Tax Free allows you to return 8-27% of the cost of purchases made abroad. Let us check how to arrange it.
What is Tax Free
Tax Free is a system for the return of value-added tax from a purchase made by a foreign citizen.
Value added tax is included in the final cost of the goods. This money is transferred by the seller to the state budget, from where they are distributed to various social programs. Foreigners are not involved in the social mechanisms of the country, and therefore are exempt from tax. This right is formalized not through a discount, but through the return of excessively paid money after leaving the country.
How much can you save
The amount of money refunded depends on the amount of the value added tax established in the particular country where the purchase was made. The minimum share is 8%, this is the size of Tax Free installed in Japan. The most generous in the list of countries that provide Tax Free, remains Hungary: by default here they return 27% of the price.
In this case, the amount returned in reality can be much less than the one the tourist counts on. Money usually comes back through an outside organization, with which the store has a contract. For the services of the intermediary will leave part of the funds itself. The largest companies working with Tax Free are Premier Tax Free, Global Blue, Innova Tax Free.
What to buy to get Tax Free
In most countries, you can return the tax when buying clothes, shoes, household and electronic equipment, watches and jewelry.
At the same time, books, food, medicines, souvenirs and services may not be subject to regulations on VAT refund to foreigners.
On the door or shop window that provides checks for Tax Free return, the corresponding sticker is placed. The information is usually in English, so it's not necessary to be a polyglot to understand it.
The label will also indicate the name of the company through which you will make a refund.
To issue checks Tax Free
To return Tax Free, you need the seller to issue special checks. In any country they can be requested for the keywords Tax Free check or Tax Free form. This document is attached to a standard cash receipt. For registration of papers you will need a passport or a photocopy. Make sure that all personal data has been transferred to the form correctly, as mistakes may become the basis for refusing to refund the tax.
In each country, the minimum amount for which Tax Free checks are issued is set. For example, in Germany it is 25 euros, in France - 175 euros, in Holland - 50 euros, in the UK - 30 pounds sterling, in Argentina - 70 Argentine pesos, in Japan - 5 thousand yen.
Purchases for this amount must be made with one check. In large shopping centers there are sometimes special departments where you will collect data about your purchases from different stores in one general document.
Food and non-food items can not be entered in one check.
Put a stamp on the customs
When you leave the country where the purchases were made, you must put a stamp on the export of things at the customs. To do this, employees of the service need to present checks and goods in a package, with no signs of use. For persuasiveness, you can store branded store packages.
The EU states are considered a single zone, therefore it is necessary to put a mark on export in the country through which you leave the EU.
The stamp is placed in a special office at the customs office, it should be looked for by the Tax Free office sign. If it is up to the check-in counters, just contact it and get the appropriate seals. Sometimes the customs clearance office of Tax Free is at the check-in counters. In this case, transfer the things purchased in the country into hand luggage, so that there was something to confirm the fact of purchase.
Checks have their expiry date, during which you need to put a stamp of customs on them. Most often, the seal on documents should be received within three months from the date of purchase. In Switzerland, Norway, Morocco, the term is reduced to one month.
Get money
You can return VAT in material terms in three ways:
1. At the airport
With checks on which the stamp of customs is put, address in office Tax Refund of the company-intermediary which is specified in your documents. The necessary amount can be given in cash or transferred to a card, the data of which you provide.
For the issuance of tax in cash, the company can withhold interest, on the card the funds will come without deductions.
Some companies establish special mailboxes at airports, where you can drop a check with the stamp of the customs and the number of the bank card to which the funds will come.
2. When crossing the border by land
Tax Refund Office can be located at the checkpoint. In this case, you need to get a stamp from the employees of the department, and then apply for a refund.
3. Through mail
Send a check with the stamp of the customs company to the intermediary by mail. The address must be specified on the document itself. Do not forget to enter the bank card number on the form. Money will come to the account in an average of 1-2 months.
4. In the bank
In some cases, you can return the money in one of the banks that cooperates with the intermediary company to pay Tax Free. Global Blue issues money in Kaliningrad, Moscow and St. Petersburg through Intesa Bank, in Pskov - through the AKB Slavia; Innova Tax Free - through SMPbank in Moscow, Chelyabinsk, St. Petersburg, Kaliningrad, Yekaterinburg. A complete list of financial institutions that issue money can be seen on the website of its intermediary.
In rare cases, you can return the tax to the store right after the purchase. However, then you will need to send a Tax Free check with the stamp of the customs office, otherwise the written amount will be sent off your card.
Why can refuse tax refund
- The form of Tax Free is filled with errors.
- You did not put a stamp on customs on exporting things from the country where they bought them.
- The dates on the cash receipt and Tax Free form do not match. This rule is not observed in all countries. For example, in Spain, the purchases made in one store on different days are summarized.
- According to the instructions, you can apply for VAT with a check stamped with a stamp of the customs, within a period of three months (Belgium, Greece, Morocco, and so on) to infinity (Netherlands, Lithuania, Lebanon). In practice, it is better not to delay the circulation of money, or you can get a refusal.
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