Excise duty refunds for electricity

If a company is entitled to use electricity of tax category II but the price of the electricity the company has bought includes tax of category I, the difference between the tax categories is refunded to the company. The company must request the refund from the Tax Administration. 

Previously, the difference between the tax categories was credited such that the electricity provider filed it as a deduction on the excise duty return on electricity. As of the first tax period of 2021, no deductions can be made in excise taxation. Instead, a separate refund application must always be submitted for the difference between the tax categories.  

A refund application for electricity used after 1 January 2021 is submitted by the end user. A refund for excise duty on electricity used before 2021 must be submitted be the electricity supplier. 

Request a refund of excise duty on electricity in MyTax 

You can also use a paper form. You can file on paper if electronic filing is not possible, for example due to technical difficulties. 

Forms for excise duty 

Note: If your company is permanently entitled to use electricity of tax category II, please contact the electricity provider of your place of use. The electricity provider usually means the company operating the electricity network. The electricity provider changes your company’s tax category, and so you receive the tax advantage directly in the invoicing.  

When should a refund be requested? 

You can request an excise duty refund on electricity within 3 years from the end of the calendar year containing the period. You can request a refund either for the calendar month or for the calendar year. Submit a separate request for each year or month. 

The tax advantage for excise duty on electricity is State aid – the details are recorded in the State aid register of excise taxation 

The difference between tax categories I and II (i.e. excise duty refund paid on the basis of the difference) is State aid received by the end user. The Tax Administration enters the aid recipient, i.e. the party requesting a refund, in the State aid register of excise taxation. Some State aid details are public information. You can check your company’s aid details in MyTax.  

Please note that State aid may only be granted to companies that are not in financial difficulties under the General Block Exemption Regulation. If the company is in financial difficulties, no aid is granted and any aid already granted may be claimed back.   

Refund basis and refund amount 

You qualify for the tax advantage of tax category II only if the electricity of category II has been metered separately from other electricity and used in

• industry or data centres
• heat pumps, electric boilers or circulation pumps of geothermal heating plants
• professional greenhouse cultivation.

Electricity used in server rooms is subject to the lower tax category only if the company’s main business activity is information service activities, data processing, renting of server premises and related services. Additionally, the company must have a data centre with a capacity of more than 5 MW, in which the company conducts these activities.

Heat pumps qualify for electricity of tax category II if 

• they produce heating energy to the district heating network
• they produce cooling energy to the district cooling network
• or if their total heat output is at least 0.5 MW.

Electricity used in circulation pumps of geothermal heating plants or in electric boilers producing heating energy to the district heating network also qualify for electricity of tax category II.  

The refund is the difference between tax category I and tax category II for electricity / kilowatt-hours. You can check the tax rates for the tax categories in the Tax Administration guidance Tax rates on electricity and certain fuels. Please note that the difference between the tax categories is calculated based on the share of excise duty only. The VAT share, for example, is not taken into account.