Irish VAT refunds - anyone received one yet?

[traderman]

Just wondering if anyone in Europe has received the forthcoming refunds of Irish VAT which has been wrongly charged by Google on Adwords for the past year or so?

I imagine that this is going to be a fairly hefty sum for many people so I am sure that I am not the only one itching to get my hands on the refund cheque/check! :-)

[jotafk]

I haven't received anything.

I tried to change the "VAT information" on the "Billing Preferences" page to "I use Google AdWords for business purposes: Yes" but I cannot edit that field.

[arrowman]

I have requested a vat refund from Ireland once, for a purchase unrelated to Adwords. After 4 months the Irish tax office returned a hand-written note that I had triangulated incorrectly (this was in the euro transition time). After I refiled it took another 4 months for the payment to arrive. Be patient :-/

[traderman]

Thanks for your response although the refunds are coming from Google themselves - they have been collecting VAT from EU customers and have clearly just discovered that they shouldn't have been (or indeed, didn't need to)....

Trying to be patient but I want my ten grand back :-)

[Sujan]

... and have clearly just discovered that they shouldn't have been ...

Did you get email from Google or something saying this?

Jan

[traderman]

Yup, the email was sent about a month ago and applies to all EU businesses that have been paying VAT at the Irish rate for the last 18 months or so.

Have just phoned Google and they advise that refunds could take up to 6 weeks to be dealt with as there are, quite literally, thousands to be done (as you would expect).

[Paul_N]

I got this email, have edited my account, have been verified by a Google rep that my billing info has been correctly set up to receive a refund, but as yet, no refund.

Also eager to get my summer bonus : ) And a huge bonus that we no longer get charged VAT. I reluctantly was about to register for VAT to get my VAT refunded, so it this couldn't have come at a better time. What exactly is the Irish rate anyway?