Can anyone advise how to claim back full 21% tax if i buy Rolex in Europe?

[kadios]

Hhhhhhhh

Can anyone advise if this is secure and possible to be done?

b. While another shop told me she can refund me the 21% after i leave the country... all i need to do is to courier to her the signed VAT Refund slip from airport. She will refund via credit card. I don't feel secure with this arrangment because i don't know if they will really refund it to me once i am out of the shop/airport. Or maybe i am being paranoid? hahah.


Basically, what you will be doing is to send the vat form to the shop where they will send the form to the agency in charge of the vat refund, which is a private company that works with the government. So the risk are probably

1. Form get lost during courier internationally to the shop

Waste postage and no vat

2. Registered mail to shop, form received by shop but they misplaced or the form lost in transit to the vat refund company

Waste $ and no vat

Basically, sales once transacted, is deal closed. Whether they will go extra mile
Really depend on the shop. But if the shop really lost the form, they can't do the vat refund, due to government regulations, unless it from their own pocket.

Unless your watch is very expensive, you may wish to consider if it is worthwhile the risk for that 3-5% discount. A bird in hand is better than 2 in the bushes.
Done at airport, peace of mind and you enjoy the watch. My sis-in-law bag was bought in Rome but peace only came after 6mths when the vat was credit to my cc.
Pocket.


A local friend told me he would help to chase for the full 21% refund so long as i get the VAT form signed and courier back to the shop. My friend will personally ensure the shop expedite the refund. A bit of a trouble for him i guess.

Next.... is 10% the max that i can obtain from EU rolex shops?

Anyone know if the collection at Amsterdam airport is good/well stocked and provide 10% discount? Or i am better off buying in Belgium or any other shops that have the stock that i want and discount that they already dangle.

[skydweller_sg]

Seems like alot of members buy at europe ADs

[leonmike]

Yup, cheaper prices and much higher VAT refund. Worth it !!!
The Longines Hydro Conquest i bought in Milan cost me only S$ 1,050 (after disc n VAT refund) as compared to SIN price S$ 1,550(after 15% disc).

[praha335ci]

Currently with the on going financial crisis , Europe has lots of pretty good deals overall.

[alo]

other than the VAT refund and discounts, the weakening euro also make the purchases more worthwhile.. =)

[skydweller_sg]

guess that explains why many members buy from europe

[Seansean828]

1)yes to point B and C,U can get the refund from the shop if u get the stamp at the airport and courier back to them,most of the shop in EU are pretty trustworthy,for vat refund at 21% i dont tink so maybe i'm wrong,high chance would be 18% definite.
2)it is ok to put the item in bag or use it as long as u have the receipt.u dont need all the item in paperbags to claim.
3)it would be easier to claim by credit card as describe by brietling77,just stamp and drop in the mail.
4)lastly if u get the stamp in any EU say belgium upon exit,and u travel to other part of EU ITALY,FRANCE for tour u stil can get the money over there.

hope tis wil help

[Rossoracer]

Hi,would like to check if anyone bought Rolex from London? How much cheaper than sg? Have a sibling traveling there this week hence wondering should ask to help buy one or not.

[edsim]

The key point is to get the required stamp at the airport.
Which will also mean that you jolly well get to the airport way in advance in case the queue is very long and u may miss your flight.

Furthermore, getting back to SIN with the new watch of that value may potentially be met with SIN customs check... hence, the 7% GST "ang pao" u gotta provide to SIN customs...

Anyone with any experience to share on this?

My experience in Milan, Italy when i was there 2 months ago is like this:
The shop you buy your watch or whatever will take your passport and fill up your particulars in the VAT tax refund form. The shop will have a copy of the amount of VAT refund you will be entitled to. I guess the more you buy the higher the refund as i did have a glance at it, the VAT refund in Italy is based on the total amount you buy in one receipt. The refund value would have also covers the admin charges imposed by the VAT refund company. Minimum amount you hv to spend is at least Euros 150 before you are entitled for VAT refund. A copy of this form will be then be given back to you to claim your refund at Milan airport before you fly out.

At Milan airport, you are suppose to head to the Customs section first for them to check your merchandise you purchased and get the refund form stamped by Customs first. After this is done, you then head to the VAT refund booth like Global blue or whatever to get your refund.
If you merchandise is paid in cash, they will refund cash to you. If paid with credit card, you will need to provide your card to them to swipe into the card network. Refund by card will take about 4 to 5 working days as stated. They will provide you with a receipt as proof on the refund, whether by cash or card. Then you can put your merchandise into your luggage and check in at the airline counter.

Simple as that... Hopes it helps those going to Milan, Italy. Was somehow lost at first when at the Milan airport on the refund procedures.

A word of caution, as usual refund by card, you tend to lose a bit more on the refund as the credit card company will tend to charge a higher Euro - Sin xchange rate. I got charge abt 0.04cents more.

[edsim]

Bro,
What about Copenhagen? Seems like discount is about 25%?

E90 ,
The Global blue net refund will be based on the country of purchase. On the forms you will actually be given the ammount that you're entitled to. It will be printed on the receipt. From memory in the Netherlands there are a few jewellers that stock Rolex but the selection is average but sometimes in Schipol if you're lucky there will be lots of the latest models .The best countries overall to buy would be in Germany, France, Italy due to the high net VAT refund, availability of models with the latest series and also AD's to choose from. Switzerland has lots of AD's with all the latest models but their discounts are very limited to none at all and their net VAT is only around the 8 % mark.

[Watcha]

For "hot models" Europe ad don't usually give discounts.
You be lucky if you see stock of SS Daytona, hulk, Pam 0 etc.

Got to hoot before other tourists from china, Indonesia.
Lots of them.

[praha335ci]

Bro,
What about Copenhagen? Seems like discount is about 25%?

Pricing in all Scandinavian countries are pretty expensive to start off with the exception of Iceland. Last year I was in Reykavlik and the prices there are almost like Germany's pricing . The VAT refund is fairly significant but here's the catch- the only AD there has a very limited selection especially with the sports models.

[RachelO]

My hubby bought a rolex in switzerland at bucherer in march this year. If I didnt remember wrongly, swiss tax is 8%, they quote all watches without the tax. But there's a catch, when you are paying for the watch, they will also "lock" a 8% of the price in ur credit card. They will then pass u the custom form and one envelope for u to mail back to their office. We are suppose to get a custom stamp on the form and mail it back to them. We were leaving swiss by train to italy. They then told us, if we are so unlucky to not met a custom officer during our train ride, when we reach italy, get a invoice from the hotel with name and a few restuarants receipts and train tickets that we took, to PROVE that we had leave switzerland. The form had to reach them within 30days. And since switzerland was our 1st league, we had to do it while in europe not and when back home. Thank god I suppose they did received it. Cos the 8% tax was not charge till now.

I guess if the SA told u about the 21%, it might be this method. But there is a risk, as if they did not receive ur form, or ur mail goes missing. That's it.

[Seansean828]

london rolex is slightly more expensive,unless u can get a discount form the shop.as for vat refund get the stamp and revert back thru credit card,DO NOT GET CASH!!! the surcharge is pretty high.the vat refund is about 12-14%.if u get credit card probably u wil get back the credit only 3-4mths time.i guess its all depends how fast they process it