The refund of excise duty on mineral oil to the foreign nationals enjoying privileges and immunities under international treaties is provided for by the Act on Excise Duty on Mineral Oil (Act No 98/2004, as amended by Act No 667/2004). The entitlement to the refund of excise duty on a demonstrably taxed mineral oil, pursuant to Section 16(2)(a) to (g) of the Act, applies to the diplomatic missions, diplomatic staff, members of the administrative and technical staff of diplomatic missions, consular posts, consular officers, consular employees, as well as international organizations and their personnel, provided that they are not nationals of the Slovak Republic and do not have domicile in the Slovak Republic. The entitlement to the refund of excise duty on mineral oil does not apply to family members of the above-mentioned group of persons.

The principle of reciprocity applies. Pursuant to Section 16(3) of the Act, the excise duty will be refunded only to foreign representatives of those states that refund such excise duty or afford similar treatment to the nationals of the Slovak Republic.

The extent of the refund of excise duty on mineral oil is governed by Sections 16(5) to (7) of the Act. The precondition for the refund of excise duty on mineral oil used as a car fuel is – as opposed to the refund of VAT paid in the price of car fuel – the registration of the passenger/utility vehicle in the Slovak Republic under diplomatic license plates EE or ZZ.

A diplomatic mission, consular post, international organization and their regional office with their seats in the territory of the Slovak Republic are entitled, on the basis of Section 16(6) of the Act, to the refund of the excise duty on a demonstrably taxed mineral oil used as a fuel for heating their premises.

The periodicity of tax refunds is governed by Section 16(8) of the Act based on which a foreign representative may file the excise duty refund application for a period of one calendar quarter within 30 days of the end of the calendar quarter (Act No 667/2004, amending and supplementing Act on Excise Duty on Mineral Oil).
The refund application must be filed with the Bratislava Customs Authority on the prescribed form, along with a certificate issued by the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic confirming the conditions of reciprocity is met pursuant to paragraph 3 (Act No 667/2004 amending and supplementing Act No 222/2004 on the Excise Duty on Mineral Oil), a document evidencing the acquisition of a demonstrably taxed mineral oil in the tax jurisdiction and a document evidencing the payment of excise duty in the price of the mineral oil (Section 15(4)). The original document may be substituted by a copy authenticated by the head of the mission, by the head of the consular post, or by another duly authorized representative (this applies to diplomatic missions, consular posts, and international organizations that concurrently claim value added tax refund).

Under Section 16(11) of the Act, a foreign representative must claim refund no later than in the calendar quarter following the calendar quarter in which the mineral oil was purchased, otherwise the possibility of claiming tax refund becomes void.

Under Section 16(10) of the Act, the customs authority will refund excise duty to the applicant within 30 days of completing the verification of the grounds of the refund claim.

Entitlement to the refund of excise duty on electricity, coal, and natural gas

Specific provisions for the exemption from excise duty on electricity, coal, and natural gas used by the foreign nationals enjoying privileges and immunities under international treaties are stipulated in Section 40 of the Act on the Excise Duty on Electricity, Coal, and Natural Gas (Act No 609/2007), amending and supplementing Act on the Excise Duty on Mineral Oils (Act No 98/2004). The provisions of Sections 40(1)(a) and (b) apply to foreign representatives, including the diplomatic missions, consular posts, and international organizations and their regional offices having their seat in the territory of the Slovak Republic.

The principle of reciprocity applies. Pursuant to Section 40(3) and (4) of the Act, the exemption is granted only to foreign representatives of those states that afford similar treatment to the nationals of the Slovak Republic.

The conditions under which a diplomatic mission or a consular post having their seat in the territory of the Slovak Republic may use tax-exempt electricity, coal, or gas are laid down in Section 40(5) of the Act. It provides that a foreign representative must request the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic for the issuance of a certificate confirming his standing as foreign representative and that the condition of reciprocity is met. The certificate must then be delivered to the respective supplier of electricity, coal or natural gas no later than on the first consumption of the tax-exempt electricity, tax-exempt coal or tax-exempt natural gas (Section 40(6) of the Act).

In accordance with this Act, foreign representatives are granted direct tax exemption.

Filing deadline 

Foreign representatives can file their VAT refund claims once in a quarter of the year within 30 days after the end of each calendar quarter. 

How to file the mineral oil tax claim

The refund claim form on mineral oils and alcohol with an enclosed tax documents (invoices and receipts) must be presented to the Diplomatic Protocol together with a verbal note. The VAT and excise duty on mineral oils are returned only if the vehicle has a diplomatic registration plate.

Customs Office Bratislava (Colný úrad Bratislava, oddelenie spotrebných daní)
Miletičova 42
824 89 Bratislava

Application for refund excise duty on electricity, coal, and natural gas

(pdf; 186.94 kB)

Stiahnuť