Mastercard, a leading technology company in the global payments industry, and air services provider dnata have teamed up to launch a VAT Reclaim Service for Mastercard Platinum BusinessCard and World Mastercard for Business cardholders.

The service allows businesses in the region to reclaim the Value Added Tax (VAT) they have paid for more than 15 services in 18 countries across Europe, UK and Australia.

With the introduction of the VAT Reclaim Service, Mastercard and dnata provide small and medium enterprises (SMEs) operating from countries where they are registered— such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Egypt and Pakistan — the opportunity to save on travel expenses and turn their valueless invoices into a significant source of income at no extra cost. The VAT paid for services including hotels, restaurants, telephone calls, transportation, training and exhibitions can be reclaimed by employees, whilst travelling on company business, provided the invoices are paid by registered companies in the countries that fall within the scheme’s ambit.

“Each year, businesses in the region spend millions in VAT on services supplied in the UK, Europe and Australia. In partnership with dnata, Mastercard is proud to offer SMEs throughout the Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan a simple, innovative solution to manage their business-related travel expenses, helping eliminate the complexities typically associated with reclaiming VAT. With an entirely managed end-to-end process through dnata, SMEs can now turn a cost into a benefit,” said Adam Jones, vice president, head of Commercial Products – Middle East and Africa, Mastercard.

Abdulla Tawakul, senior vice president, dnata Travel, B2B, said: “We are excited about the prospect of being able to offer VAT Reclaim Services to Mastercard’s SME clientele base. In the current economic climate where every saving counts, the ability to claim back VAT paid across Europe by local businesses will go a long way in generating funds which would have normally been written off as an expense.”

Through a simple managed procedure, SMEs can claim back the VAT paid in France, Monaco, Ireland, Great Britain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Spain, Luxembourg, Germany, Malta, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Australia.

The VAT Reclaim Service collects original invoices from businesses, follows up on reclaims and provides regular updates on the status of each claim – all the while ensuring that maximum funds are reclaimed for customers. - TradeArabia News Service