VAT From a Tourist Perspective

Monday September 02

I don’t know how many countries have a tax refund option for tourists at their airports. 

I’ve used it a lot in Australia. As long as the receipt shows the retailer’s ABN number (whatever that is) and some other details found on most business receipts, and as long as each receipt is for at least AUD300, then just present it to the Refund desk, and Robert’s your Aunty. Pretty straightforward. I’ve only done it with hand luggage sized purchases, because they will usually ask to see the item. Because the refund desk is on the other side of Customs, there will be a more elaborate pre-check-in process for stuff you want to check in. In Sydney, I’ve only used credit card refund, and that takes a few weeks to come through. I think cash is an option, but it’s been a while. More recently I have been using the app provided by the department in charge of the Tourist Refund Scheme (TRS). With that I add a few details from the receipt, and the app generates a barcode for the agent to scan. Very fast. 

In Singapore, we take our luggage to a desk out the front, and show them the receipts. I’m not sure what the minimum receipt value is. They stamp it, and once you go through customs you find the desk who give the refund. We always took cash from them, but I assume cards are similar, if that’s an option. I haven’t seen an app yet, but at least it’s handled by a government agency. 

The glorious European Economic Community is a different kettle of mustard altogether. 

First, Eire is EEC up the wazoo, euro and all. The UK, comprising the top bit of Ireland and all of Scotland Wales and England, have never really been committed to the idea. They have retained the British pound as everyday currency. 

The first thing I will say is that hardly anyone will tell you about the VAT refund scheme. You would think that it doesn’t matter. After all, retailers in Singapore and Australia don’t tell you either. 

It doesn’t matter in those countries because any half-decent receipts will do. But in the EU and the UK, it really does matter. 

Over this side of the world, they need to print out a specific VAT-refund-ready till receipt. If they don’t have that kind of till, they need to manually fill out a form for you.

We had one shop in Eire that offered, and they gave is an electronic card to register at an instore kiosk. Because the expected refund was less than €2, and because the instructions were all about processing at an Irish airport, we didn’t pay enough attention to how we do it at a British airport. 

You will see on the till-printed UK version, that there are a lot of details for you to fill in. You must do this on EVERY receipt! They will probably give you a pre-printed envelope as well. This is so that you can post the receipts if you are leaving from an airport without a manned refund desk. There will be a refund-branded postbox for your convenience. If you collect a few, you will notice different addresses to post to. There is a range of companies who do this work for the government, and each provider seems to have there own unique list of stores that they deal with. After the fact I found an app by one of the companies. If other companies do this as well, then you may find yourself using multiple apps and making multiple claims. Unlike the Australian app, it seems that you need to present your app in the retailer when you pay. In Sydney, just gather up your receipts and load them, any time before you rock up to their counter.

So, back to the beginning. If you are spending more than £30 in the UK in one transaction, and it is not food or other consumables, AND you are taking it permanently out of the EU, then please ASK for a VAT-refund receipt.

And then there is Harrods. When you ask for your VAT receipt, they will give you a normal receipt and send you to Customer Services on the third floor. There, you will find a rather gruff maître d, who will give you a numbered ticket, and tell you to sit down and wait. So this department has up to 20 staff at numbered desks. A screen on the wall has a list of incremental ticket numbers and associated desk numbers. The maître d bellows out the next ticket number to appear, and which desk to go to. You have a VERY short window to make it to the right desk, or you lose your slot. I wait about 10 minutes for my number to appear, and obediently scurry off to desk 7. The girl there takes my receipt and passport, and asks a few questions. She then prints me out a form. This is not my refund. This is just the form I take to the airport. You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!!! All of that time, an entire department, just to save having to print out a VAT receipt at the sales counter. Absurd!!!

That’s the easy part. 

When you get to Heathrow (or any other real airport), find the VAT refund desk, and join the queue. In Heathrow, it’s run by Travelex. They will scan the reference number on each receipt and scan your passport. If you have chosen card refund, you will be done, and the money will probably arrive in time for next year’s holidays. If you choose cash, you will get it on the spot, in your currency of choice. I’m told they take a good chunk of your refund as a handling fee if you go with cash. So if you can wait, you make more with the card.

I get why staff don’t ask. Particularly in London, there are a melting pot of shapes, colours and accents, and that’s just the residents. Too often would they be asking some guy who lives 4 blocks away if he’s taking the goods overseas.

Why don’t the shops, or at least the handling company, put a sign on the counter?  Need a VAT receipt? Just ask.