VAT Refund for Belgium HT

[HappyMan2021]

I am having surgery with Dr. Mwamba in Brussels in January. For those unaware, Belgium has a 21% VAT tax. So my costs will be surgery + 21% VAT tax.

Apparently non-Europeans can get a refund on the VAT tax for goods (you buy thousands of dollars for clothes), but you cannot get a refund for "services" - such as food, hotels, etc. 

I am wondering if anyone has successfully gotten a VAT refund for a cosmetic procedure/hair transplant?

[andrewfaliro]

If you get a note from a dr you can have it waived. I did it for my procedure with Dr Bisanga earlier this year.

I would contact the clinic and see how they can help.

[HappyMan2021]

47 minutes ago, andrewfaliro said:

If you get a note from a dr you can have it waived. I did it for my procedure with Dr Bisanga earlier this year.

I would contact the clinic and see how they can help.

Can you please tell me specifically what the note says? Do you present it to customs at the airport as you are departing back home?

Or can you explain the process in more detail?

Coincidentally enough im seeing my primary care doc on Monday for a routine physical, I can ask him to write a note then

[HairEnthusiast101]

4 hours ago, HappyMan2021 said:

Can you please tell me specifically what the note says? Do you present it to customs at the airport as you are departing back home?

Or can you explain the process in more detail?

Coincidentally enough im seeing my primary care doc on Monday for a routine physical, I can ask him to write a note then

Interested in this as well

[WhereIsMyMind]

I could actually do it aswell, but I was so tired to go through the customs on the airport and on a rush that completely forgot 😅

In my case it would be a refund of 6500eur so even if I have to fly to brussels airport again it would be worth it lol (HT was 2 weeks ago)

Let's find out how to do it , im pretty sure its possible, I have been refunding my VAT for years now in my country when I order products from Europe.

Edited December 14, 2022 by WhereIsMyMind

[WhereIsMyMind]

I mean, in theory, just the HT bill showing the VAT you paid should be enough proof to request it I think? 
The question is if I really need to go to the airport customs or I can do it remotely?

Edited December 14, 2022 by WhereIsMyMind

[WhereIsMyMind]

Quote

Re: VAT refund at airport - hair transplant eligible?

•  

Postby Trevor S » Sun Mar 08, 2020 11:06 pm

I believe that this would be seen as a supply of services, rather than goods. Where the customer is not a business, most services are liable to VAT in whichever country the supplier is based - with no right of refund, regardless of whether or not the customer lives in an EU member state.

I found this online though, in theory a HT is a service and not a purchased good -- which is not elegibible for airport VAT refund 🤔

[Curious25]

I could be wrong, but I seem to remember foreign HT patients in Belgium being liable to pay the medical tourism tax, which was +21%.
 

Maybe ask the clinic and see if they can help out, or any of the other non Belgic patients on here who have been recently? 

[WhereIsMyMind]

Quick conslutation with my lawyer regarding EU tax, he told me in theory customers can claim VAT refund from any physical purchased goods that were subject to Sales Tax.
In the case of a Hair Transplant, since its not a physical good subject to Sales Tax, it should be considered a service. Non-EU bussiness can deduct service tax aswell, but it is unclear if a customer would be able to do the same. In his view, it shouldn't be possible, but there might be a way to interpret it as a purchased good rather than a service.

[andrewfaliro]

 

All you need is a doctors note stating that you have experienced negative psychological and/or physical issues related to hairloss. Give that to the clinic and there is nothing else to do, at least with Dr Bisanga. You don't need to pay and then get a refund. 

 

 

 

[andrewfaliro]

This is a sample letter of what you need:

 

Dear Dr ___________
RE: Patient Name, Address
I would be grateful if you could provide an assessment with a view to surgery for the aforementioned
patient.
He is (age) and has been suffering with androgenic alopecia since (date).
He has been using the following medication for the treatment of this:- (Medication) since....
Hair loss has impacted the patient emotionally and has caused anxiety, lack of confidence etc ...(put
conditions that affect your well-being).
Both I and the patient believe that a hair transplant could alleviate this issue and improve his well-being
both socially and professionally.
Please do not hesitate to contact me should you require any further information.
Kind regards

Signed and stamped and on letter headed paper.

[Gokuhairline]

hit up the guy who went to mwamba last month..cant find him rn but he would be good to ask. 

[WhereIsMyMind]

On 12/14/2022 at 7:46 PM, andrewfaliro said:

This is a sample letter of what you need:

 

Dear Dr ___________
RE: Patient Name, Address
I would be grateful if you could provide an assessment with a view to surgery for the aforementioned
patient.
He is (age) and has been suffering with androgenic alopecia since (date).
He has been using the following medication for the treatment of this:- (Medication) since....
Hair loss has impacted the patient emotionally and has caused anxiety, lack of confidence etc ...(put
conditions that affect your well-being).
Both I and the patient believe that a hair transplant could alleviate this issue and improve his well-being
both socially and professionally.
Please do not hesitate to contact me should you require any further information.
Kind regards

Signed and stamped and on letter headed paper.

This is really interesting, so its not really VAT refund, you simply pay 0% tax for this proccedure. I wonder in what part of the Belgian tax law is this mentioned? Sounds weird ngl. I guess all responsibility falls on Bisanga to justify to the authorities that no tax was paid then.

[gillenator]

On 12/14/2022 at 1:46 PM, andrewfaliro said:

This is a sample letter of what you need:

 

Dear Dr ___________
RE: Patient Name, Address
I would be grateful if you could provide an assessment with a view to surgery for the aforementioned
patient.
He is (age) and has been suffering with androgenic alopecia since (date).
He has been using the following medication for the treatment of this:- (Medication) since....
Hair loss has impacted the patient emotionally and has caused anxiety, lack of confidence etc ...(put
conditions that affect your well-being).
Both I and the patient believe that a hair transplant could alleviate this issue and improve his well-being
both socially and professionally.
Please do not hesitate to contact me should you require any further information.
Kind regards

Signed and stamped and on letter headed paper.

Certainly worth a try!

[crazytimess]

On 12/13/2022 at 6:28 PM, HappyMan2021 said:

Can you please tell me specifically what the note says? Do you present it to customs at the airport as you are departing back home?

Or can you explain the process in more detail?

Coincidentally enough im seeing my primary care doc on Monday for a routine physical, I can ask him to write a note then

Did you talk about the VAT refund or 0% VAT with Dr Mwamba and his assistants? I just would like to see if you were able to get a refund since you already had your surgery this month

[crazytimess]

On 12/15/2022 at 7:53 PM, WhereIsMyMind said:

This is really interesting, so its not really VAT refund, you simply pay 0% tax for this proccedure. I wonder in what part of the Belgian tax law is this mentioned? Sounds weird ngl. I guess all responsibility falls on Bisanga to justify to the authorities that no tax was paid then.

Did you ever reach out to mwamba to see if you could get your VAT money back. You paid a lot of money on VAT.

 

I have a transplant in a few months and would like to see if anyone else was able to get VAT refunded or had 0% VAT for their surgery with Mwamba

[WhereIsMyMind]

3 hours ago, crazytimess said:

Did you ever reach out to mwamba to see if you could get your VAT money back. You paid a lot of money on VAT.

 

I have a transplant in a few months and would like to see if anyone else was able to get VAT refunded or had 0% VAT for their surgery with Mwamba

I talked with Belgium and my country tax authorities, they guaranteed me it is not possible unless I (or the doctor) commits a fraudulent proccedure so I decided to move on

Maybe its possible if you try hard enough but I didn't even count with it to begin with sooo

Edited January 18, 2023 by WhereIsMyMind

[HappyMan2021]

8 hours ago, crazytimess said:

Did you talk about the VAT refund or 0% VAT with Dr Mwamba and his assistants? I just would like to see if you were able to get a refund since you already had your surgery this month

During my trip and while I was at the clinic, I was thinking about more important things (the actual surgery) that I honestly didnt even remember to bring it up while I was there lol. Even if I had remembered, im not sure i would have mentioned anything.

Based on other replies i got in this thread and elsewhere, i had just decided to eat the charge and not let it bother me, before the trip began.  

Belgium is not my country, i have no power there I just have to follow all tax instructions as ordered. Mwambas clinic directly told me there was no way around the VAT tax so i just had to do as ordered. 

It is strange because im fairly certain Bisanga's patients dont have to pay the VAT tax. But Bisangas clinic is not Mwambas clinic and a patient cant force a foreign clinic to do their tax filings, a justification, write-offs however they want. You are at their mercy on how they decide to do all that. 

It does stink though regardless. There is no reason you yourself cant investigate and ask the clinic yourself.

Edited January 18, 2023 by HappyMan2021

[Metreon80]

On 12/14/2022 at 10:43 AM, andrewfaliro said:

 

All you need is a doctors note stating that you have experienced negative psychological and/or physical issues related to hairloss. Give that to the clinic and there is nothing else to do, at least with Dr Bisanga. You don't need to pay and then get a refund. 

 

 

 

Hi, andrewfaliro! Thanks for sharing your experience. I’m looking into seeing Bisanga as well. I’ll be traveling from the U.S. to Belgium for HT. Did you go to a general practitioner Dr or a Dermatologist for the note? I see that you mentioned a note was given to the clinic, but did a note have to be supplied to customs as well or just the clinic?

[andrewfaliro]

On 3/24/2023 at 11:24 PM, Metreon80 said:

Hi, andrewfaliro! Thanks for sharing your experience. I’m looking into seeing Bisanga as well. I’ll be traveling from the U.S. to Belgium for HT. Did you go to a general practitioner Dr or a Dermatologist for the note? I see that you mentioned a note was given to the clinic, but did a note have to be supplied to customs as well or just the clinic?

 

no, nothing to customs. All I did was forward the note to my patient advisor and that's it, it was never mentioned again.

[Metreon80]

1 hour ago, andrewfaliro said:

 

no, nothing to customs. All I did was forward the note to my patient advisor and that's it, it was never mentioned again.

Awesome, thanks! Were you able to get a note from a Dermatologist?

Your 4 month results are looking great, man! Looking forward to seeing your 6 month results. I’m a NW3 too. I’ll start a thread here on the forums when I begin my HT journey with Dr. B.

[LostAndFound]

Hello all, does anyone have any recent experience on whether the vat for procedure can be claimed back via a refund? I am living in a non-EU country and interested in the Belgium clinics

[HappyMan2021]

7 hours ago, LostAndFound said:

Hello all, does anyone have any recent experience on whether the vat for procedure can be claimed back via a refund? I am living in a non-EU country and interested in the Belgium clinics

Bisanga's clinic has a way of getting rid of the VAT tax for you. He must have a really good accountant or something. 

All the other Belgian doctors, you will have to pay the 25% VAT Tax. I personally spent so much time looking into this in January when I had my surgery in Belgium. If I were you I wouldn't bother trying to find a loophole, I am certain it will lead you to a dead end. 

The VAT Tax is a really well-known law in Belgium and is super profitable for the government. It's not something you as a foreigner are going to be able to get rid of (unless you go to Bisanga - for some reason unknown reason they are able to waive the VAT Tax)