VAT refund in Europe

[zuny]

I do agree that getting vat refund in Switzerland is quite a breezy process. For those who are planning to do it Italy, particularly in rome, I will suggest that you go go way early.. One queue for validating purchase receipts and another queue for tax refunds. This indeed is the same process for most airports but rome and Milan airports are notoriously famous for slow process of vat refunds, especially when you encounter a tour group in the front line. I been through this process twice. The first time was fine with some delay, the second time the tax officer play punk and asked the Chinese tour group to show all of their purchases. Imagine 8-10 individuals opening baggages and gift wraps to show the purchases.. Took an entire hour!
Also, if u choose instant vat redemption in cash, do note that global blue charges admin charge of 3 euros per receipt. Where possible, consolidate your purchases in a single receipt.

[collecion]

Highly recommend to pay in cash. so vat will be in cash. My credit card VAT refund never came...

[kelvin28net]

good info

[parchiao]

For VAT refund at CDG, please ensure that you reach the airport well ahead of your departure time. The queue can be very slow and I have seen many people giving up because their flight was leaving. There was also this one time where the customs stamped the VAT refund form for credit cards with the wrong month. We discovered it immediately and had it corrected, but too bad for those people before us, I don't know if their refunds would have been processed. Please check that every single detail that has been provided is correct.

[satch]

suggest u go to airport 4 hours before departure to do the tax refund for the following reasons:
1) different vat refund agents e.g. global blue, premier tax etc. have different booths and some might be at another terminal or extremely difficult to locate locations.
2) if your purchased items are in your check-in luggage e.g. bulky stuff like handbags, u need to get it checked and stamped after u get your boarding pass (u need to lug your luggage to the customs place, get it stamped, then drag it back to the check-in counter to deposit back the luggage)
3) efficiency is at least 1/2 of what you're used to in asia, in general

the other thing to check is the opening hours of the tax refund counters. some can close as early as 3pm in the afternoon. while u can still get the refund via mail, if you want to get cash then better get there before they close.

[doompro123]

One thing to note is that you want to receive cash at the end of your journey, i.e. London, but have bought items from Eurozone countries i.e. Germany, France, Italy, they will give you back in GBP but will charge you 1) a service fee for getting cash and 2) a lousy exchange rate from Euro to GBP. So bear that in mind. I normally just go for credit card refund.

[hns_555]

Any info about Germany ? I heard from my friend, some store give you VAT 19%, and some store 14%. Is that true ? And which is better and easier, to pay by cash or by CC ?
Thank you

[track15]

Rather shop at those places with in-store VAT refund services. It was such a hassle rushing from one end of the terminal to the other to queue.

[Isaac hawk]

How long is the wait for vat claim? I've been waiting for 2 months

[CooL1985]

good job for the info

[tanb]

For ITALY purchases, there are numerous tax refund companies used by the merchants.

If your merchant uses Tax Refund (yellow coloured forms), you are in luck.

Get immediate cash for the tax refund at Rome Fiumicino Airport.

If you intend to hand carry your purchases, go directly to H1 after passport control for the custom stamp and claim from Tax Refund office just beside.

[Genex]

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

[freeman88]

I would suggest get Cash refund instead of waiting for credit card. In Milan, there is a Premier Tax office in the shopping district where you can get your refund on the spot.
Friendly staff too.

[opchew]

Experience in Milan Airport.

First time doing my VAT refund in europe.

Be minimum 4 hours before departure.
Priority is to queue to get custom stamp first...

For low-value refund items:
You can get the custom stamp after check in.
After getting the stamp, you can proceed to the Global Blue/Premier Tax counter by the side.
Good to take note if their is any tour group processing the tax refund.

For high-value refund items (watches):
You can only get the custom stamp after the passport security and after the duty free shops.
Queue here will be slow, long and frustrating if there is a tour group in front of you. The custom staffs will check the item in detail.
Hence if you see a tour group before check in, make sure you rush to get in the queue before them. Dont waste time at the duty free shopping.


After gotten the custom stamp, then you can proceed to collect cash or credit card refund.
Global Blue have set up a CC counter to process it electronically.

Hope this helps.

[wt_know]

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