UAE 5% VAT Rate

[PropertyDev]

Just processing my companies latest credit card bills & noted that our CEO & Marketing Director's Hotel Bills for a business trip to the UAE, now have a 5% VAT rate applied (which I understand was implemented on 1st Jan 2018).

My question is can this input tax be recovered by a UK only company on its normal VAT return, or do you have to go through some process to recover the VAT - if you can at all?

Any advice is gratefully received.

[RMC]

No, you cannot recover foreign VAT (with the exception of some EU VAT recoverable from authorities in the relevant EU state).