VAT and excise module
Rates that change every quarter: how to track excise refund figures
Published: 2026-09-24
Written by Vytautas Natys, managing director of UAB NVGroup.
An excise refund rate is not a constant. It is a figure the state reviews regularly, and sometimes changes without warning.
How often
It depends on the country. Some review quarterly, some less often, and some respond to fuel price movements immediately.
In 2026 there was at least one case where refunds were suspended entirely for two months after a sudden fuel price shock. In those months the rate was not lower — there was none at all.
Why it matters to the calculation
Three consequences.
A report can use a stale figure. If a claim is prepared months later and the rate changed in the meantime, the figure applied has to match the period of purchase, not the moment the claim was written.
Suspension is not an error. A zero rate for a given month means there is nothing to claim for that period. That is a known value, and it has to be kept separate from an unknown one.
Planning becomes unreliable. A haulier who builds a fixed refund figure into cost calculations carries an unplanned cost through any suspension.
What can be done in practice
Track the rate by country and period, not by average. An annual average across a year containing a suspension distorts the result in both directions.
Record the source and the date for every figure. This matters not only for accuracy but for argument: if the intermediary applied a different rate, you need to show which one was correct and where that is known from.
And do not treat the refund as a guaranteed line in your cost base. It is a variable, not a constant.
How we handle it
Every rate we hold carries a source, a validity period and a date of verification. If an entry has no end date and nobody has checked it for more than a quarter, it counts as stale, and calculation for that country stops.
Stopping is a feature here, not an obstacle. A stale figure used quietly still looks like a result — but it is a result nothing can be built on.
Frequently asked questions
How do I find out which rate applied in a given month?
From that country's official source and the entry for that period. This is exactly why every rate must be stored with its validity period rather than as a single current value.
Does a zero rate mean something went wrong?
No. It means there was no refund for that period — a known value. The difference from an unknown value is fundamental: in the first case the answer is correct, in the second no calculation can be made at all.
Can I rely on an average annual rate?
Not advisable. In a year containing a suspension or a sharp change, the average distorts the result in both directions — overstating some months and understating others.