Every DDP shipment pays import VAT the moment goods clear customs. Most of it stays there, written off as a cost of doing business. STREAM recovers it globally, ensuring it comes back to your business.
Import VAT is charged the moment your goods clear customs.
On DDP shipments, that means you're fronting 19% to 25% of the goods value in each destination market, before a single sale is confirmed, and months before any refund could hit your bank account.
Most exporters absorb it quietly. Some try to manage it in-house and get buried in country-specific filing requirements. A few do nothing at all, treating a fully reclaimable tax as a permanent cost of doing business.
None of those outcomes are necessary. The VAT was always yours to get back.
Four steps. Zero paperwork on your side. Every market handled.
We analyse your shipments across every active market, calculating recoverable VAT going as far back as the statutory look-back period allows in each jurisdiction. Most exporters find they've left years of reclaims uncollected.
Where needed, we register your business for VAT or appoint fiscal representation in the destination market. No local office required on your end. We cover the compliance obligation in full.
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Your company is named as the importer of record on all customs documentation before we file. This protects your right to reclaim and keeps your records clean for audit. Nothing is done in a third-party's name.
Once the tax authority approves the claim, the recovered VAT is remitted to your account. We track approval timelines by market and follow up when delays occur, so nothing stalls without a reason.
On DDP shipments, you clear customs and pay the import VAT yourself, before a single sale settles. STREAM files and manages the reclaim across every eligible market and returns the funds to your business.
Shipping DDP is what puts the import VAT in your name in the first place, which is what makes it recoverable.
Read: Why DDP shipping makes your import VAT recoverable ↗Import VAT reclaim is not complicated. But it requires precision at each step, and most businesses have gaps they don't know about until the window closes. These are the most common points where the money disappears.
None of those failure points is dramatic on its own. An invoice in the wrong inbox. A freight forwarder named where your company should be. A deadline no one flagged. But the result is the same in every case: import VAT you paid at the border that never comes back.
A $1M annual shipment into EU markets at an average 21% import VAT rate means $210,000 sitting at the border each year. If it is not claimed, that becomes $210,000 added to your cost of goods.
Not a fee. Not a tax. A cost you carry and your competitors may not.
We audit your DDP shipments across every active market as part of onboarding. Most exporters find years of legitimate claims they never pursued.
Book A Free AuditWe manage import VAT reclaim across the EU, UK, Switzerland, and Canada. Every market has its own filing process, timeline, and documentation requirements. We handle all of it.
Companies established in an EU member state reclaiming import VAT in other EU countries use the 8th Directive process. Filed through the electronic portal in your home country.
US, UK, Canadian, and other non-EU exporters reclaiming VAT in the EU use the 13th Directive. Each member state sets its own thresholds, required documents, and timelines.
Standard import VAT and GST rates shown. Reduced rates apply to certain goods categories. Processing timelines are indicative and subject to tax authority workload in each jurisdiction.
The criteria are consistent across most markets. If your company is named as the Importer Of Record and pays the import VAT into any country with a VAT or GST regime, as you do on DDP shipments, you qualify. The core requirements are below.
Most exporters find gaps they didn't know existed when they first audit their import paperwork. We do this as part of onboarding at no cost to you.
Request A Free AuditEverything exporters ask us before they start recovering import VAT.
Yes, in most markets. Non-resident businesses reclaim through the 13th Directive process in the EU (or the 8th Directive for EU-based companies), and equivalent schemes elsewhere. Where local registration or fiscal representation is required, STREAM arranges it as part of the service.
Every market sets a statutory look-back window. The UK allows four years; most EU member states allow three to four. As part of onboarding we audit your historical shipments and file for everything still inside the window.
It varies by market: roughly 30 days in the UK, 4–6 weeks in Germany and the Netherlands, and up to several months in Italy, Spain, and Greece. We track each authority's timelines and chase delays so claims don't stall.
You need to be the importer of record — which is exactly what DDP shipping does. It puts the import VAT in your company's name, which is what makes it recoverable. If a forwarder or courier is named instead, the claim is lost.
They're related but different. Foreign VAT reclaim typically covers business expenses like travel and events. Import VAT reclaim covers the VAT paid at customs when your goods enter a country. STREAM specialises in the import side, connected directly to your DDP shipping flow.
Historic claims under the forwarder's name are usually unrecoverable — only the named importer can reclaim. What we do is fix it going forward: STREAM ensures your company is correctly named on every future entry, and audits your history for entries that were filed correctly.
France has moved import VAT to postponed accounting via the French VAT return, which changes the mechanics but not the recoverability. If you're importing into France we'll set up the correct treatment as part of your market onboarding.
Book a free call with the STREAM team. We'll audit your current DDP shipments, identify what you're owed across your active markets, and tell you exactly what we can recover.
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