Vat refund

[CaroleLee]

Will post this on Italy, France,Spain & Other Boards- hopefully someone has an answer.

Our cruise will visit Spain, France,Italy, Dubrovnik & Kotor. I would usually have VAT processed @ airport (BCN) however with so many ports do I/should I VAT processed @ cruise terminals? I know that certain dept stores have VAT desks within them. Are there VAT refund desks @ the cruise terminals?

Port are BCN

Villefranche

Livorno

Naples

Civitavecchia

Venice

Dubrovnik

Kotor

 

Thanks

Carole

[bethaniesmom]

just read Rick Steve's comments on VAT in "Europe thru the Back Door". Seems very complicated to me....but he does say that it can be done at airports or ports, that it should be done at your last stop, that all articles must be new when declared, that the paperwork must be in order and received from each retailer, that there is a minimum purchase of $22.00 for a refund and that you have to have that minimum from one retailer, you can't add them all up to reach that amount.

Good luck.

 

Beverly

[CruisinGerman]

Dear friends:

 

You have to do it at your last port of call in the EU before leaving in the EU.

 

Therefore, on your cruise, even if you purchased the goods in another country, you would have to do it at the EU port before you reach Croatia.

 

However, I assume that your cruise ends in an EU country. Because your stops in each country are less than 24 hours, sometimes it is not interpreted from the EU point of view that you actually visited another country, but rather merely transited through the country on your way to another EU country. If you try to get the police to stamp your papers before you reach Croatia and they take this interpretation, you probably won't be able to process the VAT refund until you leave the EU after your cruise on an airline.

 

Remember, the rule is not to process the papers necessarily in the country where you purchased the goods, but rather in the country that is your last stop in the EU on your way to a non-EU country.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Kind regards,

 

Gunther and Uta

[joandian]

We were on a Baltic cruise in July out of Southampton and submitted our VAT for refunds on all our purchases throughout the cruise at Heathrow. The money was refunded to our credit card.

 

There was also one day on the cruise where officers came on board to process claims but I can't remember now what country we were docked in.

 

Jo

[hkto]

Usually big EU airports have a process for refund. I can speak for Milan where there is a window where receipts are looked at, then it has to get stamped by customs person and then refund is paid in cash.

[erdoran]

Is there a VAT refund for hotel stays? I hadn't realized this is an option! If you are doing a transatlantic crossing leaving from Barcelona, where would you process the refund? At the cruise port?

[Jobeth66]

erdoran - there is no refund of VAT for hotel stays, restaurant meals, etc. Only for souvenirs, essentially - goods purchased for export. So you can't, say, buy a jacket in Barcelona and wear it in the city before your trip, then declare the VAT refund for it. It has to be new & unused items.

 

I don't know about getting a VAT refund at the port in Barcelona.

[pete_coach]

erdoran - there is no refund of VAT for hotel stays, restaurant meals, etc. Only for souvenirs, essentially - goods purchased for export. So you can't, say, buy a jacket in Barcelona and wear it in the city before your trip, then declare the VAT refund for it. It has to be new & unused items.

I don't know about getting a VAT refund at the port in Barcelona.

I do not believe that is quite correct. To make a VAT rebate claim, you only have to show receipts.

If I remember correctly from our cruise lat in 2009, it is really a pain in the butt. You have to get the filled out forms from the stores you purchase from. Not all stores participate in the rebate program and, there may be a minimum purchase requirement in that store to get the forms. The participating stores will have a "Tax Free Shopping" logo in the window or door.

Once you have all that, you go to the office or kiosk at the airport and make a claim.

There is a lot of information and it is best to Google "VAT rebate from Europe" to get the procedure and understand the process.

[Can'tstopcruising]

I do not believe that is quite correct. To make a VAT rebate claim, you only have to show receipts.

If I remember correctly from our cruise lat in 2009, it is really a pain in the butt. You have to get the filled out forms from the stores you purchase from. Not all stores participate in the rebate program and, there may be a minimum purchase requirement in that store to get the forms. The participating stores will have a "Tax Free Shopping" logo in the window or door.

Once you have all that, you go to the office or kiosk at the airport and make a claim.

There is a lot of information and it is best to Google "VAT rebate from Europe" to get the procedure and understand the process.

 

Pete, if you were not asked to show the merchandise along with the receipt, just consider yourself lucky.

 

At the airport we first go to the Vat counter with our receipts and new merchandise. They are entitled to ask to see everything. Sometimes they do and sometimes they don't. Then, we check in.

[Jobeth66]

I do not believe that is quite correct. To make a VAT rebate claim, you only have to show receipts.

 

No - if you're /lucky/ you just have to show receipts, and not merchandise. If you're not lucky, you'll have to show the merchandise. It all depends on the agent you're dealing with. The idea is that if you are exporting the goods and not using them in the EU, you're allowed to get the tax back. If you use the goods within the EU, then you're not supposed to get the tax back.

 

We had one shop that would only give us the tax-back form if it was stapled to the bag with our purchase inside - there would've been no way to get at our goods without tearing the form. Since that was a large purchase that I absolutely intended to use at home, and had a tax-back of about $150, I had no problem with that. We got lucky in Ireland, hubby bought a bunch of sweaters and wore a couple of them while we were there (and then packed them in our checked bags) - the agents at DUB couldn't have cared less about the merchandise, they just wanted the forms.

[pete_coach]

Jobeth66 and can'tstopcruiseing, I am not sure how you had to show your stuff. Mine was in my bags and some was even shipped. I only had to show my receipts and forms at the desk at the airport.

from http://www.reidsguides.com/t_mo/t_mo_vat.html

"Getting that refund

 

Getting the VAT refunded involves telling the store clerk you're going to be asking for the VAT back (they'll give you receipts and forms to carry with you) then filling out more forms at the airport.

 

Note that you redeem the receipts when you are getting ready to leave the last E.U. country on your itinerary (in this case, "E.U. country" means all of Western Europe except Switzerland, Norway, and Iceland; and all of Eastern Europe minus Bulgaria, Romania, and Turkey—the latter three are up for membership). That means bring all your receipts for every E.U. country to the airport from which you depart; so if you're flying home from Paris, you can take your Italian, German, and French receipts to the customs agent at Charles de Gaulle airport.

 

Before you even check in for your flight, you must visit the local Customs office at the airport with the receipts and the items you purchased—this is in case the officer wishes to inspect your purchases (which rarely happens). The Customs agent will stamp your receipt and give you further directions—usually, after going through check in and security, you head to another VAT refund desk inside the airport and deal with more paperwork there.

 

In some cases, they give you a refund on the spot. More often, the stamped receipt is sent back to the store and your reimbursement is credited against your credit card or sent to you by check. "

and from http://europeforvisitors.com/europe/articles/taxfree_shopping.htm

"1. Use the store's refund affiliate, which can be identified by a decal such as "Tax Free Shopping" or "Premier Tax Free" in the store window.

 

This is the easiest and most reliable method by far: The store gives you a "tax-free shopping cheque" that you present to customs when you leave the country or the European Union. You then take your stamped cheques to the refund service's airport desk or border kiosk for an immediate refund, drop them in a special box, or mail them to the refund service's nearest office after you get home. You can have refunds credited to your Visa, MasterCard, or other credit card in your own currency.

 

Global Blue (formerly Global Refund) is the biggest VAT refund service; it represents more than 270,000 merchants in 37 countries. (See page 3 for a link to the Global Blue Web site.) Another firm, Premier Tax Free, represents 75,000 merchants in 21 countries.

 

Please note: You don't decide what service to use. The retailer does, so you'll need to process each "tax-free shopping cheque" with the company indicated on the cheque (usually, but not always, Global Blue).

 

2. Get a refund directly from the shop where you make your purchase.

 

Request a VAT refund form, have it stamped by a customs official when you leave the country or the European Union, then mail the stamped form back to the store (assuming that the shop is willing to handle refunds this way).

 

Note: For smaller transactions, the cost of cashing a foreign-currency check may exceed the amount of the refund. However, it's worth considering for large purchases or if the merchant will credit the refund to your credit-card account instead of mailing you a check. In the latter case, your credit-card company will automatically convert the refund to your local currency.

 

3. Charge your purchase with a credit card and ask the shop to make two charge slips: one for the amount of the sale after deduction of the VAT, and the other for the amount of the VAT.

 

The store will post the larger transaction but set the VAT charge slip aside. After you've had your VAT refund form stamped by customs, mail it back to the store, and the merchant will destroy the VAT charge slip without submitting it. (Not all merchants will go along with this method, and it works best in stores that handle credit-card transactions manually.)

[Jobeth66]

Jobeth66 and can'tstopcruiseing, I am not sure how you had to show your stuff. Mine was in my bags and some was even shipped. I only had to show my receipts and forms at the desk at the airport.

 

Right - you were lucky. Hubby had packed some of our stuff in our checked bags in Ireland, and had they wanted to see it, we wouldn't have been able to get a refund on it.

 

Read what you quoted from (bolding mine):

 

from http://www.reidsguides.com/t_mo/t_mo_vat.html

"Getting that refund

 

Getting the VAT refunded involves telling the store clerk you're going to be asking for the VAT back (they'll give you receipts and forms to carry with you) then filling out more forms at the airport.

 

Note that you redeem the receipts when you are getting ready to leave the last E.U. country on your itinerary (in this case, "E.U. country" means all of Western Europe except Switzerland, Norway, and Iceland; and all of Eastern Europe minus Bulgaria, Romania, and Turkey—the latter three are up for membership). That means bring all your receipts for every E.U. country to the airport from which you depart; so if you're flying home from Paris, you can take your Italian, German, and French receipts to the customs agent at Charles de Gaulle airport.

 

Before you even check in for your flight, you must visit the local Customs office at the airport with the receipts and the items you purchased—this is in case the officer wishes to inspect your purchases (which rarely happens). The Customs agent will stamp your receipt and give you further directions—usually, after going through check in and security, you head to another VAT refund desk inside the airport and deal with more paperwork there.

 

In some cases, they give you a refund on the spot. More often, the stamped receipt is sent back to the store and your reimbursement is credited against your credit card or sent to you by check. "

and from http://europeforvisitors.com/europe/articles/taxfree_shopping.htm

"1. Use the store's refund affiliate, which can be identified by a decal such as "Tax Free Shopping" or "Premier Tax Free" in the store window.

 

This is the easiest and most reliable method by far: The store gives you a "tax-free shopping cheque" that you present to customs when you leave the country or the European Union. You then take your stamped cheques to the refund service's airport desk or border kiosk for an immediate refund, drop them in a special box, or mail them to the refund service's nearest office after you get home. You can have refunds credited to your Visa, MasterCard, or other credit card in your own currency.

 

Global Blue (formerly Global Refund) is the biggest VAT refund service; it represents more than 270,000 merchants in 37 countries. (See page 3 for a link to the Global Blue Web site.) Another firm, Premier Tax Free, represents 75,000 merchants in 21 countries.

 

Please note: You don't decide what service to use. The retailer does, so you'll need to process each "tax-free shopping cheque" with the company indicated on the cheque (usually, but not always, Global Blue).

 

2. Get a refund directly from the shop where you make your purchase.

 

Request a VAT refund form, have it stamped by a customs official when you leave the country or the European Union, then mail the stamped form back to the store (assuming that the shop is willing to handle refunds this way).

 

Note: For smaller transactions, the cost of cashing a foreign-currency check may exceed the amount of the refund. However, it's worth considering for large purchases or if the merchant will credit the refund to your credit-card account instead of mailing you a check. In the latter case, your credit-card company will automatically convert the refund to your local currency.

 

3. Charge your purchase with a credit card and ask the shop to make two charge slips: one for the amount of the sale after deduction of the VAT, and the other for the amount of the VAT.

 

The store will post the larger transaction but set the VAT charge slip aside. After you've had your VAT refund form stamped by customs, mail it back to the store, and the merchant will destroy the VAT charge slip without submitting it. (Not all merchants will go along with this method, and it works best in stores that handle credit-card transactions manually.)

 

'Rarely' does not mean 'never' - I've had it happen and had it NOT happen. I travel as if it will happen, that way I'm prepared.

 

Otherwise - what's to stop me from buying a bunch of stuff for friends and relatives that live in-country and then getting my VAT refund for items that have never left the EU?