAT will only be refunded for purchases made in establishments authorized by the SRI, which must be up to date with VAT payments in the “last 12 months.”
To do so, the SRI must publish the list of authorized establishments on its website. In the meantime, the previous process will be in force, according to the regulations of the law.
Here are some key points you should know about VAT refunds for senior citizens:
Personal consumption
The VAT refund is a benefit that applies only to purchases of goods and services for personal consumption made by senior citizens aged 65 or older. Invoices must be issued in their name.
Maximum return rate
The maximum VAT refund rate each month is calculated by adding the value of two unified basic salaries (UBS) of the current year, that is, USD 920 in 2024, and to that value, the current VAT rate is applied, which since April is 15%.
Therefore, the maximum refund rate currently is USD 138 per month.
Channels for return
There are three channels for the refund of this tax:
In person, at the SRI offices, only if you have physical invoices issued before November 2022. If a third party carries out the procedure, they must bring the authorization form.
Virtual, from the SRI portal, with username and password. To obtain the password, the elderly person must go to the SRI offices. Then, they can follow the process virtually. In addition, they need to have an email address.
Automatic, meaning that when the senior citizen makes the purchase, they will not be charged VAT. This benefit is only available for purchases in certain authorized establishments.
However, to access the benefit, it is necessary to obtain a code from the SRI, for which you must first fill out a form on the website and take it to their offices.
In this link we explain step by step how to return through each of the channels mentioned above. In this video you can also learn how to do it through the SRI’s virtual channel:
Establishments up to date with the SRI
As mentioned at the beginning, according to the latest reform to the Regulations of the Internal Tax Regime Law, VAT will only be refunded for purchases made in establishments authorized by the SRI, which must be up to date with VAT payments in the “last 12 months.”
The SRI will publish the list of authorized establishments on its website. In the meantime, you can request a refund following the above process.
Return period
The VAT refund should be made within 60 days for senior citizens, according to the regulations of the Internal Tax Regime Law.
However, complaints from beneficiaries who are waiting for the refund amounts are common. As of July 9, the debt with the elderly was close to USD 90 million, according to the director of the SRI, Damián Larco, who specified that they were making the payments corresponding to March 2024.
Requests may accumulate
Taxpayers can request a VAT refund every month. However, they can also request a refund for several months in a row. For example, in March, the taxpayer can request a VAT refund for invoices from January and February.
There is no limit or cap on the number of months that a taxpayer can accumulate in a single month. However, it should be noted that taxpayers may request a VAT refund for invoices that have been issued up to five years ago.