The Remonon mobile app being tested by Installation Management Command-Europe allows users to scan purchase receipts and file claims for VAT reimbursement directly from their smartphones. The pilot program is being expanded to include 200 more testers. (U.S. Army)
WIESBADEN, Germany — A pilot program set up last month to test a value-added tax form consolidation app for U.S. personnel in Germany is about to grow in both numbers and reach.
Installation Management Command-Europe started the Remonon pilot program in March with a pool of about 50 soldiers, civilians and family members in Wiesbaden.
Beginning May 1, the command will add 100 patrons from Wiesbaden as well as 100 users in the U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria community, according to an IMCOM-E statement released Friday.
New participants must sign up in person at their VAT office to verify eligibility and receive an individualized number before downloading the Remonon app, IMCOM Europe spokesman Mark Heeter said in an email Friday. A European IBAN is required for registration and use of the app, Heeter added.
Remonon was created by Novat, a company based in Grafenwoehr. The company is seeking to bundle “micro purchases” that shoppers normally wouldn’t use a VAT form for, according to the description in Apple’s App store.
Users wouldn’t have to complete a form in the store and would be reimbursed for the taxes at a later date. The pilot program applies to VAT forms for purchases valued up to 2,500 Euro.
“If we think about adding up all the value-added tax we pay, down to the smallest micro purchase, the quick trip to the bakery or the coffee shop or the grocery store, this new app provides our community members the chance for significant money coming back to them,” Jeff Wertz, IMCOM-Europe’s assistant chief of staff for family, morale, welfare and recreation, said in the command’s statement.
This program doesn’t eliminate the $10 VAT form. At the beginning of a month, customers upload a photo of a VAT form into the app and can then begin uploading receipts for purchases.
At the end of the month, Remonon will prompt users to fill in the total value of accepted receipts, sign and date the form, and upload a photo to the app within five days, Heeter said.
App users will then receive refunds in their registered bank accounts at a rate of 14% and 4% for items with VAT of 19% and 7%, respectively, as a service fee for using the app, he said.
IMCOM-E did not provide a projected timeline for implementation across Germany but said it will announce the launch the of the app’s full availability when developers and VAT program management are satisfied that full service is feasible.
“To ensure only authorized patrons are using it, the app will only record credit and debit card transactions,” Wertz said. “However, some case-by-case exceptions will be possible, such as when a vendor does not accept cards.”
