VAT refund in Europe

[Faithfu7]

Vat refund

Need some advice here. 1 of the watch shop in rome told me that in order to get the 22% tax refund, i need to mail back the stamp copy to them after i exit EU. Is it true? Because the deal would be fantastic if its true. What worry is what if they do not return the tax refund to me. Any advise guys?

Some shops practice that but you have to trust the shop . My first vat refund for my rolexr at the Milan rolex shop was processed in this manner.

[Faithfu7]

going germany next week.
any tips for VAT refund at Frankfurt airport?
thanks everyone.

Try to Google . Countries like Rome need a boarding pass to get the custom chop which means arriving that early at the airport also no use.i usually get my tips from googling and they are very accurate !

[hiroko]

going germany next week.
any tips for VAT refund at Frankfurt airport?
thanks everyone.

Not sure about Frankfurt , but i just did my VAT refund at Paris. But i guess about the same as in Europe
Get prepare to know a few things before VAT
1. Which is the Tax refund company ? Premier Tax Free , Global Tax Free , .... etc.
2. Prepare your printed e-ticket , not necessary your original flight ticket.
3. Which type of refund ? Cash vs Credit Card. (cash usually lower rate) , CC need 2 months or more time.
4. Passport

*for cash refund , some tax-free company still required you to give them your CC as if the refund not succeeded , they will charge back to your CC.

[hiroko]

Usually if use credit card how long will it take to process the refund ?

Minimum waiting is 2 months, if your VAT refund is stuck then good luck to you. Hard to communicate with ppl there. Get Cash refund if possible or Global Blue Tax Free is my fav choice for CC refund.

[dkxy85]

taek the cash refund, but they have an admin charge of $3 per receipt.

But after considering the bank exchange rate and also refund might get stuck.

decided to just take e cash refund, after the admin charge of abt 50 euro, manage to still get back abt $500 euro :d

more excuse to plan for next Europe trip! cos there is left over $$$

lol

[loong1019]

taek the cash refund, but they have an admin charge of $3 per receipt.

But after considering the bank exchange rate and also refund might get stuck.

decided to just take e cash refund, after the admin charge of abt 50 euro, manage to still get back abt $500 euro :d

more excuse to plan for next Europe trip! cos there is left over $$$

lol

Sounds like Taking the cash back is better than refund in cc. I have a friend who never get a single cent when he submitted the vat form to counter and requested for cc refund. Has been a year but no single cent being credited to cc..
To conclude, 3 euro per receipt still worth it.
Btw bro, was the queue long for cash refund??

[Toby2009]

Need some advice here. 1 of the watch shop in rome told me that in order to get the 22% tax refund, i need to mail back the stamp copy to them after i exit EU. Is it true? Because the deal would be fantastic if its true. What worry is what if they do not return the tax refund to me. Any advise guys?

Hi Club, yes its true and as you said slightly risky. Global blue e.g. charge around 10% of the refunded tax, so say you get back EUR 500, they would charge you back EUR 450. So in most cases, unless the refund is very high or you do this regularly, it might be better to take the cash from Global Blue at airport and receive EUR 50 less and then its all settles before you even reach the motherland again ;-)

[loong1019]

Hi Club, yes its true and as you said slightly risky. Global blue e.g. charge around 10% of the refunded tax, so say you get back EUR 500, they would charge you back EUR 450. So in most cases, unless the refund is very high or you do this regularly, it might be better to take the cash from Global Blue at airport and receive EUR 50 less and then its all settles before you even reach the motherland again ;-)

Bro, may I know does the queue long when u get the cash refund? For my understanding, they only allow u to do the refunding when u got the boarding pass. And the gate is normally opened 2 hour in advance. My concern is the queue too long to cause missing the flight.. Then hao sei liao... XD

[lawser]

Hi

I have a question on claiming VAT refund in Europe ,
If I buy my watch or bag in Italy, and fly back from Zurich, can I claim my VAT refund in Zurich airport for my purchases in Italy?

Hope to hear from those who have experience in these issues.

Thank in advance

Yes, you can via Global blue.

[Linda]

I am traveling almost every month to Europe to buy stuff (including watches). You can get the VAT refund when you indeed submit some forms at Global Blue and likewise companies (depending on country of departure in Europe). Most are at the airport behind customs while some airports even have these desks where you can check-in.

To find out more and get at least 15% VAT-return, contact me. Risk Free!

[badass09]

I've got vat refund from frankfurt before.. the queue is unpredictable and sometimes there's no one qeueing especially during odd hours... you do get charged $3 euros per receipt and i do it via global blue and they are quite hassle free.. but they only refund back 16% out of the 19% VAT.. i guess the 3% is their commission.. but getting cash refund is better and less troublesome than filling up alot of forms as in the yellow paper and will take forever to receive the refund back..

[caindope]

Hi

I have a question on claiming VAT refund in Europe ,
If I buy my watch or bag in Italy, and fly back from Zurich, can I claim my VAT refund in Zurich airport for my purchases in Italy?

Hope to hear from those who have experience in these issues.

Thank in advance

not possible. switzerland is not part of euro zone. you need to get your stamp and drop off your vat refund at the airport/ checkpoint/ customs before leaving italy.

[Homtravel]

Need some advice here. 1 of the watch shop in rome told me that in order to get the 22% tax refund, i need to mail back the stamp copy to them after i exit EU. Is it true? Because the deal would be fantastic if its true. What worry is what if they do not return the tax refund to me. Any advise guys?

I don't think its 22% refund. It's around 12-14% after commission.
You can mail the refund after you get the stamp at the custom (there is a box to drop off).
If you shop in Rome and exit from italy refubd should take 2 weeks maximum.

[rollietime]

I did my refund in Italy... fast "custom" check and took the receipt to a money changer at the airport (Departure gate)... they have the global Blue decal on the counter and she said they are able to give cash upfront... but the catch is that they have to give me in other currency except Euro (Excuse given was that they don't carry a lot of Euro as they are a money changer) think it is a tactic to "makan" you on the forex difference... they don't carry SGD so have to settle with USD (Hopefully USD continue to strengthen :P)... anyway... just did it as I was assured that cash is taken back from the taxes rather than "running" around to find the actual agent at Frankfurt (Transiting there)....

[andrewtang]

VAT refund in London is horrible. You need to queue like hell if you want to get CASH!